Chinese New Year Special Screening

Prince Charles Cinema, London (Chinatown) 23rd January 9pm

Starring: Zhao Jun, Vivid Wang, Jiang Xiduo, Masanobu Otsuka, Virgin Chen.
China / 2010 / Cert tbc / 91 mins / In Mandarin with English subtitles / Colour, HD


Terracotta Distribution is pleased to announce the theatrical release of ‘Red Light Revolution’ (Cert TBC), the story of a laid off cab driver who opens an adult-toy store to make ends meet directed by Sam Voutas.
Given its sensibilities, it has not had a release in China yet and U.K. is the first territory in the world to release it.

Director Sam Voutas references ‘The Full Monty’ in terms of the economic backdrop and the financial toils of the every day man - “Our film aims to strike a universal chord in terms of the struggles to get by with one's head held high in tough economic times”.

This movie is based on fact. Beijing possibly has more sex shops per square kilometre than anywhere on Earth; why shouldn’t there be movies about this?
Sam Voutas says: “Red Light Revolution offers, I hope, an entertaining wake-up call. China is traditional, yes—but it’s also a nation that is embracing capitalism like it’s going out of style, overhauling virtually every industry and activity. In my neighbourhood alone, there are three adult stores within a block of me. Business, it seems, is booming.”

Synopsis:
A humorous western Hollywood-style look at Chinese tradition colliding with modern sexual values, ‘Red Light Revolution’ is the story of an ordinary Beijinger who opens an adult shop to make ends meet, sparking a sexual revolution in his conservative neighbourhood.
Shunzi, like many men of his generation, is a hard worker who simply can’t afford to provide the type of life his spouse desires. When he is fired from his cab company, his wife promptly leaves him and throws him out of the house he bought her. With nowhere else to go, Shunzi decides to step behind China’s new “red curtain” and secretly open an adult shop. His supplier turns out to be a gangster who will break his legs if he doesn’t deliver cash each week and when the neighbourhood watch discovers that Shunzi has been operating without a permit, Shunzi faces the threat of losing everything. Shunzi and his neighbours have a choice: accept defeat, or fight for the shop that has unexpectedly united the community.


Director
Sam Voutas, Greek born in Australia, is the son of a former Australian diplomat and a politician from Papua New Guinea's founding independence party. Voutas was raised in capital cities across Asia and the Pacific - first in Manila, later in Taipei, then on to Beijing where he currently resides.
A graduate of Australia's premiere arts university, Voutas’ two student films both won awards at national film festivals in Australia. He has since worked with many of Asia's brightest and loudest filmmakers including awards winning "City of Life and Death".
Voutas' China documentaries have screened on TV across the Far East region, New Zealand and Australia.
Voutas is a nomad child of an Asia that is increasingly working outside of their own borders. "Red Light Revolution", which was nominated for Best Unproduced Screenplay at the 2008 Australian Inside Film Awards, is his second feature film.

Red Light Revolution features a cast of rising Asian actors, including Zhao Jun, Vivid Wang, Jiang Xiduo, Masanobu Otsuka (“City of Life and Death, “TiananMen”), Tess Liu (“Karate Kid”) Tian Huimin (“Mao’s Last Dancer”), and Ji Qing (“Gasp”).


Fun Facts
1: Number of sex shops in Beijing in 1996
2000+: Number of sex shops in Beijing in 2010
1.3 trillion: Number of condoms made in China every year
70%: Percentage of world’s sex toys made in China
Shanghai: Site of the world’s largest sex expo
10,000 +: Number of sex toys companies in China
1: Number of feature films about these shops