Press Club plans screening of 'The Revolutionary' on Wednesday, Sept. 25, 6:30 p.m.
The National Press Club plans to screen "The Revolutionary" in the Conference Rooms on Wednesday, Sept. 25 starting at 6:30 p.m.
Admission to the screening is $5 for Press Club members and $10 for general admission. This is a ticketed event. Click here to jump to the ticket form.
During China's Cultural Revolution, one of the most destructive and least understood political upheavals of the 20th Century, Chairman Mao'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 as a foreigner in Chinese politics.
Rittenberg's personal relationship with China's leaders brought him both prominence and a long stay in Beijing's Prison Number One. It should be noted that 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 the PRC's official history.
Irv Drasnin, co-producer, writer and interviewer for "The Revolutionary," plans to attend to introduce the film and for a Question and Answer session following the screening.
Drasnin's experience in broadcast journalism, in documentary films and in China covers about 40 years at CBS News and PBS. Among his documentaries are "Misunderstanding China," "Looking for Mao," and "China After Tiananmen." His numerous documentary-film awards include the DuPont-Columbia and those of the Directors Guild and the Writers Guild. He holds a Master of Arts in Chinese Studies from Harvard.
Watch the trailer below: