Honorary Absence
Zhang Yimou sends regrets
Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou, who directed the opening and closing ceremonies at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, will not be able to attend Commencement this weekend to receive an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters.
Zhang reportedly is experiencing minor health issues that preclude long-distance travel, and so on the advice of his physician, he is remaining at home.
The University plans to confer the honorary degree at a later date.
Zhang, whose works include Red Sorghum, Raise the Red Lantern, and The House of Flying Daggers, has earned two Academy Award nominations and a litany of prominent international film festival honors. Although his early films were banned by Chinese government censors, he is now considered one of China’s greatest living treasures. His films “have offered worldwide audiences both a perspective on the people and culture of China,” BU President Robert A. Brown says, “and a window into universal aspects of human nature and yearning.”
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