Bringing the mythical paradise of Shangri-La to the big screen

Finding Shangri-La is the third film in the Chinese New Cinema series, "The Yunnan Project" and is brought to the UK by Filmblog Media and the Filming East Festival

“The Yunnan Project” New Cinema Series Group will arrive in London on 30 November 2009 to hold the Finding Shangri-La cultural exchange event at 18:00 in London’s Coronet cinema, a 400-seat traditional British movie theatre.

This programme will include the London premiere of Finding Shangri-La, a film directed by one of the new generation of female directors, Ismene Ding from Taiwan; the Shangri-La Photo Exhibition; and live music from some of the top musicians in Yunnan Province.

Guests from the Chinese and British film industries press, governments, business and cultural associations will be invited to witness the year’s most special showing of the mysterious and beautiful local culture that comes from China’s Yunnan Province. 

Film Screening: Finding Shangri-La

- finding a spiritual home in the East

A woman’s magical journey to spiritual rejuvenation takes her on a quest to find a mountain, based on clues left by her deceased son. Renowned playwright and actress Ismene Ting has crafted a mesmerizing first film, featuring rising star Zhu Zhiying (Lust, Caution) in the lead role. Filmed on location in Taipei, Taiwan, and the mystical landscape of Yunnan, China, in the region known today as Shangri-La, Finding Shangri-La traces the story of Ji Ling, a bitter Taipei woman whose young son was killed by a hit-and-run driver who has escaped prosecution. Two years after her son has died, she finds a ‘clue’ left in his room that leads to a ‘treasure hunt,’ their favorite game. With her life disintegrating into obsession with justice and longing for her son, she follows the clue, and winds up in faraway Zhongdian, the legendary land of ‘Shangri-La.’

Here begins a journey to regain her soul, and her power to love. 
 

Tibetan Music Band Performance

- feel the power of originality in dance and song 

Shangri-La is an area with many different ethnic groups and has a diverse culture and customs. There live Tibetan, Lisu, Han, Naxi, Yi, Bai, Hui – in all, 13 different groups. Their way of living, their costumes and architecture as well as their traditional wedding customs are each unique and the different groups have maintained their original characters.  

The Tibetan Music Band is drawn from this background. This beautiful band consists of four talented members, from China’s Tibetan and Lusu people. They are good at singing and dancing and playing instruments. These four Shangri-La guys won the Grand Prix Silver prize at the 12th Young Singer National Competition held by China National TV. They also took part in the nationwide Song and Dance Poetry event in 2005 and have performed in Germany and Austria. 
 

Shangri-La Photo Exhibition

- see captivating landscapes 

The Shangri-La photo exhibition displays the mysterious culture of the Chinese Yunnan Region. 

Shangri-La in Tibetan means “heart of sun and moon”, as does the Chinese pronunciation in English. This sound derives from the hinterland of the Tibetan Dialect of Shangri-La. It is a snow-peaked valley, with mysterious and magnificent temples, surrounded by quiet lakes, beautiful plains and animals of paradise. Shangri-La is also described as “Nirvana” and “Fairland”.  

The main motivation for bringing the Shangri-La Photo Exhibition to the UK is to show the beautiful natural scenery, culture, landscape and diverse customs of Shangri-La to a British audience, taking it on a unique and terrific Shangri-La cultural journey. 
 

Highlights:

·Screening of the UK premiere of Finding Shangri-La followed by Q&A with the chief producer, Lola.

·Photo Exhibition of Shangri-La

·Live music from some of the top local musicians 

Time：6.00pm-8.30pm, 30 November 2009 
Venue：Coronet Cinema, Notting Hill, London W11 3LB （www.coronet.org）

FREE admission but on RSVP only

RSVP: please send your and your guests' names, occupations and contact details to This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it by 27 November 2009