| Chinese October Film Festival Mania |
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| Culture | |
| Wednesday, 30 September 2009 | |
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FILMING EAST FESTIVAL Kicking off on 3rd October, Filming East Festival in association with BAFTA will present a day-long celebration of new Chinese films. The programme will present four feature films, a series of shorts and an industry event on UK filmmakers shooting in China with Chinese partners. One of the feature films will be the latest from director Feng Xiaogang's If You Are The One. Starring Ge You and Shu Qi, If You Are The One was a box office success in China. Variety's Derek Elley wrote "Chinese writer-director Feng Xiaogang returns to the kind of film that made his name - ironic observational comedies mirroring contemporary China." The other three feature films include He Ping's Wheat, Zhang Yibai's The Longest Night In Shanghai and Teng Hua-Tao's The Matrimony. All the films and the industry event will take place on Saturday 3rd October at BAFTA, 195 Piccadilly London. Filming East Festival will be touring the programme to various venues in South East England throughout October 2009. For the films synopsis and complete programme, visit: http://www.filmingeast.org/ www.bafta.org/whats-on/global-spotlight-china,828,BA.html RAINDANCE FILM FESTIVAL Also coinciding with this year's Mid-Autumn Festival, UK-China Film Association (UCFA) will be presenting two Chinese films in the 17th Raindance Film Festival. Selected into the programme is Peng Lei's The Panda Candy (screening 3rd October) and Shu Ya's Twilight Dancing (screening 10th October) which features one of China's biggest rising star Wang Luodan in the leading role. In The Panda Candy, rock star Peng Lei takes up the camera and produces a beautifully understated, underground docu-drama, charting the erotic trysts of a new generation of rebellious Chinese youth. Reviewer Dean Bowman describes The Panda Candy as "a more innocent take on Nine Songs, the film alternates scenes at rock concerts and karaoke bars, with those of young people connecting and disconnecting through sex." For a glimpse of the film: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkVRWmcAelI For a review: http://www.afterellen.com/movies/2009/4/thepandacandy Director Peng Lei who is also the frontman for the Beijing New Wave band New Pants provided most of the excellent soundtrack to the film. The New Pants, a special guest of the Festival will be playing a gig later in the evening at London's Soho. New Pants are among the brightest, original and most adventurous artists operating in China today. Influenced in their early days by the likes of Ramones and New Order, their recent sound and style has tended towards 80's disco and electro, which combined with their eye-catching stage-presence marks them as an original fish in the over-crowded pond of the Chinese music scene. The Panda Candy is screening on 3rd October, 16:45 Twilight Dancing is screening on 10th October, 19:00 Both films will be at the Piccadilly Apollo (West End) Cinema, 19 Lower Regent St, London SW1Y 4LR The New Pants gig / party is on 3rd October at The Vinyl Factory, 51 Poland St, London W1F 7LZ. 20:15 till late Tickets: http://www.raindance.co.uk/site/index.php?aid=3797 Enquiries: This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it / Ms. Liu 077 6086 2366 VISIBLE SECRETS: HONG KONG'S WOMEN FILMMAKERS This autumn, Manchester's Cornerhouse will showcase the work of female directors from Hong Kong as part of Visible Secrets: Hong Kong's Women Filmmakers. The season will celebrate the imagination and vibrancy of these directors and their work through an exciting programme of screenings, events and special guests. From the auteur to the avant-garde, Hong Kong cinema has a strong tradition of women working behind the camera. Surprisingly, however, most of their work has rarely been seen in the UK. Addressing this omission Visible Secrets presents a selection of UK premieres, showcasing the contemporary films of Ann Hui, one of the best known women filmmakers currently working in Hong Kong and introducing new directors including Yan Yan Mak, Barbara Wong, Aubrey Lam and Tsang Tsui Shan. The season will include a strand of documentary films - don't miss Mabel Cheung's fascinating look at Jackie Chan's family and his upbringing in Hong Kong - and a selection of visually stunning shorts. Ann Hui's film Visible Secret was the inspiration for the title of the season, which will showcase a selection of her films. Focusing on her work from the last decade, it will offer a chance to see the development of this acclaimed director, from Visible Secret (2001) to Night and Fog (2008) which opened this year's Hong Kong International Film Festival and looks set to become one of the most critically applauded films of Hui's varied career. The complete season will be held at Cornerhouse from Fri 9th October - Tue 3rd November 2009. Opening Gala: The Festival will open with Angie Chen's This Darling Life (2008) on 9th October, followed by a Q&A with the director. Closing Gala: Acclaimed screenwriter Ivy Ho will present her directorial debut Claustrophobia (2008) on 3rd November. Launched at a gala screening in Curzon's Mayfair cinema on Mon 2nd November, Visible Secrets will then tour the UK, facilitated by the Independent Cinema Office, including Watershed in Bristol. For the films synopsis and complete programme details, visit: www.cornerhouse.org/visiblesecrets Season sponsored by: Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, London. |
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