Ruan Ling Yu was the absolute star of the silent Chinese cinema. She acted in twenty-nine films, most of which have been lost. Her talent and her radiance led her to be called the Chinese Garbo. Her life and her films were always in the public gaze. When she started having an affair with a married producer, the press organised such a libel campaign against her that she couldn’t take the strain. In 1935 Ruan Ling Yu committed suicide; she was twenty-five years old.Ruan Ling Yu comprises reconstructed scenes from her films and her life, a couple of fabulous authentic fragments and conversations with his cast about how best to tell over Ruan’s story.
