Co-winner of the 1993 Berlin Festival (with Ang Lee’s THE WEDDING BANQUET), WOMEN FROM THE LAKE OF SCENTED SOULS offers a vivid snapshot of China during an unprecedented time of transformation, as the country sought to undo, at breakneck speed, the damage caused by years of economic and social stagnation. The feisty heroine Xiang Ersao, who runs a small rural enterprise making sesame oil, is drawn into a brave, and at times bewildering, new world of joint business ventures and extramarital affairs, all the while having to cope with an abusive husband and an adult son who suffers from epilepsy. The strong/compassionate female, feckless/violent male combination is harnessed by acclaimed director Xie Fei, whose work is rarely seen in the West, into a powerful and gloriously photographed work. Aided by a wonderful central performance from the redoubtable Siqin Gaowa, Xie’s film shows that although the trappings of hardline Maoism could be easily jettisoned, the much deeper-rooted customs and beliefs of China are proving rather more resilient. Xie is Professor of film at the Beijing Film Academy.