by RUPERT BOTTENBERG

Although his birth in 1960 fell on September 11, Chinese émigré artist Wang Shui-Bo can point to another dramatic, horrific day in history as a turning point in his life. June 4, 1989 - the day the People's Liberation Army attacked demonstrators in Beijing's Tiananmen Square, killing not only countless pro-reform students but also any illusions Wang held about Chinese communism.

The young Wang was a true believer. Born into a family with a strong revolutionary tradition, he grew up in awe of Chairman Mao Ze-Dong and the New China he had announced in 1949. Forty years after that, and mere months after the massacre, Wang was on his way to Canada, where he would work with venerated NFB animator Frédéric Back. Sunrise Over Tiananmen Square is Wang's autobiographical short, an honest and lyrical account of his life, his art and his change of heart.

Wang's patient and revealing narration does a fine job not only of laying out a chronology of Red China's birth, evolution and ultimate decay, but also of describing the development of a remarkably talented and curious artist, highlighting small moments and details in his family's lives to link the two. But a picture says a thousand words, and Wang lets his images talk more than he does. The film is a collage of archival photos, propaganda posters, pop art graphics (a Warholian JFK in drag, for instance), Wang's own works and fluid animation reminiscent of Back himself.

We see how the zealous young propaganda designer, once exposed to both Western and Buddhist ideas after Mao's death and China's cautious reopening, develops into a marvelous illustrator - his later works are a joy. We also see how the Communist myth crumbled in Wang's mind. But this isn't a recanter's rant. What's most moving is that, while a tone of disappointment and homesickness colour the film, there is no bitterness or anger here. Wang still seems to hold dear the underlying principles of the Red revolution - compassion, equality - even if the Party stopped doing so decades ago.

Sunrise Over Tiananmen Square screens with Alison Reiko Loader's Showa Shinzan as part of the Accès Asie Fest at Salle de Gesù (1200 de Bleury) on Sunday, May 16, 2pm

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