FAIRFAX, Va.—On July 22, Shen Zhou film studio held the 2014 international film festival at the Angelika Film Center. The films presented during this 8th year anniversary of Shen Zhou film studio were stories of the tribulations and triumphs of Falun Gong practitioners. These included, “Shake the World,” “Forever,” “Awakening,” and the documentary, “The Story of Two Artists,” which had its world premiere.

Shen Zhou Film Studio President Hong Wei said that she hoped that viewers will better understand why Falun Gong practitioners feel compelled to tell about their persecution.

“In reality, Falun Gong practitioners are caring, with a sense of obligation to society. They stand out from most others in speaking the truth, hoping families and people can live in harmony and under true justice.”

The first film shown was “Shake the World,” a movie produced by Shen Zhou Film Studio in 2006. It depicts the bloody reality of Falun Gong practitioners in mainland China who refused to give up their cultivation practice and were tortured to death.

The film “Forever” tells the story of a young man’s change both in his mind and body after practicing Falun Gong. However, he and his fiancée’s beautiful life together was shattered due to the brutal persecution.

In the audience was Li Shengye, who said, “Both films have inspired my family deeply. … My wife is a Falun Gong practitioner. I am aware that the persecution of Falun Gong is real, and it has been going on for fifteen years.” Shengyue came with his wife to the United States two years ago.

Talking about his life in mainland China. “I used to work in the Department of Political Affairs and the party committee of the school. I know the Chinese Communist Party very well. Having been brainwashed for many years by the communist culture, I changed a lot after coming to the United States. The shadow of the communist culture has been dissipating slowly [in my thinking]. ”

“The Story of Two Artists” is a 30-minunte documentary that tells the story of the artist, Professor Zhang Kunlun, and Chinese artist Ms. Zhang Cui Ying.

Korean immigrant Ms. Moo Young said that Falun Gong cultivators reminded her of the persecuted Christians of the past. “There have been many saints throughout history who have been killed because of their faith, but they would never give up that faith. These artists also refused to give up their faith. They are amazing.”

Image: Korean immigrant Ms. Moo Young. (Ziqing Su/ Epoch Times)

Ms. Young expressed that she could not understand the behavior of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in persecuting Falun Gong practitioners. Filled with indignation, she said, “These persecutors will go to hell in the future.”

The film “Awakening” won the 2011 TIVA-DC Peer Awards Bronze in the category of foreign language film. It tells the story of Falun Gong practitioners in Changchun, China, intercepting cable transmissions and physically inserting a program of theirs for local broadcast. For a short while on cable TV, the truth regarding the atrocities perpetrated against practitioners, and the CCP’s fabrications concerning Falun Gong could be seen. The practitioners who carried out this audacious deed were eventually caught, given very long prison sentences and tortured, in some cases to death.

Image: Audience Ms. Kathleen Tangn. (Ziqing Su/ Epoch Times)

After watching the film, audience Ms. Kathleen Tangn said, “Society needs more people who can sacrifice their own interests in order to help others.”

A congratulation letter was received from Virginia Congressman James P. Moran (D), who stated, “Bringing Chinese culture to Northern Virginia and advocating for humanitarian reforms are admirable goals.”

Image: Virginia Congressman James P. Moran (Source: http://moran.house.gov )

Alluding to the persecution of Falun Dafa practitioners, Moran said that it was not right what the China regime is doing. “I hope the efforts of your film can, in some part, help put an end to it. China has received economic success in recent years, and I hope it will continue to progress as a society.”

Image: The congratulation letter from Virginia Congressman James P. Moran. (Source: Shen Zhou Film Studio)

(By Epoch Times)

The 2014 Shen Zhou International Film Festival was held at the Angelika Film Center  on July 22,  2014.  On the same day, Shen Zhou Film Studio celebrated it’s 8th anniversary. Shen Zhou Film Studio also received a congratulatory letter from Congressman Moran for the special occasion.

Image: Congratulatory letter from Virginia Congressman James P. Moran to 2014 Shen Zhou International Film Festival (Shen Zhou Film Studio Website)

“The movies are so touching. I’ll watch all of the four movies today.” Said Mr. Shengyue Li from Dalian, China. “Both the two movies are inspiring for my family. I’m not a Falun Gong practitioner, but my wife is. We clearly know that this persecution is indeed true and has been happening for 15 years.”

After carefully watching “Shake the World” and “Forever”, Mr. Li commented, “A movie is a combination of artistry and authenticity. These movies did a good job on both of these two aspects. I was very excited when I watched the movies. The performance of these actors and actresses has the sense of reality. The plot is abstracted from real stories. That’s what makes the movies profound and touching. Though I’m not a cultivator, I find the movies very educating. ”

Mr. Shengyue Li came to the United States with his wife two years ago. He recounted his life in mainland China, “I used to work at the Communist Party committee in a school, so I know the Communist Party very well. Over decades I was implanted in Communist culture. I’ve changed a lot since I came to the states. Those residuals of Communist culture are dissipating gradually.”

