By Eptochtimes – Li Xiao
Chinese student Wang Jinwei was awarded with the Mid-length Television Movie Prize for his movie, Wish, at the American University Movie Art Festival on April 30. It was the first time a Chinese movie was awarded this prize.
Wish is based on the lives of two young Chinese girls who describe how their lives drastically changed in July 1999 by losing their parents, when Chinese dictator Jiang Zemin banned Falun Gong, a popular qigong practice that was introduced in 1992. Many Falun Gong practitioners, determined not to give up their beliefs despite intense pressure from the government, have been beaten to death, tortured, forced into homelessness and destitution. Families have been pulled apart with many young children’s lives being affected.
The young actresses in the movie, Guoguo and Daodao, are good students in school and study Chinese every weekend at a local Minghui School in Washington, D.C.
Last autumn, Guoguo’s grandmother, who also practices Falun Gong, was arrested by the “610 office” and for two months was sent to brainwashing classes where practitioners are often tortured. [Editor’s Note: The “610 Office” is a Gestapo-like government agency devoted to persecuting Falun Gong, given power over all other agencies and bureaus.] For the first few weeks, family members were very worried as they were not allowed to know her whereabouts. Guoguo’s grandfather finally was allowed to see his wife for very short time on their fortieth wedding anniversary. Guoguo’s grandparents were denied passports to go abroad. Guoguo misses her grandparents very much and doesn’t know when she will see them again.
“In the movie, the two children losing their parents represents tens of thousands of innocent children whose hearts are deeply wounded. These children wish, as well as tens of thousands of other people, that they could return to a more peaceful time and be with their parents again,” said Wang.
“All the dialogue is in Chinese with English subtitles. The success of the movie was also the result of the two little actresses’ memorizing their lines in Chinese,” said Wang.
“The movie was produced to express the wishes of tens of thousands of persecuted children. Guoguo and Daodao are also Falun Gong practitioners in the United States where it is freely practiced there, as well as in 60 other countries.”
However, the girls cannot forget that on the other side of the ocean, in China, their friends are suffering painfully. The children spent all their spare time rehearsing the dialogue to express Mainland children’s “wish” that the persecution end,” added Wang.
With Wang’s permission, several television stations have broadcast the movie
Posting date: 13/May/2004
Original article date: 12/May/2004
Category: Media Reports
