Cinemashup kicks off a new season at Dada bar

Happy New Year!
Cinemash up starts 2011 with a bang- great new short films, animations and documentaries from around the world. Obscure visual delights, hand picked by Tina Sparkles and Laura Ingalls. Come down to Dada this Wednesday 12th January for a fantastic night of film, it's free and good for the soul!
Doors open at 8.30pm, films start at 9pm, finish up around 11.30
Dada Bar 115 xingfu lu near Fahuazen Lu.

Below is the preliminary program, we will have a few more surprises on the night


Cinemash up program Jan 12 (more great surprises on the night!)
Angry Man- Josh Gorden, Will Speck, 5 mins- Going to the cinema is not always a pleasurable experience. Especially when you can’t choose who you sit next to.
Ozzat- Darren Walsh- 5 mins. A night at the pub, illustrating a whole new version of beer goggles.
Abductees- Irene Kotlarz- 11 mins- An alien abductee is hypnotized and recounts her other worldly experience, illustrated through various styles of animation.
A is for autism- Tim Webb- 1992-11 mins -England- A variety of animations and drawings from people with autism explaining their interpretation of the condition. A multi award winning film giving incredible insight and explanation about autism.
Sandman- Paul Berry, 1992, 10mins- Stop motion animation about what happens when Mr Sandman spins nightmares instead of dreams.
Manipulation- Daniel Greaves,6 mins. An animator and his creation have a power struggle.
Little wolf- An Vrombaut 6 mins, an adorable hand drawn animation of a little wolf trying to catch a very stupid sheep.
The light of Darkness- Michael Cargile, 10 mins- It is a dark, deserted highway. A woman is driving down a deserted road, lost and confused. She stops to sleep for the night. A dark stranger appears- the results are not what you may first expect.
Dessert- Jill Roberston- 4mins- A very young Ewan Mcgregor strolls along a beach and finds a perfect chocolate éclair at the waters edge- where could it have come from? Dare he find out?
78- Noah Edleson, 4mins. Its early morning, a child stands on a man hole in a suburban street repeating a number constantly. A man waiting for the bus watches on, confused and somewhat annoyed decides to investigate- a dark twist on talking to strangers.
Light is Calling, Bill Morrison, 7 mins. Hauntingly beautiful reconstructed old silent film. The film is deliberately burnt and dystroyed to produce beauty out of decay.
La Jette- Chris Marker,20 mins. Post apocalyptic world is illustrated by stunning still photos from Chris Marker. An incredibly powerful film.

LaoBans gears up for production

Shanghai Jan 7, 2011 -- No budget feature film LaoBans announces a second round of casting for this community film production.

 A Treatment: LaoBans – The Movie

http://blog.sina.com.cn/laobans

A college graduate yet unable to find a “real job” then dumped by his wealthy girlfriend, Dennis is introduced to Jamie by her grandmother, the ‘box rice lunch” lady that feeds Dennis and his fellow fast food franchise employees. Circumventing Jamie’s parents’ recent arranged-marriage attempts, “love at first” sight fuels a failed pawning to a successful series of thefts to an underestimated loss to “quirk of fate” return of a rare, culturally significant and valuable “China Stone” as given to Dennis at his grandfather’s deathbed.

Two star-crossed young lovers seeking to find a  new life within an old world of money and power; the Shanghai Boss flanked by his foreman and mistress; the “Three Dragons” are American, Japanese, and Hong Kong laobans move $100’s millions while gaming to see who can best the other; Texas Dave and Donny Bronx at the “hand-off” in a sex club of Hong Kong; the Japanese Hit Girl in Macau; two Korean Bookends bested by the black-belt “Ingresh” teacher; prurient interests of the American-Playboy-Shanghai-Boss-Mistress-Roommate’s Boyfriend:this collage of characters is the conception of a foreign English teacher and a Chinese film student found during a university intra-campus bus ride.

“Laobans” draws upon an emerging focus of interest in the East/West juxtaposition of a famed dragon motif: Asian (water) auspicious or European (fire) evil are triangulated among the movie’s “Three Dragons” who portray just how personal business is among laobans. A remembrance of Homer’s “Odyssey” and “Iliad” is referenced to old/new orders relative to what may be considered “traditional” in society. Lookdown/Lookup scenes (open/close) reference the metacircularity of life, while “door opening/door closing” scenes reference to “switching tracks of time” which draw out…

The “Half-Guess/Half-Know” human contrasts and commercialism

of the daily life that may be found in any city, anywhere

in our increasingly smaller, globalized world of

push-button-money and fast-food-love-stories.

