Results tagged “film”

Alliance Française keeps serving movies to all who are charmed by the rich French cinema history. On Saturday they offer a "crossed movies"- experience, where one 1953 Jacques Tati classic meets a 2008 drama featuring Isabelle Huppert. The event is called "Crossed Movies : Modern and burlesque society".

We were just alerted to this intriguing website called AsiaPacificFilms.com, a website that's streaming "culturally and historically significant films from Asia and the Pacific." All the films on the site are selected by a panel of scholars, critics and curators, and can be streamed in DVD quality.

Oh good heavens, the new Michael Jackson documentary is here! For all of us who have spent hours in nostalgia, watching old videos and performances and nervously followed the news around his passing...here comes finally something yet unseen. This Is It is the recordings around the popstar´s preparations for his planned 2009 tour with the same name. The movie will be screened at cinemas during two weeks only, so you better get moving!

And so yet another Americanized 3D version of an old animation classic crashes upon us. This week Imagi Studio's version of "Astro Boy," the superhero story that originated as a manga in 1952 by Osamu Tezuka, sees its worldwide release. And with the release of the movie, a huge marketing carousel filled with toys, books and video games starts spinning as well. It raises some questions on how to actually best do our old classics justice.

Slinkys, Pet Rocks, Ant Farms… behind each of those great novelties is the story of a great Novelty Inventor. ‘Made In China’ is the story of one such inventor.

Continue reading "Trailer: Made in China, an indie adventure movie about an American entrepreneur"

Vienna Café cooks up with a Truffaut movie this coming Thursday! One of film history´s most important directors didn't only write and direct Les 400 coups, Jules et Jim, Baisers volés...but also Le Dernier métro (The last metro), which is the movie of choice for this week.

The old ladies and fellas you see dancing in the parks in the morning, China´s "forgotten generation", rarely gets a chance to be the central subject in Chinese movies. Director Ye Kai is now presenting an exception to that rule, by creating a feel-good comedy about a charming group of elderly amateur dancers, caught up in a quest to win a competition that will let them take part in the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics.

Hot off the press from Queer Comrades: this selection of ten of the most well-received Chinese language lesbian films. For those of you queer film aficionados that are interested, many of these films are actually available in your local DVD store.

Vienna Café once again enriches our existence with an LGBT-related movie! On Thursday 24 September the "dark Irish comedy" Breakfast on Pluto from 2005 will be featured. Director Neil Jordan is previously known for The Crying Game and Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles.

Update: Due to ownership quarrels, the film Buenos Aires Zero Degree will not be screened as planned on Thursday. Vienna Café is replacing it with Stephen Daldry´s The Hours. And while that´s an awesome movie, it´s still a sad exchange, since The Hours has probably already been seen by most of us and is very easy to access - while...heaven knows when we´ll get the chance to see that Wong Kar Wai Documentary again...

On Thursday 3 September, Vienna Café will be the place to be if you wanna kill eleven birds with one stone. In one evening you can watch ten movies and have a cup-of-whatever-you-fancy. They are namely screening short films that have been in the Meiwenti Global Film Contest. Ten shorts films of different genres and stories, of which some are some set in Shanghai. The girls from one of the short films, Just Around the Corner, will be there during the evening. Don't miss out!

Had your share of robots transforming into vehicles, lisping ground sloths that adopt dinosaur eggs and and the wizardry of Hogwarts? Here's another cinematic solution for you! Every Thursday, Vienna Café at Shaoxing Lu offers a different film choice for the Shanghai movie audience. This week's movie is a reality based border-crossing romance between a Turkish actress and her Kurdish lover.

Note: the movie of choice for this week is mainly directed to French and/or Chinese speaking cinephiles and book lovers who don't necessarily need a movie screening to be a sit-back-and-relax-while-you´re-stuffing-popcorn-into-your-mouth-kind-of-experience. Nope, our pick this time around is all about deep analysis and religious brooding!

Heres a little something for all of us anime fans! Doraemon: Nobita to Midori no Kyojin Den, (Nobita and the Green Giant Legend) the latest movie about Fujiko F. Fujio's manga robotic cat, will hit the silver screens of several Shanghai cinemas this week (starting today, Friday). Of course, in Japan it has already been running for over a year (it was released on March 8, 2008) but we shouldn't complain. Earlier this year the movie was nominated for the Japan Academy Prize for Animation of the Year, but got beaten by Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea.

After the daily news showers we got on protests and violence in Iran thanks to its disputed election, here comes a movie tip for the one who wants to get a closer look at Iran and a whole other president campaign that once traveled the country.

If you are not yet familiar with amazing Finnish auteurs Kaurismäki - here´s your chance! Tonight at 7pm there will be a one screening only of the 1987 road movie Helsinki-Napoli All Night Long. Director Mika Kaurismäki is the older member of Finlands most creative and important filmmaking team, with the other half being Aki Kaurismäki.

• China state TV host denies spying for Taiwan [AFP] "A star presenter with China's state television network has denied allegations that she spied for Taiwan, amid reports that she could be under investigation, state newspapers have said. The China Daily, quoting unnamed sources from China Central Television on Friday, said Fang Jing, the 38-year-old face of the network's prime-time military programme 'Defence Watch,' had been 'taken away for a possible spy probe'."
• China's family planning policy shadowed by violations from rich [kazinform] "The rich and famous who break the rules have cast a huge shadow over the policy, denting social equality and even stability. Many mainland women gave birth in the Hong Kong special administrative region to skirt the restrictions, experts say."
• U.S. Births Hint at Bias for Boys in Some Asians [New York Times] "Demographers say the statistical deviation among Asian-American families is significant, and they believe it reflects not only a preference for male children, but a growing tendency for these families to embrace sex-selection techniques, like in vitro fertilization and sperm sorting, or abortion."

