Centre Stage

Centre Stage, also known as Actress and Yuen Ling-yuk, is a 1992 Hong Kong film, directed by Stanley Kwan. The film is based on a true story: the tragic life of China's first prima donna of the silver screen, Ruan Lingyu. This movie chronicles her rise to fame as a movie actress in Shanghai during the 1930s. Actress Maggie Cheung portrayed Ruan in this movie. Nicknamed the "Chinese Garbo," Ruan Lingyu began her acting career when she was 16 years old and committed suicide at age 24. The film alternates between present scenes, re-creation scenes with Cheung, and extracts from Ruan's original films including her final two films The Goddess and New Women. Maggie Cheung won Best Actress award at Berlin International Film Festival in 1992 for her delicate portraiture of Ruan.