The Johns Hopkins community and members of the public gathered on Thursday, April 11, 2024, for a screening of the documentary Invisible Nation, followed by a thought-provoking discussion with the film’s director and a panel of experts.
The MA in Film and Media program co-hosted the event at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg Center at 555 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., in conjunction with JHU’s School of Advanced International Studies and the Council on Foreign Relations.
Invisible Nation explores the election and tenure of Taiwan’s first female president, Tsai Ing-wen. The film’s director, Vanessa Hope, was on hand to introduce the documentary and share insight into its making and the complex themes it explores. Hope is an award-winning director and producer who worked on foreign policy issues at the Council on Foreign Relations prior to embarking on a film career. Producer Ted Hope also attended. The former president of Amazon Studios, Hope’s films have earned 19 Oscar nominations and five Oscar awards.
The documentary and the filmmakers who created it are a fitting example of the type of storytelling the Johns Hopkins MA in Film and Media program aims to produce, says Program Director Sig Libowitz. “Our mission is to help train and motivate our students to be the filmmakers and storytellers they want to be, and our focus is on them and something we call Stories that Matter,” he says. Such stories tie in to who we are and explore scientific, social, cultural, political, and environmental issues that have significance. “Stories that Matter make us reflect, ask questions, and see the world and people living in various parts of the world from a different perspective,” says Libowitz.
Following the film screening, Radio Free Asia President Bay Fang moderated a discussion with Vanessa Hope and a panel of experts that included:
- Ho-fung Hung, the Henry M. and Elizabeth P. Wiesenfeld Professor in Political Economy at the Krieger School and SAIS
- Andrew Mertha, the George and Sadie Hyman Professor of China Studies and director of the SAIS China Global Research Center
- Matthew Pottinger, a former deputy national security adviser and current China program chairman for the Foundation for Defense Democracies
The panel explored the nuances of Taiwan-China relations, the role of the global community, the potential impact of upcoming U.S. elections, and other timely topics.
To wrap up the evening, event guests had an opportunity to connect and converse at a reception sponsored by the Council on Foreign Relations.