The Shanghai International Film Festival dropped by over the weekend and with it came the standard swarm of celebrities. Most of the sitings were more or less expected - Chinese actresses Fan BingBing and Zhang Ziyi (pictured) were there, as well as freedom hater Jackie Chan and director John Woo (no doubt promoting the uber-sucessful Red Cliff) - but big names from the Hollywood elite also made guest appearances. Halle Berry walked the carpet in a Marchesa lilac gown, and Clive Owen spoke during some sort of press conference. Danwei caught some of the opening ceremonies on Youku and called them "cheesy," but - honestly - what opening ceremony in China isn't? If you want celebrity galleries, check out the one on People's Daily Online.

The national university entrance examination: a rite of passage for many Chinese students, and all important, some might say, in determining much of what happens in your life afterwards. It's a lot of pressure for 17 and 18 year-old kids. This video was taken in Hankou, supposedly before the test. One might be more inclined to celebrate afterwards, though of course those that might not have done so well would perhaps seek solace in Johnny Walker, as one does in times of need.

Jia's film, tentatively titled Shanghai Legend (上海傳奇), is scheduled to be finished towards the end of this year/beginning of next, and will be premiered around April 2010.

If you're interested in catching some of the films, most of the information you'll need is at their official website. Browsing though the schedules, it seems that there an awful number of fairly recent Hollywood releases, such as Eagle Eye and Pink Panther 2. Why you'd want to fork over money to watch these on the big screen is beyond us, but dig a bit deeper and you'll find that there is a very healthy selection of films by two English directors: Alfred Hitchcock and Danny Boyle. Of the latter, little needs to be said: he's the head of the jury this year, which is why so many of his films are being shown. Although you've no doubt seen many of the more successful ones, you can use this chance to see some of his lesser known, earlier works. As for that great benefactor of Freudian film theorists goes, you've got the standard fare: The Birds, Rear Mirror, North by Northwest, Psycho, Rope etc.

ShanghaiPRIDE commenced with a bang and, thankfully, not a bust. Mainland China's 1st Gay Pride event kicked-off yesterday with over 200 people cramming into Vargas Grill. Attendees of the inaugural event were a mix of gay, straight, local Chinese, expats, and a lovely drag queen named Anita.

Chinese director Lou Ye has defied the authorities to produce controversial movie after controversial movie. But risking arrest in China may be worth it, since his newest, "Spring Fever" has now won the best screenplay award at Cannes.

Cinemaphiles and celebrity lovers - look this way! In just a couple of weeks, the Shanghai International Film Festival will kick off for a whole nine days, starting June 13.

We recently caught up with Shanghai-based independent filmmaker Luis Tapia of Daedalum Films, who is currently busy preparing for the May 9 premiere screening of his new documentary short about Shanghai band Hard Queen and the life of indie rock musicians in China. Seats are still available for the screening. Advance tickets can be purchased here.

The second career of Chinese diver-turned-actor Tian Liang has so far been received tepidly, but his latest role has sparked a big debate in China. Tian, a gold medalist in platform diving at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney and a bronze medalist in Athens, has been chosen to play Lei Feng, a soldier held up by Mao as an example of selflessness for all of China to follow. The choice of Tian for the role has angered a host of Chinese netizens, who basically argue that Tian is too self-centered, materialistic and publicity-loving to play Lei Feng. Tian was kicked off the Chinese diving team ahead of the 2008 Olympics for too enthusiastically pursuing commercial activities.

• 'Slumdog' opens as Boyle says he'll helm Shanghai film fest [Shanghai Daily] "Danny Boyle will be the jury president for this year's Shanghai International Film Festival, the Oscar-winning director confirmed at the Chinese mainland premiere of 'Slumdog Millionaire' in Beijing yesterday. 'It's fantastic to be in a film festival,' Boyle said, adding that the Shanghai event will be his first jury assignment."
• Report Says Executions Doubled in 2008 [NYTimes.com] With at least 1,718, China was responsible for 72 percent of all executions in 2008, the report stated. After China were Iran (346), Saudi Arabia (102), the United States (37) and Pakistan (36), according to the group. 'Together they carried out 93 percent of all executions worldwide,' the report said. The Chinese authorities also handed down at least 7,003 new death sentences last year, although the report said the true total of both executions and death sentences 'remains shrouded in secrecy.' Some countries, China and North Korea among them, do not disclose the number of executions they carry out."
• China Unicom should quash iPhone launch date rumors to secure best deal - expert [Interfax TMT China] "Xiang Ligang, CEO of domestic telecom news portal Cctime.com and guest columnist for Interfax, told Chinese magazine PC Home that he is concerned over the widespread rumor that China Unicom is, for reasons of prestige, determined to strike a deal with Apple in time to allow it to release the iPhone in China by May 17. He said that if true, the rumors reveal China Unicom's bottom line in the negotiations, vastly strengthening Apple's hand."

Popular bar matron Cotton Ding, owner of Shanghaiist favorite Cotton's, sits down with Daedalum Films to talk about her story - how she left her home in rural Hunan for the big city, the lessons she learned along the way to becoming a successful bar owner, and what challenges she sees on the horizon.

While some of us spent Chinese New Year's Eve enjoying grilled seafood on a beach in the Philippines, Luis Tapia of Shanghai-based Daedalum Films was lugging his camera to a Shanghai rooftop to record the fireworks. The results, as you can see above, are beautiful (be sure to watch in HD). Thankfully, the video does not include actual sound (you probably got enough of that last night). Instead, the soundtrack is "El Pico" by Ratatat. You can buy that song on iTunes. Enjoy.

"In 10 years its population doubles to a seething 7 million people!"