Li Lianjie, better known by his stage name Jet Li, is a Chinese-born Singaporean martial artist, actor and philanthropist. He is widely regarded as one of the most iconic Chinese film stars and one of the most renowned martial arts stars of his generation.
Meshes of the Afternoon is a 1943 American experimental silent short film directed by and starring wife-and-husband team, Maya Deren and Alexandr Hackenschmied.
Maya Deren was a Ukrainian-born American experimental filmmaker and important part of the avant-garde in the 1940s and 1950s. Deren was also a choreographer, dancer, film theorist, poet, lecturer, writer, and photographer.
Chao-Li Chi was a Chinese-born American actor and dancer who worked extensively in American television, including his best known role as Chao-Li, the faithful majordomo and chauffeur of Jane Wyman's character in Falcon Crest. Additionally, his film credits include Big Trouble in Little China, The Joy Luck Club, The Nutty Professor, Wedding Crashers and The Prestige. He was featured in the short film by Maya Deren, Meditation on Violence, in 1948.
The All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU) is the national trade union center and people's organization of the People's Republic of China. It is the largest trade union in the world with 302 million members in 1,713,000 primary trade union organizations. The ACFTU is divided into 31 regional federations and 10 national industrial unions. The ACFTU is the country's sole legally mandated trade union, with which all enterprise-level trade unions must be affiliated. There has been dispute over whether ACFTU is an independent trade union or a trade union at all. It directs a public college, the China University of Labor Relations.
Alexandr Hackenschmied, born Alexander Siegfried George Hackenschmied, known later as Alexander Hammid was a Czech-American photographer, film director, cinematographer and film editor. He immigrated to the U.S. in 1938 and became involved in American avant-garde cinema. He is best known for three films: Crisis (1939), Meshes of the Afternoon (1943) and To Be Alive! (1964). He made Meshes of the Afternoon with Maya Deren, to whom he was married from 1942 to 1947. His second marriage was to the photographer Hella Heyman, who had also collaborated with Hammid and Deren on several films.
Talley Beatty was born in Cedar Grove, Louisiana, a section of Shreveport, but grew up in Chicago, Illinois. He is considered one of the greatest of African American choreographers, and also bears the titles dancer, doctor, and dance company director. After studying under Katherine Dunham and Martha Graham, Beatty went on do solo work and choreograph his own works which center on the social issues, experiences, and everyday life of African Americans. Beatty and his technique and style of dancing were both praised and criticized by critics and dancers of his day.
Wudangquan is a class of Chinese martial arts. In contemporary China, Chinese martial arts styles are generally classified into two major groups: Wudang (Wutang), named after the Wudang Mountains; and Shaolin, named after the Shaolin Monastery. Whereas Shaolin includes many martial art styles, Wudangquan includes only a few arts that use the focused mind to control the body. This typically encompasses tai chi, xingyiquan and baguazhang, but must also include bajiquan and Wudang Sword. Although the name Wudang distinguishes the skills, theories and applications of the internal arts from those of the Shaolin styles, these arts did not originate in the Wudang Mountains: the name Wudang comes from a popular Chinese legend that purports the genesis of tai chi and Wudang Sword by an immortal, Taoist hermit named Zhang Sanfeng who lived in the monasteries of Wudang Mountain. Wudang quan is often used synonymously with Neijia, but Neijia is a broader term that also encompasses Aikido and Qigong, which are not Wudang quan.
The American Film Institute Award for Independent Film and Video Artists, subtitled and generally known as the Maya Deren Award, was an award presented to filmmakers and video artists by the American Film Institute to honor independent filmmaking. Named for the avant-garde experimental film artist Maya Deren, it was given from 1986 through 1996.
Duck Duck Goose is a 2018 animated adventure comedy film directed by Chris Jenkins, who wrote the original story and co-wrote the screenplay with Rob Muir, Scott Atkinson, and Tegan West. It stars the voices of Jim Gaffigan, Zendaya and Carl Reiner. An international co-production between the United States, China and the United Kingdom, the film was released in China in March 2018 with an intended North American theatrical release date of April 2018; it was quietly pulled from the schedule following the closure of Open Road Films and was made available on Netflix on July 20, 2018.
The Private Life of a Cat is a 1947 black and white experimental documentary film by Alexander Hammid and Maya Deren. Archive.org summarizes the film as an "intimate study" of a female cat who gives birth to a litter of kittens and shows their maturation.
Taiwan Tornado is a Taiwanese television series that was shown on SET Taiwan from 24 February 2004 to 22 June 2005, lasting 345 episodes.
Ritual in Transfigured Time is a 1946 American experimental silent short film directed by Maya Deren. Like Deren's previous work, A Study in Choreography for Camera (1945), she explores the use of dance on film through the lens of commentary of societal norms, metamorphosis, and anthropomorphism. The film is notable for its disjointed storytelling and use of slow motion, freeze framing, and unique blend of stage dance and film.
Hella Hammid was an American photographer whose career included teaching at UCLA. Her freelance photographs appeared in diverse publications including Life, Ebony, The Sun and The New York Times. Her softly backlit picture of two young Italian girls dancing, watched by other children in front of the abutments of a stone building, was chosen by Edward Steichen for his 1955 world-touring MoMA exhibition The Family of Man, which was seen by nine million visitors.
Ensemble for Somnambulists is a 1951 American unfinished experimental silent short. It was written, produced, and directed by Maya Deren. The film was made while Deren was teaching a workshop at the Toronto Film Society. Along with Deren the film was produced by M. Armour and D. Burritt and had cinematography by Graeme Ferguson and Bruce Parsons. The film stars Frank Ionson, Brian Macdonald, Hannah Winner, Cynthia Barrett and Terry Chapman.
Hella Heyman is a cinematographer and actress, known for At Land (1944), Ritual in Transfigured Time (1946) and Invocation: Maya Deren (1987).
The Very Eye of Night is 1955 American experimental silent short film written and directed by Maya Deren, and her last completed film. Made in collaboration with Metropolitan Opera Ballet School, the film was shot in black-and-white in the 16 mm format, and is projected as photographed in the negative.
Season of Strangers is 1959 unfinished American 16 mm black and white Avant-garde-experimental short film directed by Maya Deren.
