Weekend Events: Pocahontas, Painted Parasols and A Chinese Documentary Film
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Friday, March 25: Disorder
Using footage taken by amateur filmmakers, director Huang Weikai stitched short segments together to create a one-of-a-kind documentary. The film captures the anarchy, violence and seething anxiety animating China’s major cities today, as urbanization advances at a breakneck pace. One man dances in the middle of traffic while another tries to jump from a bridge before dozens of onlookers. Pigs run wild on a highway while dignitaries swim in a polluted river. Such scenes, which can’t be shown on China’s heavily controlled television networks, reflect an emerging underground media in Chinese society. Mandarin with English subtitles. Free. Freer, 7:00 PM.
Saturday, March 26: Portrait Story Days: Pocahontas
If your knowledge of Pocahontas comes by way of the 1995 Disney cartoon—or any of the many popular myths about her that still pervade our culture—you owe it to yourself to visit the National Portrait Gallery for Portrait Story Day. Learn the real story behind the you Native American woman who married English settler John Rolfe and then create your own work of art. Ideal for young visitors accompanied by an adult. Free. National Portrait Gallery, 1:00-4:00 PM.
Sunday, March 27: Painted Parasols
As you tour the Freer and Sackler Galleries, pay special attention to the flower motifs in the clothes and accessories of Japanese women as they stroll through parks in springtime. Then, in the Freer courtyard, paint a paper parasol to carry as you visit the cherry blossom trees around the Tidal Basin. Free. Sackler Gallery, 2:00 PM.
For updates on all exhibitions and events, visit our companion site goSmithsonian.com