Update from Shanghai's Lemontree Productions

LemonTree Production House Shanghai

  

                                    LemonTree Production House updates 2010

Synopsis of Wisehit:

Wisehit is based on comedian martial arts person named Wiseguy who's just quit his job as a hitman. He wants to open up a matchmaking agency after all, he has a sensitive side, but he has only one problem he's working for a Shanghai bossman named Carlos, who thinks that Wiseguy knows too much about his personal affairs with sheep. There is only one more package to pick up before he leaves Shanghai, China and return back to New York, USA but he has to encounter strange and wacky people that try to prevent him from quitting.

 “Mel Brooks meets pulp fiction set in contemporary Shanghai”

 Will he succeed? What is the package?

 Release of Wisehit development Trailer.

Comedy has never been this dangerous!!!

Wisehit English

Wise Hit trailer in competition for best comedy Kick the link!

http://yobi.tv/yobilaugh/contestant/9753/SantaMonicaboy/wise-hit-trailer.

    Wisehit with Chinese subtitles

http://www.tudou.com/programs/view/OAmqSjabUUQ/

This is a development movie for purpose of web/television series/feature film and we are seeking investors, more information is also available upon request via e-mail atLemonTreeproduction@gmail.com

Upcoming projects

In development

LemonTree Production House has received a letter of intent from Lyoto Carvalho Machidahttp://lyotomachida.net/   for the upcoming SON RISE Movie as the main character.We have also received a letter of intent from Zack Ward http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0911933/  who is a established well-recognized actor and a martial artist, and has appeared in transformer and many other films.

Synopsis of SonRise:

The film explores themes such as family values, loyalty, friendship and responsibility.  Thrown in strong female characters, nail biting escape  realistic fight sequences, heartbreaking relationship between father and son, mixed martial artist fighters on payroll, quite a few different street characters such as a Chinese detective who is on their trail has a strong exterior, but a kind heart, and the relationship with his own boy

leaves a touching snapshot of urban life not caught on camera before and an unexpected twists that will leave the audience breathless.

More information is also available upon request via e-mail at LemonTreeproduction@gmail.com

Shanghai finest production team members.

 Leo Fuellas: director of photography and film editor.
Maya Meng: production assistant.
Jonathan Browning: photographer

Jeremy Johnson: co-producer Wise Hit

Thanks to the rest of the team for making the best video projects possible and lifting up the standard in China (see the team on LemonTree website http://lemontreefilm.com/index_en.html )

Drago

Drago just finished directing a reality TV show similar to Amazing Race and Apprentice where He traveled throughout mainland China. It was called GM 2030 go for Dragon TV and the Chinese market.

 Previous Videos

This 2 1/2 minutes director’s cut video was shot in the countryside of the Hunan province in China. 900 million live like this in China. No professional actors were used; the mother and son were from the village. The video was produced by Ogilvy for Unilever, who support the charity for handicapped widows since 15 years...

 http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMTI2NTY2NTMy.html

 OMO - Comfort directors cut 15 Second Teaser http://www.shanghaistuff.com/video/omo-comfort-drago-directors

 The adventure of being a Western director and actor In China An award-winning documentary short http://vimeo.com/13386722   directed by Ms. Faye Liang

Here is a short film called ‘The Waiting’ directed By Richard Trombly and co-produced by “The Tree” http://www.tudou.com/programs/view/fNBvU-1_M28/ a Chinese language film that takes a look and the modern meaning of family in Shanghai through the eyes of a 9-year-old Chinese girl.

Here is the short film never publicly release short artsy film called Mohammed   http://vimeo.com/4594728 shot in 3 day.

 For your consideration remember LemonTree independent production House for all film and video works. LemonTree combines Los Angeles creativity and work pride with Shanghai prices. A winning combination.

