Tony Rayns presents the work of the 'Fifth Generation' and other innovative filmmakers who emerged during the 1980s in China.
Social & External
The people behind it
Tony Rayns
Narrator
Chen Kaige
Zhang Yimou
Zhang Zeming
Hu Mei
Wu Tianming
Tian Zhuangzhuang
Huang Jianxin
Zhang Jianya
Wu Yigong
In the life of Mr. Lai Man-wai, he had seen the most turbulent times of recent Chinese history. From the fall of the Qing Dynasty to the founding of the Republic, from the Sino-Japanese War to the founding of the People’s Republic. With a patriotic spirit, he joined the revolution and used the theatre to promote the revolutionary course. For a ‘stronger China’, and ‘education for all’, he chose film as his life long goal and career. Lai was more than the father of Hong Kong cinema was; he was also one of the pioneers of the Chinese cinema. He made Hong Kong’s first short fiction film ‘Zhuangzi Tests His Wife’. He opened the first Chinese owned cinema, the New World Cinema, in Hong Kong…. In the several decades, Lai had devoted his life and fortune in writing this glorious inaugural chapter in early Chinese film history. The technical enhancement, the introduction of foreign techniques and equipment were all part of his contribution to the Chinese cinema.
Documentary about new chinese cinema.
An exploration of Chinese cinema and its relationships with gender and sexuality, which the film argues has been more frankly and provocatively explored than in any other national cinema. Utilizing both film excerpts and interviews with many leading directors and academics, the film examines topics such as male bonding in kung fu movies, depictions of same-sex bonding and physical intimacy, the emphasis on women's grievances in melodramas, and the career of Yam Kim-Fai, a Hong Kong actress who spent her life portraying men on and off the screen.
A police sniper teams up with a hot-headed rookie to take down his former friend and teammate, who is exacting revenge on the police force.
A woman attempts to reconcile with her identity as she delves deeper into her violent, overbearing paranoia, colliding with her attempts to find herself or take comfort in memories past.
Part two of A comedy film set on Shanghai film studio. The background events frequently involve the shooting of other films being made at Mingxing Film Company at the time. This includes a sequence of the 17th episode of the silent wuxia film series Burning of the Red Lotus Temple, which is the only known footage from this historic series to exist.
Based on the beloved children's book, elementary schooler Wang Bao discovers a wish-granting gourd that gives him the ability to make his dreams come true. Due to the gourd's erratic nature, Wang Bao confronts his own dishonesty amongst his peers and family, and realizes that you might not get everything you wish for.
With the Blood Moon hanging overhead and the Ghost Festival approaching, An Yunman suddenly returns from Shanghai to the An family residence in Xiwutong, western Hunan. Unexpectedly, her eldest and second brothers are murdered one after another by corpse-demons. Their father, An Bo, blames all the family's misfortunes on his third daughter, An Yunman, whom he believes to be a cursed bringer of disaster.
Su Jin meets Li'er. As their bond grows, the weight of Su Jin being the crowned prince and Li'er as a cat spirit grows heavy.
A German Documentary about the “village of friendship” that was created by American Veteran George Mizo to help the Vietnamese kids suffering from the Vietnam War.
Warsaw's Central Railway Station. 'Someone has fallen asleep, someone's waiting for somebody else. Maybe they'll come, maybe they won't. The film is about people looking for something.
María Luisa is a transgender woman living in a staunchly catholic town. The horrors of rural life in Colombia with all its morality have done nothing but increase the power of this solitary soul. Shunned from birth, from the womb, she has found in the secrets she holds, in her love of animals, in the labyrinth of her faith, a way of dealing with a world that has done nothing but despite her for reasons beyond her control, reasons that have victimized her from the start. But our Miss is as mighty as a stalk of wheat, impervious even to earthquakes, and although she has known much sorrow, there is none powerful enough to exhaust her tears or wipe away her smile.
The film tells the astounding life story of San Francisco living legend Vicki Marlane, America's oldest professional transgender drag entertainer. It explores the theme that creative expression is a transformative experience that allows one to overcome virtually insurmountable obstacles -- social, biological, economic and personal.
A documentary of the German national soccer team’s 2006 World Cup experience that changed the face of modern Germany.
‘Wall Piano’ takes us into a daydream of a child who lives under the shadow of a separation wall. Artists Asma Ghanem (Palestine), Christopher Marianetti (USA), and Alexia Webster (South Africa) worked with a group of children living near the Qalandia checkpoint in Ramallah, Palestine, a frontline of the West Bank conflict. The idea for this short film came from 12 year-old ‘Nada’, featured in the film, and is scored by Christopher Marianetti.
“COMEDY CENTRAL’s Last Laugh ’05” takes an irreverent look back at some of the most controversial and outrageous events of this year from the infamous Tom Cruise couch dance to the Terri Schiavo saga, bird flu to Courtney Love’s melt-down, “Last Laugh ’05” unleashes its fury on our most laughable newsmakers and news fakers.
