First Wave of Chinese Arthouse Films to Be Released Nov 23; Upcoming Showings at UCCA
Despite slowing somewhat recently, China’s film market has experienced explosive growth in recent years but arthouse films have found it difficult to share in the bounty, with audiences preferring to watch star-studded popcorn movies and theater owners catering to those tastes.
Jia Zhangke’s Still Life (三峡好人) was a winner of the Golden Lion Award for Best Film at the 2006 Venice Film Festival, but only pulled in RMB 500,000 (USD 74,000) at the box office. Wang Quan’an’s Tuya’s Marriage (图雅的婚事) earned him a Golden Bear at the 2007 Berlin Film Festival but only squeaked RMB 2 million (USD 296,000) at home.
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But now, after years of intensive lobbying by local filmmakers and industry professionals, China is set to have its first circuit of cinemas specializing in the exhibition of arthouse films thanks to the recently-launched National Arthouse Film Alliance, comprising a number of public and private companies.
The alliance has already chosen 100 cinemas in 31 major cities across the country to be part of a network that shows specialist titles from both China and overseas regularly. The cinemas guarantee they will screen an arthouse film at least three times per day and 10 times per week at peak times. The films will be curated in themed series such as youth, romance, and classics.
Organizers plan to grow the alliance into over 400 cinemas reaching 3,000 screens. Its first release will be announced on November 8 with online ticket sales starting on November 16, and the first films released on November 23.
In the meantime, if you have a hankering for some independent Chinese cinema, head over to the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art (UCCA) in 798, where you’ll be able to see the following films from Blackfin Production:
Sunday, October 30
Shanghai Youth
Screening time: 10.30am-7pm
Director: Gao Zipeng
Genre: Documentary
Country: China
Runtime: 515 min.
Hundreds of thousands of “Shanghai Youths” were sent to Xinjiang during the Youth Movement of the 1960s. The majority of them have now returned to the city marked by profound change reflected not only in its modern constructions but also in their relationship to its system of rights.
Saturday, November 5
Free and Easy
Screening time: 7.30-9pm
Director: Geng Jun
Starring: Xu Gang, Zhang Zhiyong, Xue Baohe, Zhang Xun
Genre: Drama / Comedy / Crime
Country: China
Runtime: 90 min.
A crook visits a gloomy, snowbound town in northeast China bringing magic soap used to incapacitate the unaware so that he may rob them of money and property. A man is intent on re-uniting with his mother by meeting people through his religion. Two police officers set out to solve a case without any clues. A fake monk begins to work on the issue of solidarity through common pursuit. A forest ranger pursues a tree thief. In the midst of this, a murder takes place. Free and Easy is a farce in which crime is the new normal.
(NB: This event is open only to those who purchase a ticket package for all of the films and invited UCCA members.)
Sunday, November 6
This Worldly Life
Screening time: 2-3.30pm
Director: Zhai Yixiang
Starring: Wang Pei, Huang Hui, Qiu Endian
Genre: Drama
Country: China
Runtime: 95 min.
A national scenic site and the temple contained within it are set to be reformed. The Buddhist abbot leaves the temple, and frauds move in to swindle believers that continue to visit the place. Caught amongst the shift, Shuang Quan revokes his monkhood to resume secular life. An old friend tries to assist him in re-acclimating by taking him to a brothel where Shuang Quan encounters his first true love. Police descend upon the scene, and the girl is arrested, later choosing to flee to the south for work as a salesgirl.
Having lost his beloved, Shuang Quan decides to take a chance on a schoolgirl he saves from being beaten….
Kaili Blues
Screening time: 6-8pm
Director: Bi Gan
Starring: Chen Yongzhong, Xie Lixun, Guo Yue, Yu Shixue
Genre: Drama / Mystery
Country: China
Runtime: 110 min.
In the mystical, subtropical province of Guizhou, there is a small county clinic surrounded by fog. At the Kaili clinic, there are two doctors who live quiet, lonely lives. One of the doctors, Chen Sheng, embarks on a journey by train to find his nephew, who had been abandoned by his brother. Once Chen arrives at Zhen Yuan, rather than approaching his nephew, he watches secretly from a distance and is surprised to find that his nephew has flourished in the absence of his father. Chen decides not to interfere in the boy’s life. Before he left Kaili, he had promised his colleague that he would stop by the home of her former lover to deliver a few items, but upon his arrival, he is told that the man has passed away. Regardless, Chen leaves the box of mementos.
For more information on tickets prices and how to book, please consult the UCCA website.
Image: theplaylist.net (still from Kaili Blues)
