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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
A short film with the participation of the leader of the "National Bolshevik Party" Eduard Limonov.
Filmmaker Larry Wayne Warren hosts an improvised trek through New Orleans in September 2005 to survey the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina.
The remarkable synergy between biology and technology is blurring the line between man and machine. We are at a critical juncture in our evolution: as technology continues to progress, humans are becoming more machine-like and machines are becoming more human. With striking 3D animation and special effects, Beyond Human joins inventors, scientists and philosophers for an unprecedented voyage into the future of bioengineering and robots.
Hilarious send-up of psychoanalytical propaganda films, illustrating every absurd cliche about the 'lesbian nature' and raising issues of self-representation and media production. Witness the witty appropriation of the 'mannish lesbian' into a sexy drag king and see the lesbian filmmaker as the ultimate action hero(ine).
An intimate portrait of a young couple, Zoryana and Edgars, and their hardships as young, 17-year-old parents, living in the countryside in a remote part of Latvia. The limited job opportunities available in their rural area have left the family mired in poverty. Zoryana becomes a hostage between her two closest people, her mother and Edgars – she must choose between her mother’s advocacy of countryside as the best place for raising a family and life in the city, which would offer more creature comforts and more opportunities to earn a living. Zoryana Horobraya sweeps us along on Zoryana’s journey, as she tries to escape the protective bubble of her mother and define her own family’s happiness and existence.
Predictions underlie nearly every aspect of our lives, from sports, politics, and medical decisions to the morning commute. With the explosion of digital technology, the internet, and 'big data,' the science of forecasting is flourishing. But why do some predictions succeed spectacularly while others fail abysmally? And how can we find meaningful patterns amidst chaos and uncertainty? From the glitz of casinos and TV game shows to the life-and-death stakes of storm forecasts and the flaws of opinion polls that can swing an election, 'Prediction by the Numbers' explores stories of statistics in action. Yet advances in machine learning and big data models that increasingly rule our lives are also posing big, disturbing questions. How much should we trust predictions made by algorithms when we don't understand how they arrive at them? And how far ahead can we really forecast?
Mila got diagnosed with tongue cancer. Instead of operation and chemotherapy she decides to try an unconventional treatment in the Amazon jungle of Peru and to make a film about her healing process.
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 string of threatening emails escalates into a revenge plot involving a newly married US marshal and his ex-girlfriend.
An inside look at one of the most anticipated movie sequels ever with James Cameron and cast.
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.
This revealing documentary honors the legendary Sidney Poitier—iconic actor, filmmaker, and civil rights activist. Featuring interviews with Denzel Washington, Spike Lee, Halle Berry, and more.
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.
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.
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.
Lyrical and powerfully personal essay film that reflects on the deaths of her husband Lou Reed, her mother, her beloved dog, and such diverse subjects as family memories, surveillance, and Buddhist teachings.
A purely observational non-fiction film that takes viewers into the ethically murky world of end-of-life decision making in a public hospital.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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."
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.
In a crime-plagued neighborhood near Miami, brutal, bare-knuckled backyard fights give young men a chance to earn money -- and self-respect.
A feature length documentary about the all-women team at the helm of Pixar's original feature, Turning Red. With unprecedented behind-the-scenes access to Director Domee Shi and her core leadership crew, this story shines a light on the powerful professional and personal journeys that brought this incredibly comical, utterly relatable, and deeply heartfelt story to the screen.
14-year-old Laura Dekker sets out on a two-year voyage in pursuit of her dream to become the youngest person ever to sail around the world alone.
