Mao's Last Dancer
From the Academy Award nominated director Bruce Beresford (Driving Miss Daisy, Tender Mercies) comes the inspirational true story of Lie Cunxin and his extraordinary journey from poverty to stardom.
Based on the best selling autobiography, Mao's Last Dancer is a moving story about the quest for freedom and the courage it takes to live your own life.
At the age of 11, Li was plucked from a poor Chinese village by Madame Mao's cultural delegates and taken to Beijing to study ballet.
In 1979, during a cultural exchange to Texas, he fell in love with an American woman.
Two years later, he managed to defect and went on to perform as a principal dancer for the Houston Ballet and as a principal artist with the Australian Ballet
The film beautifully captures the struggles and triumphs, as well as the intoxicating effects of first love and celebrity aming the pain of exile.
Starring: Kyle McLachlan, Bruce Greenwood, Joan Chen, Jack Thompson, Aden Young, Amanda Schull, Shungbao Wang