Chinese Independent Film Culture Under Pressure - Article in Crikey.com

Ying Liang, director of When Night Falls, currently threatened with arrest if he returns to mainland China.

As mentioned in my “Newsbites” post yesterday China’s independent film culture has been under pressure in recent months, with documentarian Hu Jie prevented from leaving China and the Beijing Independent Film Festival opening shutdown through a power cut last month. Back in June I noted that feature film director Ying Liang had been threatened with arrest if he returns to mainland China following the debut of his film When Night Falls in South Korea in April. That threat apparently still stands.

Yesterday the Australian news site Crikey published an article by me detailing these issues. Here’s an excerpt:

Newsbites: Hu Jie Blocked from Travel, Beijing Indie Film Fest Blackout, and Painted Skin 2 Smashes Box Office Records

Screening China’s regular roundup of Chinese film news.

The environment for China’s independent film sector continues to deteriorate, even as box office records in mainstream cinemas are regularly broken. Two recent episodes have highlighted the difficulties independent filmmakers and festivals are facing.

Quiet Currents of Emotion – Ann Hui’s “A Simple Life”

Andy Lau and Deanie Ip in Ann Hui's A Simple Life.

Although Hong Kong cinema is best known in the West for its kinetic, over the top action, it has an equally venerable tradition of family melodramas rife with tear-jerking tragedy. Alex Law’s Echoes of the Rainbow is but one recent example of this long standing genre. A Simple Life (Tao Jie), the latest effort from HK legend Ann Hui, fits into this filmic lineage, but it’s at the more restrained end of the melodramatic spectrum – a brooding, melancholy take on life’s meaning rather than an unabashed weepie.

Chinese Documentary Makers on Australian TV & Radio

Ou Ning, director of Meishi Street and a guest of this year's Melbourne International Film Festival. Ou appeared as part of the festival's "Street Level Visions: Chinese Independent Docos" program.

 The Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) wound up on Sunday (19 August), and with it the Street Level Visions program of independent Chinese documentaries curated by myself. The Chinese program was a great success, with many sessions sold out and a lot of audience and media interest (see the previous couple of posts).

Here’s a final round up of the media coverage of the Street Level Visions program:

Chinese Documentary Directors in Melbourne

Directors Ou Ning (left) and Wang Jiuliang (right) with Street Level Visions curator Dan Edwards, at the ABC building in Melbourne, Australia.

Street Level Visions, the program of independent documentaries from China curated by myself, has been generating considerable interest in Melbourne over the past week, especially with the arrival of guest filmmakers Wang Jiuliang (Beijing Besieged by Waste) and Ou Ning (Meishi Street) last Friday.

Interview with Hu Jie, Director of "Searching for Lin Zhao's Soul"

Documentary maker Hu Jie.

The Melbourne International Film Festival is in full swing, including the program curated by myself, “Street Level Visions: Chinese Independent Docos.” Tomorrow (Monday 6 August) at 11am, Hu Jie’s landmark work Searching for Lin Zhao’s Soul will screen at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image on Federation Square as part of the program. A repeat screening will take place on Friday, August 17 at 6.30pm in the same venue.

To celebrate the screening of Hu Jie’s work, and the other titles in the "Street Level Visions" program, Art Space China has run the full text of an interview I conducted with Hu Jie in 2010.

Street Level Visions coverage in today’s Age newspaper

Zhao Liang's Crime and Punishment, one of seven titles screening at this year's Melbourne International Film Festival as part of the program "Street Level Visions: Chinese Independent Docos."

The Melbourne International Film Festival kicked off last night to great fanfare. I’m very proud to be part of this year’s event, which includes the program “Street Level Visions: Chinese Independent Docos," curated by myself. The Age newspaper today has an article by me about the program that you can see here.

There is also a short video interview with me on The Age website.

One of the films in Street Level Visions – The Transition Period – has already sold out, and several others are selling fast. So if you’re in Melbourne and keen to check out these films, jump online and book.

See you at the festival!

Chinese Doco Special in "Senses of Cinema"

Wang Jiuliang's Beijing Besieged by Waste, one of seven independent Chinese documentaries appearing in the "Street Level Visions" program at this year's Melbourne International Film Festival.

As announced in my last post, a program of Chinese documentaries programmed by myself kicks off on 5 August as part of the 2012 Melbourne International Film Festival. "Street Level Visions: Chinese Independent Docos" is a retrospective of seven digital documentaries made over the decade or so, featuring work by Zhao Liang, Hu Jie, Ou Ning, Wang Jiuliang and Zhou Hao.

To coincide with Street Level Visions, the well known Australian film journal Senses of Cinema have run a series of articles in their new issue edited by myself and Adrian Danks focusing on independent Chinese documentaries.