Mouthpiece (dir. Guo Xizhi)
Chinese Documentary Festival 2010 June 6-July 4, 2010
This year, the Chinese Documentary Festival presents thirteen films of high quality and with various themes. The topics include: environmental protection, gender issues, the sex life of the elderly, a portrait of a TV station, the life of a private detective and the history of Chinese theatres in San Francisco. These remarkable films reflect the ever-changing conditions of the Chinese diaspora.
All screenings will be held at the agnes b. Cinema at the Hong Kong Arts Centre. Visit the HKAC website for details.
Program listing follows.
Shorts
Dream on the Wall + Heavy Metal Date & Time: 20/06 4:30pm; 26/06 2:30pm
Dream on the Wall China /2010 /Col /54mins In Mandarin with Chinese & English Subtitles Dir: Huang Mingming, Gao Luli The world’s longest crane migration route is in east China, where most of crane species live, and it is currently threatened by increasing development and habitat loss. Xianghai is on the migration route.To raise people’s awareness of protecting their environment, Xianghai School’s art teacher and her students plan to draw a mural on town street wall. Firstly, the students interview the government officials and local people. The children walk into the government office with hope, but…
Heavy Metal China /2009 /Col /50mins In Mandarin & Gansu Dialect with Chinese & English Subtitles Dir: Jin Huaqing For more than twenty years ago, electronic waste from Japan, USA, Australia and other countries has been transported to a small town called Fengjiang. Around 50,000 migrant workers from poverty-stricken parts of mid-west China formed an e-waste dismantling army. They dismantle and recycle nearly two million tons of e-waste each year with the most primitive methods. The film tells of the family of workers Zhang and of Qiu-xia’s story of survival.
Private Detective + No Tears in Three Gorges Date & Time: 20, 28/06 7:30pm
Private Detective China /2009 /Col /47mins In Mandarin with Chinese & English Subtitles Dir: Pan Zhiqi Private detectives agencies sprang in many cities of China in the early 90s. Their main business is investigation of extra-marital affairs. Due to China’s national security law, which has strict control to the right of investigation, the profession is controversial. Lao Fang, a veteran detective, roams the cities to investigate affairs and look for proof, all on the edge of law.
No Tears in Three Gorges China /2010 /Col /53mins In Mandarin with Chinese & English Subtitles Dir: Chen Fu, Shen Shiping The huge amount of waste on the Yangtze River has created a lot of problems for the shipping industry, and severely damaged the water quality of the river. In 2003, fisherman Liu Gu Jun took the initiative and started a local cleaning team in the reservoir area, and has successfully removed more than 12,000 tons of waste. Liu has since become a household name, but despite the publicity, the cleaning team is shrinking in size due to funding shortage. Of the original 100 or so team members, only four to five remain today.
The Children in the Depths China /2009 /Col /26mins In Mandarin with Chinese & English Subtitles Dir: Ma Fangfang Date & Time: 27/06 4:30pm; 04/07 7:30pm The film depicts the children’s life in the Protection Center for Street Children. Instead of probing into the characters or trying to develop a story, the film involves fragmented scenes showing the uncertain fate of the children. By focusing on three children’ lives and their outlook, the film tries to show the pain and struggle of street children. Screening with Farewell, Beijing.
Bloody Words + A Moment in Time Date & Time: 27/06, 02/07 7:30pm
Bloody Words China /2009 /Col /26mins In Mandarin with Chinese & English Subtitles Dir: Ma Fangfang Date & Time: 27/06 4:30pm; 04/07 7:30pm The film depicts the children’s life in the Protection Center for Street Children. Instead of probing into the characters or trying to develop a story, the film involves fragmented scenes showing the uncertain fate of the children. By focusing on three children’ lives and their outlook, the film tries to show the pain and struggle of street children.Screening with Farewell, Beijing.
Bloody Words + A Moment in Time Date & Time: 27/06, 02/07 7:30pm Taiwan /2009 /B&W & Col /43mins In Mandarin with Chinese & English Subtitles Dir: Chiang Ying-ching Presenting shared personal stories of menstruation from the director’s friends and relatives, and also her own experiences, Chiang points out how education and society’s impact on the way women treat and deal with their menstrual period and bodies. In this process of self-analysis, they discover the internal strength and self-respect.
