BARCELONA, CHINESE CITY: Does Beijing still exist?

In memory of Shi Hui (1915-1957)

With a title in rather provocative question form, this programme sets out to construct a modest, cinematographic account of a spectacular transformation: that of the capital of the People's Republic of China.

 

A collection of images takes us back to the early 20th century, thanks to the photographers of the great Albert Kahn, to the Beijing of artist Cao Fei's Second Life, via the people's Beijing of Shi Hui, the Beijing of dreams in the 1950s and the "unofficial city" of the 1990s, presenting what could be an ancient capital, the city of Imperial power, up to the present day. It is, most of all, a city of a language, culture and history that most definitively set it apart from its rival twins, Shanghai and Canton, while linking it to the northern region of a vast country, threatened by the "barbarians" that the Great Wall was built to repel. It is, ultimately, a city that for centuries has been proclaiming what form the future of the territory should take. The latest proclamation to date was voiced by the Olympic Games, which might be seen in this screening as a new episode in the urban design incarnation of a policy that is centralized like no other.

Programming: Marie-Pierre Duhamel-Muller

Programme

14 January 2009 - Beijing 1909-1949
7 p.m. Presentation by Marie-Pierre Duhamel-Muller
8 p.m. Screening: Wo zhe yibeizi ("This Life of Mine"), Shi Hui, 1950, 100 min

View a fragment of the film Wo zhe yi beizi

17 January 2009 - In the hutongs
8 p.m. Screening: Jerks Don't Say Fuck, Zhao Liang, 2001, 5 min
Minjing gushi ("On the Beat"), Ning Ying, 2000, 95 min

View a fragment of the film Minjing gushi

21 January 2009 - Another Beijing
8 p.m. Screening: Beijing zazhong ("Beijing Bastards"), Zhang Yuan, 1992, 95 min

View a fragment of the film Beijing zazhong ("Beijing Bastards")

24 January 2009 - Tiananmen Square
8 p.m. Screening: Voyage à Pékin 1908-1909 ("Journey to Peking 1908-1909") Musée Albert Kahn, 1909, 29 min
Clean, Zhao Liang, 1997, 3 min
Wo zhe yi beizi ("My life"), Shi Hui. 1950, 100 min.
Wangque de yitian ("A Day to Remember"), Liu Wei, 2005, 13 min 

View a fragment of the film Voyage à Pékin 1908-1909

28 January 2009 - Paths
8 p.m. Screening: City Scene, Zhao Liang, 2004, 31 min
Construction: Bored Youth, Zhao Liang, 2000-2007, 9 min
Qianmenqian ("Dans les décombres"), Olivier Meys, Weng Living, 2008, 86 min

View a fragment of the film  City Scene

31 January 2009 - City Planning
8 p.m. Screening: Somewhere, Cheng Xiaoxing, 2008, 15 min.
RMB City / City Planning, Cao Fei, 2007, 6 min
Meishi Jie ("Meishi Street"), Cao Fei, Ou Ning, 2006, 85 min

View a fragment of the film Somewhere