| Chinese New Year - 3 years on. |
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| Culture | |
 The face of Chinese New Year in London has changed dramatically in three
years. The festivities have been expanded from around Chinatown to take
over Trafalgar Square, the very heart of the city. The nature of the
festival itself has diversified. In recent years, we have seen Chinese pop
groups, bands, Dance performances and Peking opera. Local schools and
community organisations have all been involved, as well as the omnipresent
lion dances, fireworks, food stalls and streets packed with onlookers.
Apart from the main event itself there have been other changes: over the last three years the growth in interest in the New Year Festival has been increasingly exploited by advertising and marketing. Supermarkets in particular, not satisfied with commercialising Christmas and Easter are urging a non-Chinese audience to take part in the celebrations. Is this cynical opportunism or a real sign of an increasingly multicultural society? On one hand it is it is opening up Chinese culture and tradition to a new audience but on the other it is re-enforcing stereotypes and creating a synthetic and easily digested version of ancient tradition. Believe it or not, Chinese culture extends much further than food. We have a rich, diverse and vital cultural heritage that is currently being practiced in schools and community groups throughout London and the UK . We also have a wealth of new and dynamic talent that emanates from the Chinese Diaspora. In recent times this has been celebrated through music, film, literature and theatre. Chinese New Year provides a great channel with which we can introduce these elements of culture when they are brought into the heart of London at the New Year Festival in Trafalgar Square. London is the centre of Chinese society in the UK but there are also well established communities in all the large cities. This year instead of staying in London, the Dimsum team will be travelling to Glasgow, a Scottish city with a large and active Chinese population. We will be celebrating the start of the Year of the Monkey with our friends at the Scotland China Association with 'Electric Shadows', the annual festival for overseas Chinese film in Glasgow. 'Electric Shadows', the literal translation of the word for 'cinema' in Chinese, will be running for two weeks to coincide with the traditional Chinese New Year's Spring Festival. Screenings and special events will take place at the Centre for Contemporary Arts (CCA), Glasgow Film Theatre(GFT) and UGC on Renfrew Street. As official website for the event, Dimsum.co.uk is exploring all aspects of the festival. We review the films; bringing highlights from festival speakers, interviewing film directors, as well as interviewing the people who have worked so hard to bring this project to the forefront of the cultural calendar. Following last year's hugely successful event showcasing British Chinese cinema, this second edition of the film festival is a unique opportunity to see contemporary and award-winning films from the length and breadth of the Chinese Diaspora. Dimsum is excited to be able to extend the festival from its geographical boundaries and introduce new films and new work to the British Chinese community and further a field. We would like to wish everyone a very'Happy New Year' of the monkey! |
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