Please take a look at our site www.lemontreefilm.com

Also our viral videos

Industrial commercial http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMTEwMzA2MDg0.html

Television pilot http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMTA3MjU4MzM2.html

Promotional    http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMTA3MjMxOTI0.html

City image for Hangzhou Government http://www.vimeo.com/5211613

Sincerely yours

Drago Lazetich

Director/producer/actor

LemonTree Independent Production Shanghai

E: LemonTreeProduction@gmail.com

M: 86 138 1782 7962

Drago Lazetich 龙

Unit 1315, 388 Lujiabang Road, Shanghai 200011, P.R. China

中国上海市陆家浜路388号1315室，200011

Tel 电话: +86 (0) 21 6313 4392   Mobile 手机: +86 (0) 138 1782 7962

Email 电邮: lemontreeproduction@gmail.com  www.lemontreefilm.com

Judy Lee joins with Obscure Productions for "Polluted"

The short film POLLUTED, directed by Li Pingru (Judy Lee) is a short film about crossing boundaries in modern China, where many things are forbidden -- Including shooting this film.



POLLUTED is a narrative fiction short film that could be ripped from the pages of the news. Except that the news is censored in China. When a disaster happens in China, local reporters are forbidden to report and international reporters are blocked from the region.
POLLUTED follows JIM, an expatriate journalist committed to making a photographic expose about an ecological disaster in Northern China. It has been forbidden from local media and foreign press are restricted from traveling to this area.
Jim enlists Zheng Yi "Jenny", a local college student, as his translator to travel to the site of a chemical spill in a small North China village that has been officially denied by the local government. He is determined to get the story to the international media at all costs. His student translator fears the repercussions for her assistance to this foreigner. She is strengthened by the foreigner's convictions and drive and together they cross the restricted boundary to get his story.
When Jenny succumbs to her attraction for this handsome young reporter, she discovers that they have crossed other restricted boundaries as well.

Judy Lee (Li Pingru) is an international award winning India filmmaker who currently works in Shanghai. She studied "digital filmmaking and directing in The TV & Film School of China Media University. Judy was the China Representative of Sandy Frank Entertainment Inc. in Shanghai, sourcing and distributing TV programs for its US head office based in New York. Now she works as director for Hansheng Media (Hong Kong) Co., Ltd.

Filmography (as produced and director)
1.Chengdu Graffiti (Documentary) Semi-finalist of 39th Houston Int’l Film Festival.
2.The Psychologist and His Client (Short drama, winner of the Platinum Award for Edit-short of the 40th Houston Int’l Film Festival.
3.A View to A Kill (Short drama, winner of the First Place of the 4th Meiwenti Shanghai Int’l Short Film Contest.
4.White Rose Requiem (Short drama, screened in 13rd New York Int’l Independent Film & Video Festival; Semi-finalist of 2008 Hollywood Action/Cut Short Film Competition)

About OBSCURE PRODUCTIONS

Obscure Productions is founded to make international films within the China market. Few foreign filmmakers can successfully take advantage of the cost savings in China or can produce stories that resonate within the Chinese culture. Few Chinese filmmakers can make films that are accessible to an international audience. That is our niche.

We are a Shanghai-based film and video production company with experience in both documentary and narrative film as well as corporate video. We work with and support the community of independent Chinese and Expatriate fIlm makers.

Beijing Short Play Festival is "Causing a Commotion"

Looking for something to do in Beijing or a reason to fly there? well here you go.

