Oscar and the Lady in Pink
VIEW EVENT DETAILS
Film Screening and Dialogue
Registration 3:15pm
Film Screening and Dialogue: 3:30pm
Close: 6:00pm
Ten-year-old Oscar is terminally ill and spending his last days in hospital. Neither the doctors nor his parents dare speak the truth about his illness. Only Rose, the grumpy woman who delivers his pizzas, talks straight to him. To take his mind off things, Rose suggests playing a game with Oscar. They make believe that each day onwards counts for 10 years. Through this, she offers Oscar a whole life in the space of a few days. To encourage him to open up, Rose also suggests that he should write to God. In his letters, Oscar admits to his pain, his worries, and talks of his joys, his first love, the passing of time. A unique friendship grows between Oscar and Rose. Neither of them have any idea just how much this complicity will change their destiny. Join Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt, author of the book and director of the film, Oscar and the Lady in Pink, for a post-screening dialogue moderated by the director, Fredric Mao.
Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt is a French and Belgian dramatist, novelist, fiction writer and film director. Over the last two decades, he has become one of the most read and acted French-language authors in the world. Acclaimed by audiences and critics alike, his plays have won several Molières and the French Academy’s Grand Prix du Théâtre. Much of his literary career has been devoted to writing novels. His books have been translated into 43 languages, over 50 countries regularly perform his plays, and he is now the most studied author in schools and colleges. After receiving a doctorate in philosophy from the prestigious Ecole Normale Superieure, Mr. Schmitt established himself in theater with The Visitor, a play that posits a meeting between Freud and (possibly) God. The work soon became a classic and is now part of the international dramatic repertoire. Further successes quickly followed including Enigma Variations with Alain Delon and Francis Huster and Partners in Crime with Charlotte Rampling and Bernard Giraudeau. He lives in Brussels and is the occupant of Seat 33 of the Royal Belgian French Language and Literature Academy, previously occupied by Colette and Cocteau.
Fredric Chun-fai Mao established his acting and directing career with professional theater companies in the U.S., and made his Broadway acting debut in the original Harold Prince/Stephen Sondheim musical Pacific Overtures. At 27, he became Artistic Director of the Napa Valley Theater Company in California. In Hong Kong, Mr. Mao served as Head of Acting at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts (HKAPA) and Artistic Director at the Hong Kong Repertory Theater. In 2014, he became Founding Chair of the HKAPA’s School of Chinese Opera. His productions include Sweet & Sour Hong Kong, Love in a Fallen City, Secret of Resurrection, The Liaisons and most recently, Tonnochy. He was awarded Best Director five times at the Hong Kong Drama Awards and Artist of the Year (Stage Director) from the Hong Kong Artists Guild. He is the recipient of the Bronze Bauhinia Star from the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region for his contributions to the Hong Kong performing arts scene. A board member of the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority, Mr. Mao obtained his Master of Fine Arts degree in theater arts from the University of Iowa. (Moderator)
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