HANGZHOU—Jin Xingzheng, a doctoral supervisor at the College of Media and International Culture and a scholar of the Hundred Talents Program, will be presenting his documentary film Mama on the upcoming Mother’s Day.
Mama documents the toil, tears, and sweat of Luo Changjie, a mother in her 90s. She has been attending to her sixty-year-old son who is traumatized by the war and is suffering from severe PTSD.
The film was awarded a special mention at the 42nd Hong Kong International Film Festival for “Luo, the protagonist of Mama, is all the more valuable in contemporary society where traditional family ethics are torn apart by the times.”
Luo Changjie, born in a Tujia village in 1928, led a hard life in the mountains. In 1968, she had to part with her son Qi Caizheng as he joined the army. For the following six years, Luo was unable to see him until he returned home heavily wounded from a mission.
Qi used to be violent when he was younger, once punching his mother so hard that she lost sight in one eye. While his aggression has mellowed down over the years, it still surfaces when he slaps himself. In the face of her son tortured by memory loss and mental illness, Luo remains loving and determined, saying “He is my son. I will not let him be our country’s burden.”
Luo’s devotion to her son was recognized by the government in 2013. She was granted the national title of ethical role model and was greeted by President Xi Jinping.
Mama probes into motherhood, obligation, and responsibility by providing an introspective perspective on a traditional mindset many Chinese people have—“raise children to support your old age.”
Director Jin Xingzheng’s works include Luan Tan (2020), Cold World (2016), and Gone (2015).