A happy and proud smile surfaced on his face when Mr. Li talked about his wife, “To let more people know about Falun Gong, she volunteers in front of the National Air and Space Museum every day and gives out flyers and brochures to tourists. I fully support what she does. To save her time, I cook meals and take over other kinds of housework. Before she practiced Falun Gong, she suffered badly from rheumatic heart disease and was hospitalized multiple times every year. Her knees were swollen like steamed bread. Through Falun Gong practice, the diseases are gone. She became healthy ever since, which is beneficial to the whole family. Now we are all very grateful to Falun Gong. ”

(By Epoch Times)

Image: Hong Wei said, “I hope that through watching these films, the audience members can get close to Falun Gong practitioners, to their lives and their inner realms, and come to understand why Falun Gong practitioners have taken the path of clarifying the facts.”

WASHINGTON, DC – The Shen Zhou International Film Festival, which officially ran from 12 to 8PM on July 22, showed four movies and one documentary free of charge to its audience members: “Shake the World,” “Forever,” “Reincarnation,” and the documentary, “The Story of Two Artists.” All of the films were produced for Shen Zhou Film Productions and depict the stories of Falun Gong practitioners. The showing of “The Story of Two Artists” was also its premiere.

The main theme of the film festival is “Working Together to Stop the Chinese Communist Party’s Persecution of Falun Gong,” and it also marks the eighth anniversary of Shen Zhou Film Productions’ founding. The four movies were shown to arouse people’s attention towards Falun Gong practitioners. On July 20, 1999, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) began its suppression of Falun Gong, and this suppression has gone on for 15 years. In these fifteen years, Falun Gong practitioners have persisted in their belief in “Truthfulness, Compassion, and Tolerance,” and have used peaceful resistance to oppose the persecution, clarify the facts, and use all sorts of means to awaken peoples’ kindness and conscience, and to call for a swift end to this utterly brutal persecution of Falun Gong in China. Hong Wei, president of Shen Zhou Film Productions, said that the first three films – “Shake the World,” “Forever,” and “Reincarnation,” were filmed in Taiwan, Japan, and Korea. All of the actors in the films are Falun Gong practitioners who are amateur actors, and who use their free time to participate in the films and work together to use the media of film to explain the facts about Falun Gong to all levels of society. Hong Wei said, “I hope that through watching these films, the audience members can get close to Falun Gong practitioners, to their lives and their inner realms, and come to understand why Falun Gong practitioners have taken the path of clarifying the facts.” “Actually, Falun Gong practitioners take their family life very seriously, showing love for their family members and performing their social duties,” she said. “They come out to clarify the facts and hope that more families can be complete and that they can live in a just and genuine environment.” “Shake the World” Actress Experiences Real Torture “Shake the World,” which was filmed in 2006, was the first film shown at the festival. The idea for the film came about when director and producer Hong Wei was moved to tears when reading the true story of Ding Yan, who was persecuted to death for her faith in “Truthfulness, Compassion, and Tolerance.” Ding became the basis for the film’s protagonist, also named Ding Yan. Hong felt that this story would also be moving to others, and decided to make it into a film. During the filming, funds and other conditions were limited, and a lot of props were made by the actors themselves in order to speed up the production. In order to shorten the filming process, the crew finished the film production in fifteen days, something almost unheard of in the movie industry. Falun Gong practitioners from Canada, Japan, and Washington, DC flew to Taiwan to film the movie together with Taiwanese practitioners. The crew tried to reproduce the CCP’s torture methods as accurately possible when filming. During the scene when Ding Yan was put in a water dungeon, the actress playing her was really put into cold, dirty water with tree leaves in it for the filming. On the day that the crew filmed Falun Gong practitioners appealing on July 20th, the weather was sweltering. Many people were hungry, and it felt like they were experiencing what really happened on that day, further strengthening their resolve to tell the story of Falun Gong pratitioners to more people. The director’s father was one of the actors in this film. During the filming, the director’s grandfather passed away. In order to not affect the filming, her father, often known as “the dutiful son,” covered up his sorrow and hid the news from his daughter. Only after the film was complete did he tell his daughter. The pure-hearted female lead in “Forever” “Forever” was filmed in Japan, was based on the story of Chinese Falun Gong practitioner Zuo Zhigang. Because Zuo practiced Falun Gong, he was taken from his workplace by Li Rongqi, the head of the Shijiazhuang City, Qiaoxi Division Public Security Bureau. He was tortured to death that night, only 33 years old. The new house his parents prepared for him has been held to this day. Some of the lines and details about the male protagonist the movie come directly from Zhigang’s story, and some of the dialogue comes directly from his original words. While the film was being shot, Zuo Zhigang’s body still lay in a funeral parlor, his parents refusing to cremate the body. They are sure that the authorities used lies to trick them and that Zhigang was tortured to death. They believe that the truth about their son’s death will come to light one day. The director said that the most difficult part of shooting the movie was choosing the female lead. The female lead had just entered society, and with a pure heart, had a strong sense of justice and responsibility. Finding such an ideal actress for this role was difficult, and the director finally found the right person the day before shooting. The actors worked day and night during shooting. During the large-scale Falun Gong exercise site shooting, almost all of the Falun Gong practitioners in Japan traveled long distances to participate. The Real Tears of “Awakening” In one scene in “Awakening” where the actor is supposed to cry, in order to help the male actor get into the mood, all of the crew members sang the song “Tiananmen Square, Please Tell Me,” the lyrics going, “Tiananmen Square, please tell me, how many disciples have come here for Dafa? The clouds in the sky, you can see the clearest; when facing evil, they are compassionate and peaceful.” The actor and everyone present shed tears upon hearing this song. “Awakening” is based on the story of Changchun Falun Gong practitioner Liu Chengjun and others who risked their lives to break through the CCP media blockade and, in a magnificent feat, used television to broadcast the facts about Falun Gong. Because the director was unable to go to China to film the reincarnation history needed for the script, they decided to film in Korea. Korea’s culture and traditions, in many ways, have a similar appearance to Chinese antiquity, including the costumes, which are extremely similar to ancient Chinese dress. The actress playing Wang Zhaojun wore a Han Dynasty pleated skirt personally designed and produced by a Falun Gong practitioner. One day, the weather report said that there would be a lot of rain in Korea. In order to not let the filming schedule be interrupted, the crew kept shooting. What was surprising was that the only place in Korea that didn’t rain that day was the spot where they were filming. The Power of Kind Deeds in “The Story of Two Artists” “The Story of Two Artists,” a documentary which made its world premeiere at the festival, was filmed in both Australia and New York. It documented artist Professor Zhang Kunlun and traditional Chinese painter Zhang Cuiying. By showing the artistic paths of these two, it shows the audience why they would choose to leave their homeland to move to another country. Hong Wei said that Professor Zhang was fortunate to be rescued from China by the Canadian government. It can be seen that the power of international justice is very important in supporting those facing persecution in China. Their journeys are extremely arduous, so a few kind deeds by the world’s people can change the lives of many in China. “The path that Falun Gong practitioners have taken – staying firm in Truthfulness, Compassion, and Tolerance – they have walked it day and night for fifteen years. None of what they are doing is for themselves; it’s for others. Such a kind group of people face the destruction of their families and even the loss of their own lives,” Hong said. “These movies are filmed as the joint wish of Falun Gong practitioners. These practitioners have not gone through professional training, and some of them were called on last-minute. Those ones have their own jobs and don’t see the script before arriving on site. But they rely on their own heart to tell people the truth about Falun Gong to perform these stories and to describe this kind and tolerant group of people. That’s because this kind and tolerant inner realm came through cultivation and is not something they have to try to feel.” Hong continued, “During the filming, the total cooperation of actors, their encouragement towards one another, and those few stories of Falun Gong practitioners, including interviews of live audience members, often deeply moved me. There are so many Falun Gong practitioners whose stories that are waiting to be heard by the world’s people. So I feel that this is my mission.” (By He Yi, Epoch Times)

