Li Shaohong is one of the only female directors among China's famed "Fifth Generation filmmakers." Like THE GREEN HAT (shown at HFFF 2004) STOLEN LIFE reflects the difficulties and confusions of young adults trying to find their way in the rapidly changing economic and cultural landscape of the new China. The film's heroine leaves her rural home to attend college in the city. Her naiveté makes her easy prey for a sweet-talking truck driver who romances her, gets her pregnant, and then betrays her in the worst possible way. What's marvelous about the film, besides the way Li's supple DV camera follows the young woman like her own shadow, is the way she gradually overcomes her pain and desire for revenge and finds agency through her misfortune. Together Li and her expressive lead actress convince us that this change, rather than being grafted on to fulfill a political agenda, comes from within the young woman herself. (Amy Taubin)

2005 Tribeca Film Festival: WINNER Best Narrative Feature

Director: Li Shaohong
Producer: Li Xiaowan

Li Shaohong is one of the most famous female directors in China. She's also considered one of the Fifth Generation directors together with classmates like Zhang Yimou, Chen Kaige and Tian Zhuangzhauang. She shot her first thriller, THE CASE OF THE SILVER SNAKE, and won international acclaim for BLOODY MORNING (Silver Leopard in Locarno and top prize in Nantes). She later directed two series for Asian TV: Ren Jian Si Yue Tian and Orange Turn Ripe.