Welcome to come see some unforgettable shows in Beijing made by foreigners! And - a great opportunity to catch up! I'm directing Rainbow Carp, and acting in The Trial, The Chameleon, The Diaries of Adam and Eve: The Musical, and RENT a White Guy: The Musical. It's gonna be awesome! Look forward to see you there! Please Forward Widely!! --------------------------- BINSPF Beijing International New Short Play Festival 2011 edition: Fish out of Water JAN 6-16 (Thurs-Sun) 7:30pm PENGHAO THEATRE TICKETS ON SALE NOW!! 13520450019 beijingtheatre@gmail.com www. bitebeijing.com Facebook EVENT BEIJING, Dec. 15, 2010 – With the Year of the Rabbit bouncing into view, BITE’s 3rd Annual Beijing International New Short Play Festival is in the starting blocks! The theme of this year's festival is “Fish Out of Water”— funny and touching stories about the disorientation, and the comedy, that is inevitably generated when people try to come to terms with a culture different from their own. A number of the plays in the festival are about foreigners trying to come to terms with life in China, but there is also a love story inspired by Mark Twain, a bunch of people trapped on a train, a melodramatic South American medium… and some great songs. BINSPF Festival Director Anna Grace says: “Most of these stories are about life as it is really lived in Beijing. I was amazed by the response we had when we sent out our call for plays. We had 24 submissions and have chosen 16 terrific new plays, including one play written in Chinese and another by a 15 year-old Pakistani schoolboy who has been living in China for just five months.” This year’s festival, which opens January 6, will run over eight nights until January 16 and will see 15 directors, 12 playwrights and dozens of actors compete for attention on the blackbox stage at Peng Hao Theatre, located in the hutong area off trendy Nanluoguxiang shopping district. With Grace’s impulsion, the BINSPF Festival has grown in leaps and bounds over the past three years. There were just six plays in the first short play festival in May 2009, staged over two days. The following year featured eight original plays plus a musical. This year’s edition has doubled to 16 plays, including three musicals. BINSPF Marketing Director Daniel Cotterall says: “There will be different plays on different nights… with some real jewels among them. And, what’s more, they’re home-grown jewels!” BINSPF is a theatre festival of Beijingers, by Beijingers, and for Beijingers!” Awards will be given for “Best of the Fest” with prizes in acting, directing, and writing. Audiences and judges will decide the winners and a ceremony will be held on the last day of the festival. Faithful to its customer-friendly policy, BITE will be offering a festival pass at a very modest 100 RMB for those who book in advance, or 80 RMB for students. The pass gives theatregoers entrance on three different evenings so that they can sample a wide a range of plays. Those who wish to enjoy only one evening of entertainment, tickets are only 50RMB and 30RMB for students. For more information about the Festival, visit www.bitebeijing.com, email beijingtheatre@gmail.com, or call 136 2123 8655 For tickets, call Samantha 135 2045 0019 BINSPF in the news: http://beijing.globaltimes.cn/culture/2010-11/596589.html FESTIVAL LINE UP: Thurs, Jan 6 at 7:30pm Causing a Commotion written and directed by Luciana B Veit--Preparing for guests can prove exhausting for a quiet couple… Rainbow Carp written by Ben Thompson, directed by Olga Gorshkova--Two foreigners meet in Beijing over steamed fish… Charles Atlas' Miracle System written by David Jacobi, directed by Anna Chonavec--A boy confuses self-improvement with fantasies of revenge… Ni Fa Feng Le Ma? Written and directed by Hugh Reed--Scottish rock legend Hugh Reed brings his unique one man show to life on the Beijing stage... The Diaries of Adam & Eve: The Musical original stage adaptation written by Anna Grace, translated by Gloria Su and Tao, directed by Anna Grace and Tao--Mark Twain gives voice to the “first couple” in a new musical version of the original love story… Fri, Jan 7 at 7:30pm The Trial written and directed by Gabriel Rodriguez Rico--One head is better than four in this exploration of love and loss… Camping Day written by Jorge Rios, directed by David Jacobi--A “typical” married couple have a lark in the woods… The Chameleon written by Ali Ahmed, directed by David Jacobi--Passengers trapped on a train must either condemn or absolve a criminal… Linda's Graduation written by Luciana B Veit, directed by Kirsten Klistch--Linda has just graduated from charm school and is on the lookout for a match… The Diaries of Adam & Eve: The Musical original stage adaptation written by Anna Grace, translated by Gloria Su and Tao, directed by Anna Grace and Tao--Mark Twain gives voice to the “first couple” in a new musical version of the original love story… Sat, Jan 8 at 7:30pm Causing a Commotion written and directed by Luciana B Veit--Preparing for guests can prove exhausting for a quiet couple… Rainbow Carp written by Ben Thompson, directed by Olga Gorshkova--Two foreigners meet in Beijing