China Independent Film Festival, Zhang Xianmin Talk: March 31

       I'm hosting an talk by Prof Zhang Xianmin (Beijing Film Academy), the president of the China Independent Film Festival this Sunday at 2PM.  

-- Xin Zhou | 周昕 

What's Next? 

9+ Years of the China Independent Film Festival 

A Conversation with Zhang Xianmin

Sunday, March 31

2:00 - 4:00 pm

Ran Space

269 Kent Ave, Brooklyn 

(L to Bedford Ave.)

Admission: $5 at the door

================================
 
Founded in 2003 in Nanjing, the China Independent Film Festival (CIFF) has been one of the most vital platforms to showcase independent films in China."Independent" has gradually replaced "underground" (a label much protested by the filmmakers) in the public discourse since 2003 when the state administration began to lift the ban on the then called "6th generation"directors, to refer to the films that do not acquire the official approval for public distribution. After its early struggles, CIFF thrived into an impassioned arena for independent filmmakers, curators, academics and cineastes, with a prolific profile of both productions and publications. But everything was brought to a halt last year. In the second half of 2012, all independent film festivals in China were cancelled at short notice due to the party congress. "Police stepped up to invite us for tea (interrogations for deterrent purposes), creating a climate of intense fear. Nobody escaped: all our employees, our partners, sponsors, universities which hold forums, journalists..." 

Prof Zhang Xianmin, president of the China Independent Film Festival, as well as a productive curator, writer and actor, is going to talk about the brief history of CIFF as well as the digital turn of the Chinese independent film scene in early 2000s, the current challenges of CIFF, the possibilities of Chinese independent cinema as he has observed during his tenure with the festival, the best and worst of times for the independent cinema in China. 

"It seems to me that it is the gathering that the officials are trying to stop. They could be alarmed by the content of any individual film, but what scares them is the rally, not cinema." - Zhang Xianmin 


/*Speaker's Bio*/

Born in 1964, Nanjing, Zhang Xianmin graduated from Beijing Foreign Studies University in China, 1985; Paris Sorbonne III in France, 1987; and FEMIS in France, 1992. He is a professor of Beijing Film Academy, film critic, curator, as well as president of China Independent Film Festival (CIFF). Zhang Xianmin founded the Indie Workshop in 2005 - an organization for the production and promotion of independent films in China. He also initiated the Chinese Independent Film Foundation in 2010. He has served on the jury and selection committee for numerous international film festivals including: Independent Film and Video in Asia, Asian Documentary Network of the Busan International Film Festival, International Documentary Film Festival in Rome, and Cinema Digital Seoul Film Festival. He has authored books such as ALL ABOUT DV and UNSEEN CINEMA; produced over 10 independent films including RAISED FROM DUST, CROSSROADS, CANDY, BIRD ISLAND, FUJIAN BLUE; and acted in films SUMMER PALACE (dir. Lou Ye, 2008) and RAIN CLOUDS OVER WUSHAN (dir. Zhang Ming, 1996). 

================================

Presented by Xin Zhou, M.A. Candidate in Cinema Studies, NYU Tisch
Organized by RAN SPACE, A platform geared towards promotion and communication of the art in intercultural contexts. With flexible showing room, multimedia stage, pleasant atmosphere, RAN SPACE is looking forward to every possible intersection of art or not-yet art, creating an intellectual community for rising artists, filmmakers, musicians, and culture practitioners, especially the big Asian family.

Facebook：https://www.facebook.com/events/165071440315043/
Weibo: weibo.com/ranteahouse