In 1964, Mariepaul Vermersch and her parents, Maurice and Rose, arrived at the World's Fair site in Queens and set up a booth serving the popular street food from their home in Brussels, Belgium's capital. They wanted to call them Brussels Waffles, but Rose discovered that Americans didn't know where Brussels was. They began calling them Bel-Gems or Belgian Waffles. They were unlike almost every other waffle served in the United States until then: These were light and fluffy but thick; crispy on the outside and sweet; topped with powdered sugar and/or whipped cream and fresh strawberries. For 55 years, only one place in the United States still serves "authentic" Belgian waffles exactly as that treat, Maurice's Belgian Waffles at the New York State Fair.
In the Realms of the Unreal is a documentary about the reclusive Chicago-based artist Henry Darger. Henry Darger was so reclusive that when he died his neighbors were surprised to find a 15,145-page manuscript along with hundreds of paintings depicting The Story of the Vivian Girls, in What is Known as the Realms of the Unreal, of the Glodeco-Angelinnian War Storm, Cased by the Child Slave Rebellion.
SEDUCED AND ABANDONED combines acting legend Alec Baldwin with director James Toback as they lead us on a troublesome and often hilarious journey of raising financing for their next feature film. Moving from director to financier to star actor, the two players provide us with a unique look behind the curtain at the world's biggest and most glamourous film festival, shining a light on the bitter-sweet relationship filmmakers have with Cannes and the film business. Featuring insights from directors Martin Scorsese, 'Bernando Bertolucci' and Roman Polanski; actors Ryan Gosling and Jessica Chastain and a host of film distribution luminaries.
A purely observational non-fiction film that takes viewers into the ethically murky world of end-of-life decision making in a public hospital.
This special explores the return of Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker to the screen, as well as Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen to their classic roles. Director Deborah Chow leads the cast and crew as they create new heroes and villains that live alongside new incarnations of beloved Star Wars characters, and an epic story that dramatically bridges the saga films.
A subjective documentary that explores various theories about hidden meanings in Stanley Kubrick's classic film The Shining. Five very different points of view are illuminated through voice over, film clips, animation and dramatic reenactments.
Through deeply personal interviews with her siblings and an examination of the photographs, letters, and belongings left behind, Mariska assembles a new portrait of her mother Jayne Mansfield, an extraordinary and complex woman.
Stars of "The Walking Dead," Andrew Lincoln and Danai Gurira, walk down memory lane and visit iconic locations where pivotal moments between their characters, Rick and Michonne, were filmed.
A documentary examining the decade of the 1970s as a turning point in American cinema. Some of today's best filmmakers interview the influential directors of that time.
Daniel Craig candidly reflects on his 15 year adventure as James Bond. Including never-before-seen archival footage from Casino Royale to the upcoming 25th film No Time To Die, Craig shares his personal memories in conversation with 007 producers, Michael G Wilson and Barbara Broccoli.
Al Pacino's deeply-felt rumination on Shakespeare's significance and relevance to the modern world through interviews and an in-depth analysis of "Richard III."
As a visually radical memoir, CAMERAPERSON draws on the remarkable footage that filmmaker Kirsten Johnson has shot and reframes it in ways that illuminate moments and situations that have personally affected her. What emerges is an elegant meditation on the relationship between truth and the camera frame, as Johnson transforms scenes that have been presented on Festival screens as one kind of truth into another kind of story—one about personal journey, craft, and direct human connection.
One-man armies, meet-cutes, casual strolls away from huge explosions — stars and industry insiders toast and roast these cinematic chestnuts and more.
Director Michael Apted revisits the same group of British-born adults after a 7 year wait. The subjects are interviewed as to the changes that have occurred in their lives during the last seven years.
Using the book 'Fragments', which collects Marilyn Monroe's poems, notes and letters, and with participation from the Arthur Miller and Truman Capote estates who have contributed more material, each of the actresses will embody the legend at various stages in her life.
An inside look at one of the most anticipated movie sequels ever with James Cameron and cast.
Alexander McQueen's rags-to-riches story is a modern-day fairy tale, laced with the gothic. Mirroring the savage beauty, boldness and vivacity of his design, this documentary is an intimate revelation of McQueen's own world, both tortured and inspired, which celebrates a radical and mesmerizing genius of profound influence.
An intimate documentary delving into Rian Johnson's process as he comes in as a director new to the Star Wars universe.
Police pull over a woman who claims she just gave birth. But the baby — and the blood — aren't hers. Twisted lies unravel in this true-crime documentary.
Unravel the case of Utah therapist Jodi Hildebrandt, whose child abuse arrest with parenting YouTuber Ruby Franke exposed a twisted tale of manipulation.
Brilliant, long in-the-works story of the life and art of the world's greatest comedian and the cinema's first genius, Charlie Chaplin. Produced, written and directed by renowned film critic Richard Schickel.
