Join us for a special screening of Fen, the latest work by award-winning independent documentary filmmaker Jiang Nengjie. This powerful documentary captures the daily struggles and striving of Lao Li, Lianzi and their two sons, a migrant family separated (fen) by household registration-based school admission policies in Chinese supercities.

Their elder son, Manshan, faces the high-stakes challenge of the high school entrance exam, a test that will shape his educational prospects. Meanwhile, the parents fight to accumulate enough points under local policies to secure a household registration—both scores determining whether the family will reunite or remain divided. Through intimate storytelling, Fen sheds light on the emotional and bureaucratic barriers that define the lives of migrant families in China.

Jiang Nengjie, is an independent filmmaker, documentary worker, and director. Born in 1985, he graduated from university in 2008. Originally from Hunan, he has been residing in Guangzhou since 2017. Founder of “Cotton Sand” Video Studio and “Cotton Sand” Village Library. Winner of the Phoenix Television Top Ten Public Welfare Figures Award. His works focus on topics such as left-behind children, war veterans, pneumoconiosis, intellectual disabilities, and sexual minorities. Representative works include "The Children of Village School," "Grade Nine," "Shorty," "Miners, the Horse-keeper, and Pneumoconiosis," "Anti-Japanese War Veteran," "We Will Have Everything," "General’s Attendant Guard," and "Rainbow Cruise." His works have been shortlisted at the Shanghai International Film Festival, Warsaw International Film Festival, Beijing International Film Festival, Phoenix Documentary Awards, and other domestic and international film festivals.”

Following the screening, WSU staff and faculty member Min Yu will lead a panel of distinguished Chinese scholars in a discussion on the film’s themes, the structural challenges faced by migrant families, and the broader implications for education and social mobility in contemporary China.

Chinese Visiting Faculty: 

Dr. Jun Teng, Beijing Normal University 

Dr. Xin Xiang, Beijing Normal University 

Dr. Yun You, East China Normal University 

Dr. Liang Cheng, East China Normal University 

Dr. Xin Yang, Northwest China Normal University 

Dr. Miao Li, Shandong University

Additionally, we will welcome filmmaker Jiang Nengjie via Zoom for a live Q&A, providing a unique opportunity to engage with his creative process and insights.

Schedule of Evening:

5:00 pm - 5:30 pm | Pre-glow refreshments and mingle

5:30 pm - 7:00 pm | Airing of documentary

7:00 pm - 8:00 pm | Live Q&A with filmmaker Jiang Nengjie and panel