Abstract:

"For more than thirty centuries, women in China were maimed and crippled in the name of beauty and obedience. The custom was called "footbinding," and the fight against it triggered one of the biggest, most overlooked struggle for human rights in history. Lotus is a half-hour narrative film set in this turmoil. The place is rural 1914 China and the film focuses on Lotus, a traditional woman with bound feet who must decide whether or not to bind her daughter Joy's feet. Her strict, but loving Mother-in-law insists that Joy's feet be bound in order to guarantee her a secure future. Lotus, for the first time in her life does not blindly obey... "http://www.deepfocusproductions.com/page_html/film_LOTUS0.html Shot on location in the remote villge of Luk King. Recording artist Lucia Hwong portrays Lotus as well as composing the soundtrack. The role of mother-in-law is played by Lisa Lu, winner of three Chinese Oscars and Hwong's real-life mother. "This story is not only a fascinating truth about the past in China, it is a story about our choices today." --Gloria Steinem