The screening on 22 August will be introduced by Prof Chris Berry (KCL).

Center Stage marks the fourth collaboration between Stanley Kwan and renowned screenwriter Chiu Kang-chien, following Love Unto Waste (1986), Rouge (1987), and Full Moon in New York (1989). Far from a conventional biopic, the film reimagines the life of silent-screen icon Ruan Lingyu - often dubbed the 'Chinese Garbo' - through a layered blend of period reconstruction, archival footage and documentary-style interviews, constantly shifting between history and its representation. Maggie Cheung’s extraordinary performance captures both Ruan’s vulnerability and star charisma, earning her the Silver Bear for Best Actress at the Berlin International Film Festival.

Set in 1930s Shanghai, then the center of Chinese cinema, the film traces Ruan Lingyu’s rise to fame and the personal scandals that made her a target of the city’s tabloid press. As her private life becomes increasingly entangled with public scrutiny, tragedy looms. Interweaving past and present, screen and reality, Center Stage vividly recreates Old Shanghai while serving both as a homage to a legendary star and a reflection on stardom and the pressures faced by women in the public eye.

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Cast:
Maggie Cheung, Tony Leung, Han Chin, Carina Lau