Documentary on China's Cultural Revolution to be Screened at Club Sept. 25

"The Revolutionary," a documentary about the Chinese Cultural Revolution, will be shown at the Club beginning at 6:30 pm Sept. 25.

Chairman Mao Zedong's call to "make revolution" was answered by tens of millions of Chinese and one American. The Revolutionary is a feature-length documentary film about the Maoist Era and Sidney Rittenberg, an American who played an unprecedented role for a foreigner in Chinese politics.

In Mao's last stand to hold on to power and to his political legacy, Rittenberg's personal relationship with China's leaders brought him both prominence and a long stay in Beijing's Prison No. 1. This film cannot be shown publicly in China today, a reflection of what one contemporary Chinese writer has called "China's historical amnesia." These events of the Maoist Era, to which Rittenberg bears witness, have been all but removed from China's official history.

Irv Drasnin, the co-producer, writer and interviewer for The Revolutionary, will introduce the film and answer questions afterwards. His experience in broadcast journalism, in documentary films and in China covers some 40 years at CBS News and PBS. Among his documentaries are Misunderstanding China, Looking for Mao, and China After Tiananmen. He has received a DuPont-Columbia award as well as awards from the Directors Guild and the Writers Guild. He holds a M.A. in Chinese Studies from Harvard.

To watch the trailer for "The Revolutionary," see http://revolutionarymovie.com/index.html

Admission is $5 for NPC members, $10 for non-members. To register, see http://press.org/events/revolutionary-screening#tickets