露丝艺术节｜电影长片与实验影像（四）

Zhang Yang was born in Beijing in 1967. He graduated from the Central Academy of Drama's directing department and is one of the key representatives of the "Sixth Generation" of Chinese filmmakers. His directing career began with the film "Spicy Love Soup" in 1997, attaining multiple awards including the Best Directorial Debut at the 18th Golden Rooster Awards and the Best Director Award at the 5th Beijing College Student Film Festival. In 1999, his film "Shower" won the Best Director Award at the 47th San Sebastián International Film Festival. In 2005, he was again bestowed the Best Director Award at the 53rd San Sebastián International Film Festival for his film "Sunflower." Other notable works by Zhang Yang include "Getting Home" (2007), "Driverless" (2010), "Full Circle" (2012), the pseudo-documentary "Paths of the Soul" (2017), and "Soul on a String" (2017). With his unique perspective and diverse style, Zhang Yang has established a prominent position in Chinese cinematic history, earning numerous domestic and international awards and gaining widespread recognition.

“The Sound of Dali" is an audio-visual symphony that vividly captures the rhythmic harmony of Dali. Dali is a city in China known for its romance and artistic culture. The film experiments with the relationship between sound and imagery, employing a combination of sound concepts. The camera does not focus on specific individuals but instead depicts how people and nature coexist in this environment. It records the seasonal changes in Dali, the transformations in people's lives, the traditional lives of the Bai ethnic group, the lives of the new Dali residents, and the sounds of different religions which extends from the Cangshan Mountain to the Erhai Lake. The film is one that exemplifies the everlasting changes throughout the year. Additionally, the film presents the changes in clouds over the four seasons in Dali, further capturing the unique beauty of nature in different times of the year.

Through meticulous sounds and images, the director paints a seasonal picture of Dali, integrating nature, human life, and cultural traditions, allowing the audience to experience the unique charm and cultural atmosphere of Dali.

Niu Niu, born in 1989, earned a B.S. in Economics and an M.S. in Economics from Nankai University. Continuing Class of Director Department, Beijing Film Academy. Screenwriter and director of Mr. Junjun. The film won the FEI MU AWARDS JURY AWARD and YOUTH JURY GRAND AWARD at the 6th Pingyao Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon International Film Festival.

Junjun, a 50-year-old cab driver who had devoted his life to the job, found himself forgotten by society. Struggling to make ends meet and care for his half-paralyzed father, Junjun became an illegal driver. After the governmental transportation department issued warnings and fines, Junjun scrambled to become a certified online ride-hailing driver, but his car's poor condition disqualified him. Desperate to purchase a new car, Junjun sought out his old friend and boss, Hou San, to collect the wages owed to him. Yet, as he ventured to reclaim what was owed, Junjun encountered a new set of complications.

His interest in the visual arts, communication and photography, began in 1996. Until 2008, he worked as an ambassador and educator, collaborating with esteemed brands like EIZO, Leica and Fujifilm. More recently, he had the privilege of lecturing at Columbia College in Chicago, USA.

His artistic projects and books he has designed have received awards and graced exhibitions, art fairs and galleries across China, France, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Portugal, Spain, the UK and the USA, fostering valuable international collaborations. He has successfully managed a cultural centre, a photography school, a far reaching educational project encompassing dozens of classes and teachers across Italy. He has orchestrated festivals, workshops, and thought-provoking talks. He has curated various exhibitions and led a communication agency, a photo agency, and a fine art printing lab. Member of Tau Visual, Associazione Nazionale Fotografi Professionisti, he is represented by Galleria Valeria Bella in Milan. His photographs have been published in various magazines and books.

About the work

On the morning of February 26th, 2023, a shipwreck occurred off the coast of Steccato, in Cutro, in the province of Crotone (Calabria, Italy). The boat was carrying about 180 migrants from various countries, including Afghanistan, Iran, Syria, Somalia and Palestine 94 lifeless bodies were found, 35 of them were children.

Bianca Rêgo, 28, graduated film school with honors at Anhembi Morumbi University in São Paulo, Brazil, and recently finished her master’s in fine arts at ESTC in Lisbon, Portugal. She directed several short films that were screened at over 100 film festivals and art galleries worldwide and won 13 prizes in total. She has experience working as a filmmaker/journalist for NGO’s, big TV broadcasters, websites, social media, magazines and more. The Brazilian born, French based, young artist has a decade of experience with audiovisual endeavors and is starting a career in visual arts as well. Her multi passionate personality is developing herself into a multi artist, exploring media beyond filmmaking with a focus on gender and mental health.

A girl and a party that does not happen. The preparation and the expectation. 15' and the 50's. One side, another side. Mirrors and duplicates. 'Your confusion, my illusion'. A girl and a party that does not happen.

