IN THE West, Zhang Yuan would be hailed as a wunderkind by now. Instead, the 30-year-old director of China's first independent feature film, Mama, barely has an outlet for his work.
At the Hongkong Film Festival screening of his award-winning feature about a woman struggling to take care of her mentally disabled son, Zhang is also giving a select few a look at the rough cut of his upcoming Beijing Bastards, a tale of disaffected youth in the capital.
Structured heavily around music, the film features original songs by Cui Jian, China's hottest rock star, and two bands.
Live concert footage gives the film an energy which propels it along de- spite the stunning alienation expressed by the characters.
For the film's theme song, Quan Ron (which loosely translates as ''openness and flexibility''), Zhang has Cui recite the lyrics before belting them out with his rasping, gut-wrenching voice.
''I feel it is very important to the film that the lyrics be recited and that they are translated into English,'' said Zhang.