A still from the film "Eternal Spring." (Courtesy of Lofty Sky Pictures)
Filmmaker Jason Loftus’s animated documentary “Eternal Spring” took two top awards following its North American premiere screening at the Hot Docs 2022 festival earlier this month.
Having already won double prizes at its world premiere at the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival in March, the film’s success and impact on audiences is a testament to Loftus’s unwavering resolve to continue production despite facing threats and intimidation from Chinese authorities while making the film.
With the film’s U.S. premiere screening coming up at the New York Human Rights Watch Film Festival on May 23 and May 24, as well as screenings at five other festivals across the United States over the next four weeks (see venues and dates below), we reached out to Loftus for a Q&A to find out more about his motivation behind the film, the interference he encountered while producing it, and audience responses so far during the film’s first few festival screenings around the globe.
Jason Loftus, director/producer of “Eternal Spring,” at a screening of the film in Toronto on May 3, 2022. 
A still from the film “Eternal Spring.” (Courtesy of Lofty Sky Pictures)
A still from the film “Eternal Spring.” (Courtesy of Lofty Sky Pictures)The Film, the Filmmaker, and CCP Interference
Animated documentary “Eternal Spring”—which won both the Hot Docs Audience Award and the Rogers Audience Award for Best Canadian Feature on May 8—along with Loftus’s 2020 investigative documentary, “Ask No Questions,” would turn out to be a thorn in the side of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Both films explore the subject of religious persecution in China, namely, of Falun Gong, a meditation practice rooted in traditional Chinese belief systems; its core values: truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance.
In our Q&A below, Loftus reveals he was working on the production of both films simultaneously when Chinese authorities made it clear to him that they knew what he was up to.
A Peabody Award-winning filmmaker and four-time Canadian Screen Award nominee, Loftus owns Lofty Sky Entertainment and its subsidiary, Lofty Sky Pictures, producing feature films, television series, games, and apps. “Eternal Spring” is his second feature documentary as producer/director.
Animated documentary “Eternal Spring”—which won both the Hot Docs Audience Award and the Rogers Audience Award for Best Canadian Feature on May 8—along with Loftus’s 2020 investigative documentary, “Ask No Questions,” would turn out to be a thorn in the side of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Both films explore the subject of religious persecution in China, namely, of Falun Gong, a meditation practice rooted in traditional Chinese belief systems; its core values: truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance.
In our Q&A below, Loftus reveals he was working on the production of both films simultaneously when Chinese authorities made it clear to him that they knew what he was up to.
A Peabody Award-winning filmmaker and four-time Canadian Screen Award nominee, Loftus owns Lofty Sky Entertainment and its subsidiary, Lofty Sky Pictures, producing feature films, television series, games, and apps. “Eternal Spring” is his second feature documentary as producer/director.
Filmmaker Jason Loftus (L) and Artist Daxiong in a still of the “Eternal Spring” documentary. (Courtesy of Lofty Sky Pictures)
Loftus’s directorial debut documentary, “Ask No Questions,” was an investigative piece on a Chinese government conspiracy involving a staged fiery public suicide in 2001 that aimed to pin the blame on Falun Gong and justify persecution of the faith. The film demonstrates the deadly power of media under authoritarian control, a theme many in the West can now relate to within the current climate of world affairs.
Follow-up documentary “Eternal Spring” further explores the issue of authoritarian government and media control, along with what many would consider unbelievably courageous actions taken in an attempt to break free from it. The animated film tells the true story of a group of Falun Gong adherents who in 2002 succeeded at hijacking a Chinese state television broadcast to counter the CCP’s narrative about their faith; a stirring and inspiring tale of defiance and determination in defending religious freedom in the face of violent, deadly repression.
In the midst of the police raids that followed this unprecedented, daring television signal takeover, comic book illustrator Daxiong (“Justice League,” “Star Wars”), himself a Falun Gong adherent, fled his hometown, the city of Changchun (in Chinese, 長春 eternal spring). He was eventually arrested in 2008 because his art offended the CCP, and he subsequently exiled to New York City.
The film follows Daxiong’s personal journey—his memories of the television airways hijacking and the aftermath—with his art forming the basis and inspiration for the film’s 3D animation.
Loftus’s directorial debut documentary, “Ask No Questions,” was an investigative piece on a Chinese government conspiracy involving a staged fiery public suicide in 2001 that aimed to pin the blame on Falun Gong and justify persecution of the faith. The film demonstrates the deadly power of media under authoritarian control, a theme many in the West can now relate to within the current climate of world affairs.
Follow-up documentary “Eternal Spring” further explores the issue of authoritarian government and media control, along with what many would consider unbelievably courageous actions taken in an attempt to break free from it. The animated film tells the true story of a group of Falun Gong adherents who in 2002 succeeded at hijacking a Chinese state television broadcast to counter the CCP’s narrative about their faith; a stirring and inspiring tale of defiance and determination in defending religious freedom in the face of violent, deadly repression.
In the midst of the police raids that followed this unprecedented, daring television signal takeover, comic book illustrator Daxiong (“Justice League,” “Star Wars”), himself a Falun Gong adherent, fled his hometown, the city of Changchun (in Chinese, 長春 eternal spring). He was eventually arrested in 2008 because his art offended the CCP, and he subsequently exiled to New York City.
The film follows Daxiong’s personal journey—his memories of the television airways hijacking and the aftermath—with his art forming the basis and inspiration for the film’s 3D animation.
A still of the “Eternal Spring” documentary, which tells the story of a group of Chinese activists who hack into Chinese state television to counter the government narrative on Falun Gong. (Courtesy of Lofty Sky Pictures)
Artist Daxiong in a still of the “Eternal Spring” documentary.‘Eternal Spring’ Wins Top Film Awards Despite CCP Interference—Q&A With Filmmaker Jason Loftus (theepochtimes.com)
Artist Daxiong in a still of the “Eternal Spring” documentary.‘Eternal Spring’ Wins Top Film Awards Despite CCP Interference—Q&A With Filmmaker Jason Loftus (theepochtimes.com)
No comments:
Post a Comment