Judge - Venice Photocall

Mei Ting

Ni Dahong

Director Liu Jie

Mei Ting,  Liu Jie, Ni Dahong

Judge: Photocall - 66th Venice Film Festival (Zimbio)
This story happened in 1997 in a small city in northern China. A criminal named Qiu Wu was sentenced to death for stealing two cars. The lead judge on this case, Judge Tian, had just lost his daughter in a tragic traffic accident—she was killed by a stolen car. A change in the law creates an opportunity for Qiu Wu to avoid execution... At the same time, Qiu Wu tries to lighten his sentence by offering to donate one of his kidneys—creating a chance for a rich businessman named Lee to survive a terminal illness. Lee sets to work paying Qiu Wu’s family and greasing the wheels of the system so he can secure the kidney... Lee discovers that the only way to secure the kidney is after Qiu Wu’s execution—an execution that is now being questioned based on the new changes in the law... On the execution ground, a hard decision awaits Judge Tian...(Venice Film Festival summary)

Mei Ting's early years in the PLA (article is circa 1998)