Sunday, January 19, 2014

SPRING FILM FESTIVAL 2014


Now on its eighth year, the Spring Film Festival features Chinese films in different genres.  It will be held from January 24 to February 2, 2014.  Organized by the Ateneo de Manila University Ricardo Leong Center for Chinese Studies together with the Confucius Institute and Credit Suisse.

Aside from the free film screenings, the 2014 Spring Film Festival will also feature an exhibit of paintings by the artists from the International Studies for Chinese Arts and the students of Ateneo’s Confucius Institute. The exhibit will be held at Shangri-La Plaza’s East Atrium from January 24 to February 6. On February 1, a workshop on Chinese painting and crafts will be held from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.

The following films with their synopsis will be featured:

Aftershock
Running time: 135 minutes
Director: Feng Xiaogang
Lead stars: Zhang Jingchu, Chen Daoming, Lu Yi, Xu Fan, Zhang Guoqiang, Li Chen
Synopsis: Two seven-year-old twins are buried under the rubble of the devastating earthquake. The rescue team explains to their mother, Li Yuanni, that freeing either child will almost certainly result in the death of the other. She is forced to make the most difficult decision of her life and must choose between her children.

1911 Revolution
Running time: 125 minutes
Director: Zhang Li, Jackie Chan
Lead stars: Jackie Chan, Winston Chao, Li Bingbing
Synopsis: As the country enters the new century, China is facing a crisis. Two warring factions have emerged, starvation among the citizens is rampant and political reforms have made matters worse. The seven-year-old Emperor and his mother, Empress Dowager Longyu (Joan Chen), are out of sync with the people’s needs after 250 years of total power. As Huang Xing (Jackie Chan) arrives from his studies on modern warfare in Japan, he finds himself picking up his sword to lead a rebellion against the powerful Qing Dynasty and the New Army.

Snowfall in Taipei
Running time: 90 minutes
Director: Huo Jianqi
Lead stars: Chen Bailin, Tong Yao
Synopsis: May, a woman singer from mainland China, suddenly loses her voice and has conflicts with Ah Lei, her producer and secret lover. Out of anger, she goes to the old town of Jingtong where she meets Xiao Mo, a warm-hearted man. Xiao Mo finds May a dwelling place and helps her get a job at a local restaurant. May finds happiness and consolation from the old streets of the small town and her voice is getting better and better, but her heart is still in another place.

Let’s Fall in Love
Running time: 90 minutes
Director: Pu Sheng
Lead Stars: Wang Quanyou, Yuan Jiabao, Xu Zifei, Guan Shaozeng , Xiahou Qiyu, Zhang Jue, Liu Weisen
Synopsis: Tan Momo enters the conservatory of music to learn how to play the guqin, a seven-stringed plucked instrument. His teacher places great hopes on him while his girlfriend, Xia Fei, has the greatest esteem for him. Upon their graduation, Momo, Xia Fei and other young people finally walk out of the campus and begin to experience the ups and downs of real life.

Thei-Go King and His Son
Running Time: 95 minutes
Director: Zhou Wei
Lead stars: Sun Song, Wang Chengyang
Synopsis: Liu Yishou, an amateur Go player, has been laid off. With no other skills to make a living, he teaches Go in a humble training course for children. Life has been hard, and his wife has decided to divorce him. His young son, Xiaochuan, has chosen to stay with him through his difficulties. In an unexpected occasion, Xiaochuan displayed an amazing talent for Go, and his father supported him to further develop his gift for the game.

Li Mi Conjecture
Running time: 95 minutes
Director: Cao Baoping
Lead stars: Zhou Xun, Deng Chao, Zhang Hanyu
Synopsis: Due to the intervention of her parents, taxi driver girl Li Mi breaks up with her long-term boyfriend, Fang Wen. For four years, Li Mi continues to search for his whereabouts in a constant tug-of-war between hope and despair. An eerie murder is witnessed, leading her to a man nearly identical to her missing lover. Could he be the one she has been looking for?

Where Is My Home?
Running time: 95 minutes
Director: Misheng He
Lead stars: Yuan Lu, Fengbin Wang
Synopsis: Mrs. Geng is a simple mother who raises two children on her own. Her son makes his way to the city and offers to have her come live with him and his family. Despite the improved material conditions of the city, Mrs. Geng cannot help but feel lonely. It takes some time before her children understand how she feels and strive to rebuild their family.

City Monkey
Running time: 90 minutes
Synopsis: He Zhiping is a senior high school student who lives in a big old Beijing hutong yard with his mother and grandmother. He loves parkour, an extremely dangerous sport in most people’s eyes. His mother strongly disapproves of it and hopes he could focus only on his entrance exams to university. Clashes of different concepts, rebellion of the youth, and persistence to the ideal are unavoidable problems for them.

Schedule of films (Free Admission on a first come first served basis)

January 24 (Friday)
12 p.m. – Thei-Go King and His Son
2:30 p.m. – 1911 Revolution

January 25 (Saturday)
12:15 p.m. – Where is My Home
2:30 p.m. – 1911 Revolution
5 p.m. – Li Mi Conjecture
7:30 p.m. – Aftershock

January 26 (Sunday)
12 p.m. – Aftershock
2:45 p.m. – Thei-Go King and His Son
5:15 p.m. – 1911 Revolution
7:45 p.m. – Let’s Fall in Love

January 27 (Monday)
12:30 p.m. – Snowfall in Taipei
2:45 p.m. – City Monkey
4:45 p.m. – Where is My Home?
7:30 p.m. – Aftershock

January 28 (Tuesday)
1 p.m. – Li Mi Conjecture
3:30 p.m. – Let’s Fall in Love
5:30 p.m. – Where is My Home?
7:30 p.m. – 1911 Revolution


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