Chinese filmmaker Ji Qiuyu approaches the world with gentleness. Her documentary The Homeless captures the lives of those existing on the margins of society, people who have drifted between belonging and isolation, freedom and invisibility. Rather than portraying homelessness as a tragedy, Ji observes it as a complex human condition. Shot with a compassionate eye,…
Tag: Chinese Cinema
ALULA Film Festival: In Conversation with Bian Zhuo, Director of “As the Water Flows”
Bian Zhuo’s As the Water Flows is a gentle and beautiful film about aging and reconciliation, shaped by the director’s own family story. The film was inspired by the diary of Bian’s late grandfather, a man who suffered greatly during China’s Anti-Rightist Movement. What started as an attempt to recreate that hardship slowly turned into…
2025 ALULA Film Festival: “As the Water Flows” Review
One wonders what the title As the Water Flows truly means – at least until the film’s final moments, when its philosophy finally surfaces. Water moves forward, never looking back, yet somehow it reflects everything it passes. Life, Bian Zhuo seems to say, is much the same: a continuous current defined by the memories we…
Jia Zhangke and the Pingyao International Film Festival
Jia Zhangke is a name inseparable from contemporary cinema, especially this year. Over the past few months, he has appeared at major festivals worldwide, championing cross-cultural exchange: first the Taipei Film Festival in June, then Venice in August, Busan in mid-September, and finally his own Pingyao International Film Festival (PYIFF) at the end of the…
82nd Venice Film Festival: “Girl” Review
Girl was the directorial debut of SHU Qi. It was undoubtedly one of the most anticipated films at the 82nd Venice Film Festival. Girl marked SHU Qi’s first step into directing. It captured immense attention at the event. SHU Qi is a regular presence at Cannes, Berlinale, and the Venice Film Festival. Her first arrival…
82nd Venice Film Festival: “The Sun Rises on All of Us” Review
One of the benefits of seeing films at their very earliest screenings, before they’ve even been unveiled to the world at a splashy festival premiere, is being able to experience them truly blind. In the case of The Sun Rises On Us All, the latest film from Chinese auteur Cai Shangjun, which just premiered in…
In Conversation with Xu Lei, Director of “Green Wave”
Green Wave, a Chinese comedy-drama, written and directed by Xu Lei, tells a quiet, emotional story – not about big conflicts, but about the distance that can grow between a father (Xu Chaoying) and son (Eric Wang). It focuses on the small tensions that often exist in close relationships. Instead of using dramatic twists, the…
27th Far East Film Festival: In Conversation with Cynthia Yee, Luka Yang and Shari Matsuura of “Chinatown Cha-Cha”
Nonagenarian Coby Yee is the shining light of the vibrant and soft-hearted documentary Chinatown Cha-Cha, as director Luka Yuanyuan Yang turns her attention to the life of the legendary dancer. But the spotlight is shared with Yee’s longtime dancing partners – the Grant Avenue Follies – and the film becomes more than just a portrait…
27th Udine Far East Film Festival: “Legends of the Condor Heroes: The Gallants” Review
Two legends of Chinese cinema gracing the stage are enough to get anyone buzzing for the show to come, and Tsui’s adaptation film, Legends of the Condor Heroes: The Gallants, was no less anticipated than his other fantastical masterpieces. Before the film’s international festival premiere at the 27th Udine Far East Film Festival, legendary wuxia…
27th Far East Film Festival: In Conversation with Dong Zijian, Director and Actor of “My Friend An Delie”
Chinese actor Dong Zijian just made his directing debut, and it’s a stellar endeavour. The beautifully shot My Friend An Delie, based on the novel by Shuang Xuetao, is a warm shelter amidst the snowy plains of uncertainty. It’ll hold your hand as it takes you along a slow path toward overcoming grief and pain,…
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