Co-Presented by Center for Asian American Media

(XIAO WANYI)

China, 1933, approximately 110 minutes

Directed by Sun Yu

Cast: Ruan Lingyu, Li Lili

The blend of romance and social commentary was a trademark of director Sun Yu’s work and he is considered one of the greatest filmmakers in Chinese history. Little Toys was voted one of the hundred best Chinese films by the Hong Kong Film Awards in 2005 and its beautiful star Ruan Lingyu is one of the great icons of Chinese cinema. She is superb as a rural traditional toymaker who moves with her daughter (Li Lili) to Shanghai after her husband dies and her son is kidnapped. Set in the late ’20s and early ’30s, Little Toys vividly captures a tumultuous time in Chinese history.

Accompanied by Donald Sosin on the grand piano.

Introduced by Richard Meyer