You and Me 我们俩Dir: Ma Liwen 马俪文 Cast: Jin Yaqin, Gong Zhe 2005 85’ UK PREMIERE Winner of Best Actress, 18th Tokyo International Film Festival 
An example of what 200 yuan rent per month will get you in Beijing? A crummy room with no phone lines, no heating and a parsimonious old lady as your landlord. For young college student Xiaoma, it’s her only option. But once “grandma” begins to exercise her ruthless and controlling conditions upon the hapless tenant, a battle between two headstrong women becomes inevitable ….. as is their heartfelt reconciliation. Jin Yaqin, Best Actress winner at both the Tokyo Film Festival and the Golden Rooster, commands the screen with every furtive glance, though the younger Gong Zhe also holds her own. This assuredly directed film scored by ex Faye Wong hubby Dou Wei, sparkles with deadpan humour and genuine tension before reaching its quiet, heartbreaking end.
British Museum
Fri 8 Feb. Time: 18.30 - 19.30
Museum in Docklands
Sat 16 Feb Time: 14.00-15.00
Harrow Arts Centre
Sat 23 Feb Time: 1900 – 2000
(In partnership with the British Museum & the Museum in Docklands)
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Sunflower 向日葵 Dir: Zhang Yang Cast: Sun Haiying, Joan Chen, Liu Zifeng 2005 129’ UK premiere Winner at the San Sebastian Film Festival for Best Director and Best Cinematography. 
Sun Haiying and Joan Chen give towering performances in this semi-autobiographical story. It is a most emotionally affecting work yet from the Shower and Quitting director the film traces the tumultuous relationship between father and son through four decades of Chinese history. Artist Gengnian is sent to labour camp during the Cultural Revolution, only to return with a useless hand to his alienated offspring. As years pass, the estrangement only grows…until a remarkable epiphany that is as emotional as it is truthful. This was a thoughtful piece of work and is definitely worth a look for an insightful dramatic tale in a Chinese setting -- with both family and society as key themes.
Museum in Docklands
Sun 2 March Time: 14.00 – 16.20
Harrow Arts Centre
Sat 22 March Time: 19.00 - 21,20
(in partnership with the Museum in Docklands)
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Beijing on Screen Following the great success of Shanghai on Screen, the Chinese Cultural Centre is delighted to present Beijing on Screen in association with the British Museum, BFI Southbank and Museum in Dockland for the forthcoming New Year of the RAT.
Based on the 2008 Olympics in Beijing as a focal point of attention in the world. It would be a unique opportunity to screen a mixture of new independent Chinese cinema together with a number of restored classics from an earlier age. We are pleased to be able to premiere You and Me and Sunflower which portrays two groups of ordinary ‘hutong’ residents confronting their family and emotional encounters far away from the bubbling get rich opulent life style of present day Beijing.
We will welcome director Elaine Mae Woo to London who will introduce her new documentary on Anna May Wong, the enigmatic greatest Chinese star in Hollywood, also Prof. Michel Hockx from SOAS will introduce and take Q&A on Dr. Shih Chung-wen’s invaluable documentary Return from Silence on 5 giants of Chinese literature. For vunue infomration click more and for film descriptions please check http://www.chineseculturalcentre.org.uk/blogsection/Chinese_Film_Society/ |
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In the Heat of the Sun 阳光灿烂的日子 Dir:Jiang Wen. 姜文 1994 134 mins Cast Xia Yu, Ning Jing, Gong Le Sigim Gaowa. Siver Screen Awards, 8th Singapore International Film Festival l995 
In a satirical and humorous style, the film recalls the ridiculous experience of a group of middle school boys in Beijing when the “cultural revolution” (1966/76) was drawing to an end. Because their parents and teachers are all involved in the political upheaval and thus neglect their existence, these unrestricted teenagers have gained total “freedom” to idle away their time gang-fights or chasing young women. The film is based on the novel by Wang Shuo who is known as the king of “pizi wenxue” (vulgar mass literature). Jiang Wen decided to put the novel onto the screen because he and Wang had had similar experiences in the “cultural revolution”. Without waving the Little Red Books or large red banners. Jiang Wen puts a generation into perspective and opens up a fresh new view of Mainland China. Teenager Xia Yu becasme the youngest player to win the Best Actor Award from Venice 1994.
Museum in Docklands:
Sat 1 March Time: 1400 – 1635 Harrow Arts Centre: Sun 23 March Time: 1900 – 2115 Tickets: £8 conc £5 Bookings: 020 8416 8989 (Mon-Fri 9-5 pm) (And 1 hour before any performance) (In partnership with the Museum in Docklands)
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Meishi Street <煤市街>(doc)Dir. Ou Ning 欧宁 2006 85 mins
Meishi Street is located on the southwest side of Beijing’s Tiananmen Square the city is carrying out a project to facilities for the Beijing 2008 Olympic. Many of the original residents living along the street faced the enforced demolition of their homes. The film is about the struggle between the local people and Beijing Municipal Government in against the enforce eviction order ….
BFI Southbank
Sat 9 Feb Time: 10.30 _ 12.30 Admission free (In partnership with the BFI Southbank) |
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China’s Cosmopolitan Age: the Tang Dynasty (618-907). 《中国的鼎盛时期 － 唐朝 618至907》Documentary Dir. Shih Chung-Wen __雯 USA 60 mins The Tang Dynasty (618-907), was an era of great cultural development. The programme examines Tang’s vitality in religion, philosophy, poetry, art and government, and its profound contribution to the humanistic traditions of China, Korea, and Japan. An understanding of the Tang culture thus would provide an awareness of the basic value of the East Asian people and their culture.
