Aliza Ma on AN ELEPHANT SITTING STILL

One of the most acclaimed and ambitious feature debuts in recent memory, Hu Bo’s award-winning masterpiece is a testament to the power of personal filmmaking. In this excerpt from an interview accompanying the film’s streaming premiere on the Criterion Channel, programmer Aliza Ma offers some invaluable context on the rebellious era of Chinese filmmaking that gave rise to it and the sociopolitical turbulence that serves as the story’s backdrop.