Accepted in 9 festivals / Won 1 prize, including 15° MAUAL, Mato Grosso, Brazil (1rs place "Experimental")

Chai Mi’s artistic practice explores individual identity, personal experience, and nomadic thought, using various media to uncover visible clues and hidden relationships in daily life. Her work highlights the ambiguity and fluidity of these relationships, focusing on the struggles of individuals or groups in different time zones. She employs moving images, photography, painting, installation, text, performance, and curation to investigate how objects, living beings, and consciousness are interconnected, challenging fixed concepts and established rules. Chai Mi's recent explorations focus on the connections and contradictions between new values and civilizational heritage in the context of the rapid development of technology and the Internet.

Born in 1985, Chai Mi grew up near YuanMingYuan (The Old Summer Palace, Beijing). Her mother is from the Hui ethnic minority. She studied graphic design and animation at Tsinghua University, earning a BFA in 2007. After working as a designer for three years, she became a freelancer, exhibiting her work in China and internationally. From 2011-2019, she traveled and created art in the US, France, Spain, Italy, Austria, and Canada. In 2017, her daughter was born in Beijing, and in 2018, she received a Fellowship in Visual Arts from the Civitella Ranieri Foundation (New York). Chai Mi currently lives and works in Beijing.

The work stems from the artist's real-life experience of losing some film material files. The video consists of nine segments. Derived from the automatic error messages generated by the software after the loss of a previously edited content file, and the animation generated by the program after rendering the wrong target.

Chen Jin, a native of Mindong Zhou Ning, was known for his slender physique and graceful dancing. One day, while seeking directions in the capital, he asked a passer-by where he could find a restroom. The passer-by replied and then turned back to remark, 'You have the air of a poet!' This encounter sparked Chen Jin's realization that he had a talent for poetry, leading him to write continuously from that moment on. Another day, Chen Jin borrowed a friend's camera and discovered that making films was as simple as child's play. With this revelation, he embarked on an irreversible journey into the world of filmmaking."

The village of Nata, situated 4,200 meters above sea level in the Tibetan region of Garze, derives its name from the Tibetan word for marshland. On the outskirts of the grassland lies a mountain surrounded by marshes known as "Haonakha," which translates to "deer crying mountain" in Tibetan. Legend has it that when deer are threatened by natural predators and lose their companions, they seek refuge in the swamps and make their way to Haonnakazan, their final stronghold and place of sacrifice. One evening, an anxious cry echoed from a distant mountain as darkness fell upon the sky. The sound gradually faded into the distance as news spread that a child had gone missing. The following morning brought relief as it was discovered that the child had fallen asleep on a round stone. This incident reminded Yang Qiao of individuals such as Shirang Weng Deng who lost his father, Tashi Chaidan who experienced loneliness due to unrequited love, Deqing Zhima who suffered from eye disease, and Badeng who dropped out of school despite his talent for painting. These individuals have left an indelible mark on Yang Qiao's mind; he quietly accompanies children through their growth with hopes of being a steadfast pillar for them.

My work is based on social observations and texts. Committed to organising ambiguous play in the unseen everyday life.

There are no mosquitoes between us. In Chinese, the pronunciation of “mosquito” is the same as the “words”. I placed an electric mosquito swatter behind our faces, and in ten seconds, seven mosquitoes glowed brightly.

Romina Belda (1990) is a Spanish-born, London based photographer whose approach to the locations and people she photographs is instinctive and subjective. Romina's work often explores topics of belonging, memory and identity. She weaves her images together to create narratives mostly based on the poetics of the everyday, taking the ordinary as the source of all meaning. Her practice is infused with feelings of loss and nostalgia.

Visual Memory: Mind as a Landscape is an intimate dialogue between identity and memory.

This video installation delves into the origins of birth and depicts the transition and culmination of the self. It somehow serves as a poignant meditation on the ever-evolving nature of human consciousness.

Zhang Peili (born 1957, Hangzhou) graduated from the Zhejiang Academy of Fine Arts, Hangzhou, in 1984 with a degree in oil painting, and previously served as Dean of the New Media Department at the same institution, later renamed China Academy of Art. He was a founding member of the Pond Society and a prominent figure of the avant-garde movement in Hangzhou in the 1980s. Primarily working in video, photography, and new media, his work acts as a form of protest to reveal the forces that shape Chinese society and the lives of its citizens. Zhang lives and works in Hangzhou.

Scene of heroes speaking their last words before their sacrifice are extracted from Chinese revolutionary films from the 1950s to 70s, and edited together.

Ziyi Wang is an artist and a researcher from Beijing, China, now based in London. As a millennial in a trans-migrant state, humour is my method to tickle the existing systems, borders, and bureaucracy. Her works include videos, installations and theatre, involving elements of documentary, comedy, ready-made and props. They are always starting from a simple, naive image, for example, a paper plane, then enriched in my absurd escapades, navigating structural complexities.

Ziyi’s practices often embody the fragility of personal situations. Coupled with a highly literary narration, they are situated within a broader context of fluidity, attempting to reflect on the contemporary ethics of globalization, post-colonial landscapes, and evolving migrant policies.

Land Sailing is an episode from the OK Immigrant video series, which tells the story of an Asian female immigrant story of losing her Biometric Resident Permit(BRP), and how she got refused to board a plane and legally enter the country, had to return to the UK after an ordeal.