Once again, we’ve rounded up some of our filmmaker’s micro-dispatches on Sina Weibo, China’s version of twitter. Here are some thoughts from some of China’s independent directors and indisputable proof that when you micro-blog in Chinese characters, 140 characters can go a lot further!
"Shattered" (dir. Xu Tong)
Xu Tong, director of Fortune Teller and Shattered, blogged on 02/12:
We had a discussion after the screening of “Shattered” on the eleventh and the people of Shanghai really impressed me. Who says people are numb – especially young people? They may not know some things (like history before twenty years ago) or be living in a state of reality (compared to some of the subjects of my movies); but once they’ve seen it, they’re eager to express their sorrows and joys, their angers and confusions. The problem is not our audiences, but ourselves. I should be harder on myself more often.
Huang Weikai, director of Disorder, blogged on 2/23:
A rhythm between images and sound is the first element of film, rather than of story. Film is unique in being able to express music, poetry, literature. Therefore, it’s important to find a rhythm first and a story later.
Jia Zhangke, director of such films as Still Life and The World and whose documentary Dong is available through dGenerate films, wrote on 2/11:
Globalization? The internet age? No, the focus in China is still on the Cold War. Get out, defect, the US Consulate, the National Security Bureau, blockage, examination, morality, standpoints, Beijing, Washington, rumors, rumors confirmed. The party can find the greatest ideological resources in the Cold War mentality.
On 3/2, Cui Zi’en, director of We Are The … of Communism and Queer China, “Comrade” China, wrote:
Ever since I was young, I haven’t been very sensitive about stories. Even my memory of “Little Red Riding Hood” isn’t that clear. My deepest impression of the story is from right before going to sleep, when my mother would tell me, “In the woods, there was a bird…bla bla bla. The story’s over.”
Ou Ning, director of Meishi Street, wrote on 2/28:
At present, the shortcoming of the Biennale system lies in it being a non-profit that cannot be sustained with public resources, but it’s also competing to create a so-called “artistic spectacle.” This funding gap creates an environment where commercial galleries and investors fund the production and exhibition of artists, so works of intellectual property rely on commercial interests, thus changing the non-profit nature of the Biennale. This is the “art of capitalism” that the “occupiers” want to oppose.
Came to Germany to see Sasha Waltz Dance Company. In the end, though, I was disappointed. After plunging into the performance of the famed William Forsythe…it was such a hypnotic performance…could barely sleep… “murder and arson by the amnesty” Yes, but you were too early. I think I understand: their society is not an environment of confrontation and it’s inevitable to move towards pure art…This is not possible for us.