Thursday Cinema
Up the Yangtze

Salt Beyoğlu

November 22, 2018 19.00

Uptheyangtze 2007 1 <i>Up the Yangtze</i> [Yangtze Nehri] (2007) filminden bir kare ©National Film Board of Canada
Still from Up the Yangtze (2007) ©National Film Board of Canada
Walk-in Cinema

Up the Yangtze (2007)
Director: Yung Chang
93 minutes
Mandarin, Sichuan, English; Turkish and English subtitles

How did the the world’s largest hydroelectric project built on the third longest river in the world change more than one million people’s lives, and China as a global economic superpower? Chinese-Canadian director Yung Chang returns to the disappearing historical landscape of his grandfather’s youth to tell the story of a 16-year-old girl. Coming from an impoverished and helpless family, Yu Shui has no choice but to work on a luxurious cruise ship floating up the Yangtze River. While being trained as a dishwasher, she becomes accustomed to the facets of consumerism as well as the opportunities of modern technology. Now known by her new Western name, “Cindy” serves to wealthy international tourists not far from her family who are moving to higher ground to escape the encroaching floodwaters caused by the building of the Three Gorges Dam.

A depiction of contemporary China based on the microcosm of a cruise ship as a metaphor, the documentary is winner of numerous awards including the Vancouver International Film Festival (2007) and the San Francisco International Film Festival (2008).

Thursday Cinema is supported by Garanti Mortgage. Program is free. Reservations are not accepted.
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