| Chinese Burns |
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| Culture | |
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When one thinks of Burns Night in Glasgow, three things generally come to mind. Whisky. Haggis. Kilts. This year, however, it was warmed by the glow of Chinese lanterns as the city hosted the second annual Electric Shadows Chinese Film Festival. The opening night of the festival ushered in the Year of the Monkey, with dimsum and red lanterns providing a festive touch at the CCA. Director Clara Law ("The Goddess of 1967") and actor David Yip were on hand to welcome an enthusiastic crowd, who later piled into the GFT for Channel Four's controversial "The Missing Chink" and Cheng-sheng Lin's "Robinson's Crusoe". Apart from some occasional showers, filmgoers enjoyed mild weather in Glasgow for the festival's first weekend. Other highlights included an informative and entertaining afternoon with Clara Law on film and a screening of "The Goddess of 1967". Unlike other film festivals, Electric Shadows is comfortably paced and relaxed so that there is enough time to travel in between screenings. And at £4 and £2.50, the prices are easy on the purse and a good deal more interesting than Hollywood's latest offerings at other cinemas. The city itself is full of unexpected delights, with architecture by Charles Rennie Mackintosh seemingly everywhere and a fine example of a Roman draincover at the Hunterian. Good food can be found at Glasgow's growing number of restaurants, and especially at festival sponsor Bleu Ginger on Sauchiehall Street. But most intriguing of all for this Chinese-American were the large numbers of Chinese faces in the city, thanks to Glasgow's growing popularity with overseas students. Hopefully, this will encourage the organisers of Electric Shadows to provide even more films for next year's festival! |
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