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On Monday, April 14, the PUC community received a special opportunity to experience the California premiere of Chinese filmmaker Jian Yi鈥檚 documentary, 鈥淪uper, Girls!鈥� PUC resident artist Mei Ann Teo introduced the screening to a full audience and hosted a Q & A session with the director after the screening. As part of a brief U.S. tour for the film, Yi鈥檚 visit to PUC was preceded by a packed screening at NYU and followed a day later by a stop at UCLA. The event presented students and faculty with a chance to experience world-class independent filmmaking.

The film, 鈥淪uper, Girls!鈥� is a provocative and private glimpse into the world of the media machine and how it permeates the most personal depths of Chinese society. It begins by introducing the 鈥淪upergirls鈥� singing contest, an anyone-can-win singing game show structured in the tradition of 鈥淎merican Idol.鈥� 鈥淪upergirls鈥� quickly became the most popular television show in the nation鈥檚 history, garnering nearly 450 million viewers during its peak of recognition in the latter half of its two-year run. The show wasn鈥檛 just a sensation, it was a movement. At the height of its popularity, it was banned by the Chinese government on accusations of being 鈥渢oo vulgar鈥� and for causing 鈥渢he deterioration of the Chinese culture.鈥�

Shot in a cinema verite style, Yi鈥檚 documentary moves from one intimate portrait of a life affected by the show to the next. The film, said Teo, 鈥渞eveals the despair behind the facade, but also the insistent and persistent nature of hope.鈥� Through the film and his subsequent discussion, Yi explained the journey of exploration he was trying to take with the piece. 鈥淪uper, Girls!鈥� not only observes the state of the media and society in modern-day China, it also takes an intriguing look at the millions of young girls taking part, watching religiously, hanging their hopes on a television show and devoting their lives to it. 鈥淛ian Yi鈥檚 visit was a rare glimpse into a country that, despite its prominence on the world stage, still remains mysterious at best,鈥� said Teo.