A Moment in Time USA /2009 /Col & B&W /55mins In Mandarin & English with Chinese Subtitles Dir: Ruby Yang A Moment in Time, a documentary about the experience of the Chinese in America through the films they loved – from Cantonese Opera to Westerns. It harkens back to a time when six movie theaters in San Francisco’s Chinatown crystallised the memories, the beliefs, the sorrows and aspirations of Chinese immigrant families. Features
Mouthpiece China /2009 /Col /197mins In Mandarin with Chinese & English Subtitles Dir: Guo Xizhi Date & Time: 19/06 3pm; 26/06 7pm
The documentary unfolds in two parallel spaces: one is, the Shenzhen TV news programme First Spot. In the TV station, the “mouthpiece” members carry out their work routines – they hold meetings, send articles, are worried about viewing rates and market shares. On the other side, in the city of Shenzhen, the “mouthpiece” folk go to the streets, and the city presents itself in all kinds of forms – all sorts of people displays their misfortunes to the camera.
Buried China /2009 /B&W & Col /108mins In Mandarin with Chinese & English Subtitles Dir: Wang Libo Date & Time: 19/06 7:30pm; 27/06 2pm Buried, in a calm and objective tone, presents the history of the Great Tangshan Earthquake. It explores the unknown truth of a historical tragedy. The film interviews experts about the Tangshan Earthquake and recounts the concealment of information by the government of the event. The way the government officials refused to disclose earthquake forecasts to the public was repeated during the Sichuan Earthquake in 2008.
Mr. Jia and His Friends China /2009 /Col /113mins In Mandarin, Shandong Dialect with Chinese & English Subtitles Dir: Zi Han Date & Time: 24/06, 01/07 7:30pm In Jinan, Shandong, a group of hopeful elderly people meet regularly at a match-making agency. Mr. Jia, a widower, worked for a state-owned company before he retired. His wife passed away eight years ago. He has frequented the agency for the last three years with the hope of finding a beautiful woman in her forties. Even though he is eighty-four, he tells everyone Gan Ma is a seventy-seven years old widow. She is very popular at the dating agency. The agency brings new hope to the elderly. However, the reality might not turn out to be what they hope for.
Farewell, Beijing China /2010 /Col /73mins In Mandarin with Chinese & English Subtitles Dir: Zhang Tianhui Date & Time: 27/06 4:30pm; 04/07 7:30pm Gong Fenghai was an educated urban youth (Zhi Qing) from Beijing. Answering the call from the government, he went to the rural area of Yanan during the Cultural Revolution. After living there for forty years, he hopes to move back to Beijing after retirement. Before Chinese New Year, he takes the train to Beijing in the hope of visiting his relative in the capital. How will the faraway hometown welcome its son… Screening with The Children in the Depths.
Fortune Teller China /2010 /Col /183mins In Mandarin with Chinese & English Subtitles Dir: Xu Tong Date & Time: 29/06 7pm; 04/07 2pm Li Baicheng met Pearl Shi when he was in his forties. They live in the countryside in northern China, where Li makes a living out of fortune telling. His clients are prostitutes who have many worries and expectations. Faced with the bitter cold of winter and a campaign against prostitution, the couple returns to their hometown, Qinglong. Spring is coming; they take to the road once more and travel to a fair where they wait for their luck to turn.
Let It Be Macua /2010 / Col /84mins In Cantonese with Chinese & English Subtitles Dir: Ho Wing Yin, Hong Ieng Hou Date & Time: 30/06 7:30pm; 01/07 4:30pm The film depicts the changing society of Macao and the life of the local women. Overshadowed by the grandiose casinos are small streets and back alleys where indigenous people are incessantly striving for their identities and maintaining their lifestyles and values. The film is a montage of scenes from the lives of ten local females aged ten to ninety. The stories they share provided a chance for viewers to have a glimpse of the general condition of the women and discover Macao from a different perspective. Programme information provided by: Visible Record