Museum in Docklands
Sun 3 Feb Time: 1400 – 1500
Admission to museum
£5 (adult) £3 (children)
Booking: 0870 4443855
(In partnership with the Museum in Docklands) |
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A DOUBLE BILLReturn from Silence ＜沉默後復生 ﹣中國五四作家＞ and Rickshaw Boy 《__祥子》Both films introduced and discussed by Professor Michel Hockx, SOAS __部片子由_敦大__非_院的Michel Hockx教授作介_和主持_後___。
Return from Silence: China’s Revolution Writers. Dir: Shih Chung-Wen __雯 USA A rare documentary on five Chinese writers who contributed to the emergence of modern China. They examine and interpret the way the Chinese people think about themselves and their aspirations, pain and achievements. The writers include: Ba Jin, Ding Ling, Cao Yu, Mao Dun and Ai Qing. Rickshaw Boy Dir : Ling Zefeng, 凌子_ 1982 120 mins. Based on the novel by Lao She 老舍 Cast: Zhang Fengyi, Sigin Gaowa In the 1920s, a young hard working peasant goes to Beijing to become a rickshaw boy at a time when the city is torn apart by duelling warlords. The owner of the rickshaw company's daughter falls in love with the boy and despite a ten-year difference in age decides to marry him. Not long after their marriage she dies in childbirth and his world falls apart. He becomes an emotional wreck. Suffering from the pain induced by an archaic society, he falls at the mercy of his environment. A true Chinese classic from the book by Lao She. A must see for anyone seeking a deeper understanding of Chinese film.
British Museum
Sat 16 Feb Time: 14.00 – 1700 Museum in Docklands: Sat 2 Feb 1400 – 1700 Harrow Arts Centre Sun 24 Feb 1900 --2200 (in partnership with the British Museum & the Museum in Docklands) |
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2046 Director Wong Kar-Wai 王家_ 2004 129 mins
Casts: Tony Leung, Zhang Ziyi, Gong Li, Maggie Cheung, Faye Won 梁朝_，
章子怡，_利，_曼玉，王菲，木村拓哉
In late 1960s Hong Kong a dissolute writer has a series of affairs while working on a futuristic sci-fi novel. Tony Leung leads in this enigmatic but atmospheric successor to In the Mood for Love. Beautifully shot and very romantic.
British Museum
Fri 29 Feb 18.30 – 21.00
Ticket : £3 conc.l £2
Booking: 020 7323 8181
(In partnership with the British Museum)
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Piccadilly < 唐人街繁__ > B/W with tinting. Silent with music. 108 mins. Dir: E. A. Dupont Starring, Anne May Wong _柳霜, Gilda Gray, Jameson Thomas This film was made in the UK in 1929, directed by E A Dupont. Starring the dazzling Anna May Wong, it’s based on a screenplay by Arnold Bennet and shot on location (including the old Chinatown of Limehouse). This little known thriller has recently been beautifully restored by the BFI. The film will be accompanied by a short introduction by Dr. John Seed on how the film portrays Anglo-Chinese relations in the London of the 1920s.
British Museum
Sat 9 Feb Time: 19.30 – 21,20
BFI Southbank
Sun 10 Feb Time: 16.00 – 17.48
Tickets: £8.60 (£6.25 concs). Under 15s £5.25
(In partnership with the British Museum & the BFISouthbank)
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Anna May Wong - Frosted Yellow Willows. Her Life, Times and Legend. 霜中_柳：_柳霜之_奇一生Dir. Elaine Mae Woo 胡美金. 2007. US. c50 mins Introduction by director, Elaine Mae Wong with Q & A to follow
With disarming sensuality and commanding presence, Anna May Wong defined the role of the “Dragon Lady.” Narrated by Nancy Kwan, Anna May Wong ~Frosted Yellow Willows: Her Life, Times, and Legend is a story about a Chinese American woman who endured many hardships and heartaches to become an international film star. From humble beginnings in a Chinese laun-dry, she went on to star in pictures such as Technicolor’s Toll of the Sea (1922), EA Dupont’s Piccadilly (1929) and Josef von Sternberg’s Shanghai Express (1932. Never one to rest on her laurels, Anna would utilize her fame to aid her country and that of her ancestors during times of war. Her body of work establishes her as a true pioneer of early cinema.
BFI Southbank
Sat 9 Feb Time: 15.30 –16.30
Tickets: £5 conc. £4 Booking: 0207 928 3232
(In partnership with the BFISouthbank) |
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Pavement Butterfly 《人海浪蝶》 Dir. Richard Eichberg, 1929 Germany-UK 90 mins. Silent with live piano accompaniment.
Introduction by Jasper Sharp, editor of www.midnighteye.com
An introduced screening of Pavement Butterfly, Anna May Wong’s second film with German director Richard Eichberg. Wong plays Princess Butterfly, an exotic Parisian fan dancer whose “death leap through a circle of naked swords” results in tragedy. The camera wonders at her youthful beauty and passion. Clad in sumptuous gowns and dripping with spangles and feathers, she presents a charismatic power and movie.
BFI Southbank
Sun 10 Feb Time: 18.30 - 20.00
Tickets: £8.60 (£6.25 concs). Under 15s £5.25
Booking: 0207 928 3232
(In partnership with the BFI Southbank) |
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Film
