Nov
19
8:30 PM20:30
Nov
19
6:20 PM18:20
Chinese Cinema in the Global Market - Issues, Difficulties and Solutions
Movies like Zhang Yimou’s The Great Wall have attempted to bring a distinctly Chinese narrative to a global audience with very little success. Yet the most celebrated foreign language film in the history of American cinema remains Ang Lee’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, a Chinese-language film. So what went wrong? Why was The Great Wall an international failure? How does Chinese cinema make strides in entering foreign markets?
The panel objectives are as follows:
1.Discuss current market trends within China’s entertainment industry.
2.Discuss how Chinese production companies plan to compete internationally.
3.Develop strategies for U.S. filmmakers, Chinese filmmakers and investors to partner up. There will be opportunities to dialogue and network at the end of the session.
Nov
19
2:50 PM14:50
Diversity in Chinese Cinema - Women, Minorities, and LGBTQ Filmmaking in China
LACFF’s inaugural program features a diverse line-up of exceptional films by female, LGBTQ, and minority artists.
The panel objectives are as follows:
1. Celebrate new voices and applaud the best and brightest in independent cinema.
2. Discuss how the artists manage to turn their passion for storytelling, entrepreneurship, and their own cultural identities into success stories.
3. Explore how art is used to shine a light on social issues.
Nov
18
6:30 PM18:30
VIP Night & Experimental/Animation Cinematic Showcase
This evening event provides access to a network of award-winning filmmakers, industry professionals, and film scholars from all around the world to celebrate and discuss Chinese language and heritage films over a light dinner. LACFF focuses on listening to unique voices and innovative thoughts, and in that spirit, the VIP event will also feature an experimental cinematic showcase of non-competition experimental films and animations selected by the LACFF programming team.
Nov
17
to Nov 18
LGBTQ Night
LACFF will be screening two narrative shorts, one documentary short, and one documentary feature to share Chinese voices on LGBTQ issues.
Smokers Die Slowly Together （然后） by Luxingyuan Zheng
12'/ China & US / North America Premiere /Narrative short
Alina and Lily are a lesbian couple. This afternoon, Alina is moving out with her boyfriend. They wait for him to arrive, and they talk about the past.
SHe （筑位） by Kuo Hsin-Ying ...
36'/ Taiwan/ US Premiere /Documentary short
How does the body matter when we talk about sex and sexuality? Chiku, a trans person. and Wei, a lesbian, got “ legally” married in Taiwan on December 2012. The documentary shows the subtle moments of their daily married life, through which the imagined voyeuristic spectacle is turned into everyday tactics. The main idea is to highlight gender fluidity, which cannot be fixed into a heterosexual framework, and radically, to ask for a reconsideration of the entire system of gender norms.
Blooming Night （海上良宵） by Beier Zhong,
9'/ China /Narrative short
Bell is a lonely, twenty-something homeless guy living in Shanghai. One day, wandering around in a run-down, stinky under-path, he sees a pair of bright red heels passing by. The color stimulates something deep in his heart. Out of curiosity, he starts to follow their owner across the city of Shanghai and ends up in an old club, where he discovers a forbidden community that he has never encountered before and begins to realize his hidden desires.
Nov
17
6:00 PM18:00
Opening Ceremony
Paths of the Soul
Yang Zhang/China/115 mins
“There’s never been a road movie quite like PATHS OF THE SOUL, an extraordinary chronicle of ordinary Tibetan citizens undertaking a 1,200-mile pilgrimage to Lhasa... a stirring study in faith and spirituality that will inspire many viewers to think about big and small questions of life.”
—Richard Kuipers, Variety
“A one of its kind journey for true believers... Nothing prepares the viewer for this sight. With Nyima driving a farm tractor that pulls a little wagon of provisions, the others take four or ve steps down the paved highway before prostrating themselves on the ground. The ritual bowing includes an thick leather apron and blocks of wood to clap and protect the hands as the pilgrim stretches out on the road. This is repeated over and over, every few steps, for many months [until Zhang lets the stops out in a spectacular nale.”
—Deborah Young, The Hollywood Reporter
“Hypnotic; by showing us—and letting us experience, to some extent—this intense journey, PATHS OF THE SOUL achieves a kind of spiritual grace all its own. “
—Bilge Ebiri, Spirituality & Health