New Woman

New Woman is an experimental film that investigates the look of New Woman in Chinese silent screen. Through the use of archival film footage, derived from twenty-eight Chinese silent films made from 1922 to 1935, the film explores patriarchal perspectives in the portrayal of women in Chinese silent cinema, and deconstructs their appearances in order to reveal the impressive talent and outlook of the New Woman, which have been largely ignored and forgotten. The film features four thematic sections, which are Virtue, Modeng Woman, Unbound Feet and New Woman, with intertitles taken from the Chinese silent films. The footage of each section has been manipulated differently by using various hand processing techniques and artisanal forms of manipulation on celluloid. A specific effect has been used for each section in relation to its theme. The film is accompanied by low-keyed sound effects, which allow viewers to concentrate on the silent film footage. By editing the archival film footage into a consistent sequence with a narrative logic, and reinterpreting the footage with different visual effects, the film discloses the unique image of the New Woman of the Chinese silent cinema.