Empire of Silver

Based on Cheng Yi's romance trilogy The Silver Valley, director Christina Yao's sprawling epic centers on the exploits of a banking dynasty -- headed by patriarch Master Kang (Tielin Zhang) -- that controls much of China's wealth at the end of the 19th century. Amid political upheaval, romantic rivalries and outright revolution, the family struggles to maintain its hold on one of history's most dominant financial empires.