Professor Zhang Screens Her Documentary at Ohio University

THE POST ATHENS () -- Alden Library had the honor of hosting a decorated Ohio University alumna.She is the recipient of the Women in Film and Distinguished Alumni awards from Ohio University, and she is associate professor at San Francisco State’s School of Cinema. She is Weimin Zhang. Zhang came to Ohio Thursday for a screening of her latest documentary, “Hutong Days,” followed by a Q&A session for an audience of 40 people. “Hutong Days” is a short that uses the observations and personal experiences of Zhang, who grew up in a hutong, which is a group of narrow alleys and courtyards, small shops and restaurants or family homes. Zhang explores the impact of the modernization of China and its effect on Beijing’s hutong residents. “I knew (the hutongs) were going to be gone soon, so I set out in 2004,” Zhang said. “But I kept going back and forth and figuring more out every year — but at the same time more was changing every year, and I recognized my own neighborhood less and less.”