China Screen : Searching For Yu Bin

Following the trail of his grandfather Yu Bin, Belgian filmmaker and journalist Jean-Christophe Yu rediscovers Chinese history of the last century, between hope and despair. Along the way he shuffles his child memories fascinated by the great revolutionary China for less heroic realities. He learns of the fate of young Chinese students living in Europe in the 1920-'30s exposing this antagonism that gave birth to the "Pride of China".

Through the discovery of Yu Bin’s path, including in Belgium and in France, the film sheds light on a piece of little known history in the West: on the awareness and the struggle of the Chinese youth of that time for their dignity and respect for their country.

Thus, intermingled with the great history, the fate of Yu Bin is revealed as a compelling, sometimes poetic, but always interesting human adventure. Its unusual course occurs thanks to the extensive research of the director and the many letters written by his grandfather. The numerous historical references and their unique relationship with the personal events discovered through the eyes of Yu Bin transcend the family setting to become universal. In that way, the film helps us to better understand little known facts about China in the first half of last century.