The Center for Ethnographic Media Arts is thrilled to welcome acclaimed filmmaker Wang Bing as part of its Visiting Artist Series. 

Wang Bing has been producing films of astonishing intimacy in mainland China for over 20 years. His work has been described as monumental due to the durational quality of his films, a trait that arises from long periods filming on site and the extended run times of his films. Deploying an observational camera style that is immersive but not intrusive, Wang’s depictions of laborers and everyday life in China convey a depth that verges on the ethnographic. His films have portrayed the decline of China’s oldest industrial center in Tie Xi (West of the Tracks (2002), labor in the oil-fields of the Tibetan Plateau (Crude Oil, 2008), life in a psychiatric hospital in Yunnan (’Til Madness Do Us Part, 2013) and the lives of young textile workers in (Youth (Spring), 2023), among many other contexts.

Youth (Spring) is set in Zhili, 120 miles from Shanghai. In this city dedicated to textile manufacturing, young workers come from rural regions crossed by the Yangtze River. They are in their early twenties, sharing dormitories and snacking in the corridors. They work tirelessly to be able to one day raise a child, buy a house, or set up their own workshop. Friendships and romantic affairs are made and unmade according to the seasons, financial difficulties, and family pressures.  

Wang Bing in-person, followed by a with a Q&A moderated by Dr. Jenny Chio, USC Associate Professor of East Asian Languages and Cultures and Anthropology. 

October 3rd, 2024
Doors at 5:00pm, film begins at 5:30pm 
Runtime 215 min.

USC School of Cinematic Arts Complex 
Room, SCI 106
900 W. 34th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90007

FREE ADMISSION. OPEN TO ALL USC STUDENTS, FACULTY, STAFF, ALUMNI, AND THE GENERAL PUBLIC.

To secure a spot, please RSVP to CEMA@usc.edu with your name and institutional affiliation.

This event is co-sponsored by USC Center for Ethnographic Media Arts, Media Arts + Practice, and USC School of Cinematic Arts.