6TH EDITION ★ MARCH 2025 ★ GHENT
Johnny Ma
To Live To Sing
Drama
2019
Zhao Li is the manager of a small Sichuan Opera troupe, living and performing together in a rundown theatre located in the outskirts of Chengdu, China. When she receives the notice of demolition for the theatre, Zhao Li hides the news from everyone else, fearing that this could spell the end of her opera troupe: besides the physical demolition of their space, it’s the life of her “family” that is at stake. As she struggles to search for a new theatre for them to both sing and live in, the opera and its fantastic characters slowly begin to seep into her real world.
100 min
Mandarin
About the Director
Born as Ma Nan in Shanghai, China, Johnny first immigrated to Toronto at the age of ten. Johnny graduated from the film program at Columbia University and was a fellow at the Sundance Institute Screenwriting and Directing Lab in 2014. In 2012, Johnny moved back to China to make his thesis film 'A Grand Canal', which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. In 2016, 'Old Stone', Johnny’s directorial debut world premiered at the Berlinale. It was awarded the Best Canadian First Feature Award at the Toronto International Film Festival and Best First Feature at the Canadian Screen Awards. The film was nominated in five other categories, including Best Film.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
