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Chinese film evening, 7/02/2017: In Love We Trust 左右 (2008)

2 February 2017

Family drama In love we trust (aka Left Right), directed and scripted by Sixth Generation film maker Wang Xiaoshuai 王小帅, hinges on the conception of a 'saviour sibling' for a child diagnosed with leukaemia.

In Love We Trust The screening will be followed by a conversation between bioethicist Prof. Cong Yali 丛亚丽 (PKU) and philosopher and ethicist James Wilson (UCL) on the issues raised by the film.

Time: Tuesday 7 February, 6.30pm
Place: IAS Seminar Room 11, First Floor, South Wing, Wilkins Building


Screening notes, In Love We Trust

Mei Zhu and Xiao Lu divorced after giving birth to a daughter, Hehe. Now they are both happily remarried: Zhu to a simple man who loves her tenderly and Lu to an air-hostess much younger than he is. Hehe has just been diagnosed with leukemia. Chemotherapy is not working, and she needs a bone marrow transplant. Since neither of the parents is suitable as a donor, the bone marrow should come from a sibling. Unsuccessful attempts at artificial insemination convince Mei Zhu that the only solution is to sleep with Xiao Lu for one last time. Ethical issues that are evoked by this film include the social problems generated by the one-child policy; giving birth to a child to save the life of another; the limits of family responsibilities in the care of its members.

Wang Xiaoshuai (Beijing Bicycle 2001; Shanghai Dreams, 2005) is well known to Western film audiences and has been awarded many foreign prizes. He is one of the most important members of the Sixth Generation of Chinese film directors, who, although through different cinematic styles and languages, share an interest in the present and future of China, in urban lives and in the problems of adjusting to major changes after the advent of the post-1980s economy.

In Love We Trust won the Silver Bear for best screenplay at the 2008 Berlin film festival.


Cong Yali 丛亚丽 is Professor of Medical Ethics and Deputy Director of the Institute of Medical Humanities at Peking University (PKU). One of China's leading bioethicists, she has published widely in both Chinese and international journals.

James Wilson (UCL) is a philosopher and ethicist with a special interest in Public Health ethics. He is co-director of the UCL Health Humanities Centre.

As usual, admission is by free ticket, available from:
https://ucl_cchh_film10.eventbrite.co.uk

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This event is part of Chinese Film and the Body (2016-2017), a series of workshops exploring social and cultural issues related to health, medicine and the body in 20th and 21st century China, as represented in Chinese cinema. 

  • The film evenings take place on Tuesdays during term-time, from 15th November 2016 to 7th February 2017.
  • Each screening is presented by a specialist and followed by a discussion and/or a live video Q&A session with the director.
  • You can find further details of the films and suggestions for background reading here
  • The films are core viewing for the UCL CHH MA module in Chinese Film and the Body.
  • Admission is open to all members of UCL as well as registered Friends of the UCL China Centre for Health and Humanity. To register and join our Events mailing list, please follow this link.