Image: Mr. Marco Rojas and his mother. (Photographer: Ziqing Su/The Epochtimes News Paper)

“Forever” tells the story of a male Falun Gong practitioner that was beaten to death by the police on the day before his wedding. This is a true story based on the life of Falun Gong practitioner Zuo Zhigang. In the city of Shijiazhuang, Mr. Zuo Zhigang was taken from his workplace by police captain Li Rongqi. He died after a night of brutal torture. To this day his remains are located in an icebox of the Shijiazhuang Funeral Parlor. Many of the audience were quite moved by this film.

Mr. Marco Rojas, manager of Coca Cola’s Virginia branch, brought his mother to the film festival. After watching “Forever” both were quite shocked by the content of the movie and felt that they learned a lot.

Before watching the movie, Mr. Rojas did not know the persecution of Falun Gong in China. He said “The movie shocked me a lot. I never knew the persecution of Falun Gong before, this is a really great movie, I felt I learned a lot today.

He also likes the character of Falun Gong practitioner in the movie. Mr. Rojas said, “That male main character of Falun Gong practitioner is very moving, his action always encourages the people around him to be better people, he positively affects everyone around him, including his boss and colleagues. He tells other people how to be a better person, people around him all benefit from him, I love this a lot.”He was also impressed with the performances of the actors, he thinks they are all excellent actors.

He continually said, “Also, when I knew this movie was based on a true story, I felt this movie was even more inspirational.

Talking about the persecution of Falun Gong, he said, “The persecution is absolutely wrong, everyone should have the rights and freedom of belief. I am happy that so many people support them, also there is such movie for supporting them, to support those people who are facing the injustice. I hope one day they can get their justice back which they should have.”

He said there should be more movies like this, to help more people know the persecution, “So there will be more people to support Falun Gong.”

(By Epoch Times)