LRCCS Film Series | "A Sunny Day" and "Filmless Festival"
After film discussion with film directors and film scholars Markus Nornes and Akiyama Tamako
A Sunny Day 《9月28日･晴》 (dir. Ying Liang, 25 min., 2014)
A Sunny Day is a touching short film centered on a young woman’s visit to her father, not having seen him for a while. Together the father and daughter reminisce about the past while contemplating their very different futures. He is packing up to enter a nursing home; she is deeply involved in the intensifying Umbrella Movement. Lovingly shot, this gentle film raises questions about citizenship, responsibility and the relationship between generations.
Filmless Festival 《没有电影的电影节》 (dir. Wang Wo, 85 min., 2015)
Wang Wo served as editor of footage collected by filmmakers, artists, festival volunteers, journalists and audience members at the 11th Beijing Independent Film Festival. The festival had always had problems with authorities, often having to move underground to universities, artist studios or other cities. In 2014, the festival was shut down in no uncertain terms, with thugs beating cameramen and the detaining of organizers. This film documents the proceedings from a multiplicity of perspectives, in both public and private spaces.
About the Directors
Cui Zi’en (崔子恩) is from Harbin and is now living in Florida. He is a director, film scholar, screenwriter, novelist and an pioneering queer activist. He graduated from the Chinese Academy of Social Science and now is an Associate Professor at the Beijing Film Academy. The author of books on criticism and theory, Cui Zi’en has also published nine novels in China and Hong Kong, including the first gay novel in modern Chinese literature. He founded the Beijing Queer Film Festival, the first LGBT film festival in 2001. He directed his first film, Men and Women in 1999 and has since written and/or directed over 20 more. Forging an queer video activism, Cui’s work circulates freely between fiction and documentary, the conventional and the avant-garde. His best known films are Enter the Clowns (2002), The Old Testament (2002), Night Scene (2003), and Queer China, “Comrade” China (2008).
Wang Wo (王我) was born in Hebei Province, and is currently living in USA. He studied graphic design at the Central Academy of Arts and Design, and received an MA in Arts and Design from Tsinghua University. He began making films in 2004, establishing himself as one the innovative of the independent documentary filmmakers. His experimental documentaries include Outside (2005), Noise (2007), Zhe Teng: According to China (2010), The Dialogue (2014) and Filmless Festival (2015). Along with his filmmaking, Wang established himself as an artist and graphic designer. His powerful posters for the Beijing Independent Film Festival are admired the world around.
Ying Liang (应亮) is a feature film director currently living in Hong Kong. He was born in Chongqing, and studied filmmaking at Chongqing Film Academy and Beijing Normal University. He began his career making short films, before making his first feature, Taking Father Home, in 2005. His other major films include The Other Half (2006), Condolences (2009), Good Cats (2008) and When Night Falls (2012). The latter film led to his current exile in Hong Kong, when the government refused to allow his re-entry after an international film festival visit. Ying is also the founder of the Chongqing Independent Film and Video Festival, which started in 2007 and was the first film festival in Western China.
See the full schedule of upcoming films: https://events.umich.edu/group/LRCCS?filter=tags%3AFilm+Series,
A Sunny Day is a touching short film centered on a young woman’s visit to her father, not having seen him for a while. Together the father and daughter reminisce about the past while contemplating their very different futures. He is packing up to enter a nursing home; she is deeply involved in the intensifying Umbrella Movement. Lovingly shot, this gentle film raises questions about citizenship, responsibility and the relationship between generations.
Filmless Festival 《没有电影的电影节》 (dir. Wang Wo, 85 min., 2015)
Wang Wo served as editor of footage collected by filmmakers, artists, festival volunteers, journalists and audience members at the 11th Beijing Independent Film Festival. The festival had always had problems with authorities, often having to move underground to universities, artist studios or other cities. In 2014, the festival was shut down in no uncertain terms, with thugs beating cameramen and the detaining of organizers. This film documents the proceedings from a multiplicity of perspectives, in both public and private spaces.
About the Directors
Cui Zi’en (崔子恩) is from Harbin and is now living in Florida. He is a director, film scholar, screenwriter, novelist and an pioneering queer activist. He graduated from the Chinese Academy of Social Science and now is an Associate Professor at the Beijing Film Academy. The author of books on criticism and theory, Cui Zi’en has also published nine novels in China and Hong Kong, including the first gay novel in modern Chinese literature. He founded the Beijing Queer Film Festival, the first LGBT film festival in 2001. He directed his first film, Men and Women in 1999 and has since written and/or directed over 20 more. Forging an queer video activism, Cui’s work circulates freely between fiction and documentary, the conventional and the avant-garde. His best known films are Enter the Clowns (2002), The Old Testament (2002), Night Scene (2003), and Queer China, “Comrade” China (2008).
Wang Wo (王我) was born in Hebei Province, and is currently living in USA. He studied graphic design at the Central Academy of Arts and Design, and received an MA in Arts and Design from Tsinghua University. He began making films in 2004, establishing himself as one the innovative of the independent documentary filmmakers. His experimental documentaries include Outside (2005), Noise (2007), Zhe Teng: According to China (2010), The Dialogue (2014) and Filmless Festival (2015). Along with his filmmaking, Wang established himself as an artist and graphic designer. His powerful posters for the Beijing Independent Film Festival are admired the world around.
Ying Liang (应亮) is a feature film director currently living in Hong Kong. He was born in Chongqing, and studied filmmaking at Chongqing Film Academy and Beijing Normal University. He began his career making short films, before making his first feature, Taking Father Home, in 2005. His other major films include The Other Half (2006), Condolences (2009), Good Cats (2008) and When Night Falls (2012). The latter film led to his current exile in Hong Kong, when the government refused to allow his re-entry after an international film festival visit. Ying is also the founder of the Chongqing Independent Film and Video Festival, which started in 2007 and was the first film festival in Western China.
See the full schedule of upcoming films: https://events.umich.edu/group/LRCCS?filter=tags%3AFilm+Series,
| Building: | Angell Hall |
|---|---|
| Website: | |
| Event Type: | Film Screening |
| Tags: | Asia, Chinese Studies, Film, Film Series |
| Source: | Happening @ Michigan from Lieberthal-Rogel Center for Chinese Studies, International Institute, Department of Film, Television, and Media, Asian Languages and Cultures |
