Abstract
Clara Law’s documentary, Letters to Ali (2004), follows the journey of Australian woman human rights activist, Trish Kerbi, as she travels to the internment camp where a young Afghan political refugee, Ali, awaits the determination of his request for asylum. Multilayered, the film is not only about Trish and Ali, but also about Trish’s road trip with her family and Law—uncovering their own stories of displacement, exile, and loss. The kinship Law clearly feels for Trish becomes part of a cross-cultural exchange that includes Hong Kong, Europe, Australia, and the Middle East. By taking up the camera to further her cause, Law puts herself on screen to provide a parallel for both her subjects—as a woman involved in a cause and as a sojourner in exile in a foreign land. The analysis teases out the complex weave of postcolonial hierarchies, imperial legacies, and contemporary gender identities as depicted in this cinematic reflection on gender, human rights, exile, and immigration.
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Filmography
A Better Tomorrow III: Love and Death in Saigon (英雄本色3-夕陽之歌). Directed by Tsui Hark. 1989.
Boat People (投奔怒海). Directed by Ann Hui. 1981.
The Boy from Vietnam (來客). Directed by Ann Hui. 1978.
Floating Life (浮生). Directed by Clara Law. 1996.
Goddess of 1967 (遇上1967的女神). Directed by Clara Law. 2000.
La Jetée. Directed by Chris Marker. 1962.
Letter from Siberia. Directed by Chris Marker. 1957.
Letter to Jane. Directed by Jean-Luc Godard and Jean-Pierre Gorin. 1972.
Letters to Ali. Directed by Clara Law. 2004.
Red Earth (赤地). Directed by Clara Law. 2010.
The Story of Woo Viet (胡越的故事). Directed by Ann Hui. 1981.
To Liv(e) (浮世戀曲). Directed by Evans Chan. 1992.
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Marchetti, G. (2018). Clara Law, Asia, and World Cinema: Letters to Ali (2004). In: Magnan-Park, A., Marchetti, G., Tan, S. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Asian Cinema. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95822-1_33
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