Letter From Masanjia Documentary Screening (FREE)

275 Joe Routt Boulevard,College Station TX 77843

05 March, 2022

Description

Join us to learn about the ongoing human injustice and how it relates to us from the other side of the world. The screening will be held on 3/5, 7:00 PM at MSC 2406. A woman finds an SOS message from a Chinese dissident in a package of decorations, igniting a quest to expose a deadly persecution. Synopsis: Letter from Masanjia begins when mom of two, Julie Keith, finds an SOS note in a box of “Made in China” Halloween decorations from an Oregon Kmart. The desperate note was written by a political prisoner name Sun Yi, from inside China’s notorious Masanjia labor camp. On the crumpled page that traveled over 5000 miles, he details being jailed for his spiritual beliefs and how he is being subjected to torture and brainwashing tactics. His message goes viral and miraculously leads to the closure of China’s entire labor camp system. But their story is far from over. Peabody-winning Canadian filmmaker Leon Lee is not welcome in his native country because of his prior films about China’s human rights abuses. So, in Letter from Masanjia, he teaches Sun Yi to use camera equipment via Skype. For over a year, he secretly captures harrowing footage of his daily life as a human rights defender, leading up to his tense run from the Chinese authorities. Meanwhile, just outside Portland, Julie Keith is struggling with her own dilemmas as a mother newly embroiled in this cause. Together, these unlikely heroes expose China’s ongoing persecution against millions whose ideology differs from the Chinese government. Director’s biography: Leon Lee is an award-winning Canadian filmmaker who shines a light on human rights abuses in China. His debut documentary Human Harvest, which was eight years in the making, exposed China’s illegal organ trade. It has been viewed by millions worldwide and received a coveted Peabody Award and an Association of International Broadcasters Award for Investigative Journalism. Lee’s recent documentary Letter from Masanjia premiered at Hot Docs 2018 and has since won numerous awards at festivals worldwide. His goal as a filmmaker is to shine a light on personal true stories that resonate beyond language and culture, giving a voice to the voiceless. Select Awards: ● Nominated for 6 Leo Awards: Best Documentary Feature, Best Direction, Best Editing, Best Writing, Best Sound and Best Music ● Cambridge Film Festival: Silver Punt Audience Award for Best Documentary ● American Asian International Film Festival: Audience Award ● St. Louis International Film Festival: Best Feature Documentary ● Hot Docs: Top 20 Audience Favorite ● Budapest International Documentary Festival Winner News Reports: https://www.bbc.com/news/stories-45976946 https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/13/movies/letter-from-masanjia-review.html https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-capsule-letter-from-masanjia-review-20180913-story.html