over steamed fish… Charles Atlas' Miracle System written by David Jacobi, directed by Anna Chonavec--A boy confuses self-improvement with fantasies of revenge… Ni Fa Feng Le Ma? Written and directed by Hugh Reed--Scottish rock legend Hugh Reed brings his unique one man show to life on the Beijing stage... The Diaries of Adam & Eve: The Musical original stage adaptation written by Anna Grace, translated by Gloria Su and Tao, directed by Anna Grace and Tao--Mark Twain gives voice to the “first couple” in a new musical version of the original love story… Sun, Jan 9 at 7:30pm The Trial written and directed by Gabriel Rodriguez Rico--One head is better than four in this exploration of love and loss… Camping Day written by Jorge Rios, directed by David Jacobi--A “typical” married couple have a lark in the woods… The Chameleon written by Ali Ahmed, directed by David Jacobi--Passengers trapped on a train must either condemn or absolve a criminal… Linda's Graduation written by Luciana B Veit, directed by Kirsten Klistch--Linda has just graduated from charm school and is on the lookout for a match… The Diaries of Adam & Eve: The Musical original stage adaptation written by Anna Grace, translated by Gloria Su and Tao, directed by Anna Grace and Tao--Mark Twain gives voice to the “first couple” in a new musical version of the original love story… Thurs, Jan 13 at 7:30pm Cast Out written and directed by Luciana B. Veit--Unable to decide if his wife is crazy or possessed, her husband calls in a psychotherapist and a medium… Struggle written and directed by Yu Gui Feng--A tragic accident becomes an opportunity for strength and courage… Weekly Acid Test written by Gabriel Rodriguez Rico, directed by Dawn Estes--Surveys can reveal more about the surveyor than the surveyed… RENT a White Guy: The Musical written by Anna Grace, directed by Anna Grace and Andrew Delo--Cult Musical TV show “Glee” meets Beijing in this story of fame, fortune, and failure in the Far East… Fri, Jan 14 at 7:30pm The Date written and directed by Elizabeth Ashforth--In the dating game, you just can’t rely on gossip… More or Less written by Daniel Cotterall, Cyril Cotterall, and Gloria Su, directed by Gloria Su--A man's logic comes up against something more powerful, the mind of woman… Jenny and Xiao Han written by David Jacobi, directed by Anna Chovanec--Stuck in a Beijing prison (their bedroom), two children learn to hate and trust each other… RENT a White Guy: The Musical written by Anna Grace, directed by Anna Grace and Andrew Delo--Cult Musical TV show “Glee” meets Beijing in this story of fame, fortune, and failure in the Far East… Sat, Jan 15 at 7:30pm Cast Out written and directed by Luciana B. Veit--Unable to decide if his wife is crazy or possessed, her husband calls in a psychotherapist and a medium… Struggle written and directed by Yu Gui Feng--A tragic accident becomes an opportunity for strength and courage… Weekly Acid Test written by Gabriel Rodriguez Rico, directed by Dawn Estes--Surveys can reveal more about the surveyor than the surveyed… RENT a White Guy: The Musical written by Anna Grace, directed by Anna Grace and Andrew Delo--Cult Musical TV show “Glee” meets Beijing in this story of fame, fortune, and failure in the Far East… Sun, Jan 16 at 7:30pm The Date written and directed by Elizabeth Ashforth--In the dating game, you just can’t rely on gossip… More or Less written by Daniel Cotterall, Cyril Cotterall, and Gloria Su, directed by Gloria Su--A man's logic comes up against something more powerful, the mind of woman… Jenny and Xiao Han written by David Jacobi, directed by Anna Chovanec--Stuck in a Beijing prison (their bedroom), two children learn to hate and trust each other… RENT a White Guy: The Musical written by Anna Grace, directed by Anna Grace and Andrew Delo--Cult Musical TV show “Glee” meets Beijing in this story of fame, fortune, and failure in the Far East… -- http://sites.google.com/site/beijingtheatre

Underground Chinese filmmakers make their mark in USA

More entries >

• Underground Chinese films make their mark in USA

  Wednesday, Dec 1, 2010 12:17PM

  China Underground Film Series at Viz Cinema

  Posted November 30, 2010 by Luis in EVENTS

  

  VIZ Cinema and NEW PEOPLE, in association with dGenerate Films, are proud to present a fascinating series focusing on a new vanguard of Chinese independent filmmakers, whose innovative uses of digital filmmaking deliver provocative insights into the world’s largest nation.

  All of the documentary films to be shown at the festival were made outside the official Chinese film system – unauthorized, uncensored, and totally independent. These groundbreaking films introduce a new generation of filmmakers who represent the future of Chinese cinema, using new technology to present a vision of China as never seen before. A wide variety of controversial topics and issues like homosexuality, the role of women in society, the forced relocation of citizens which preceded the 2008 Beijing Olympics, drug use, and the inner workings of Chinese law enforcement, are examined in unflinching detail in these seven films.

  China Underground opens Friday December 3rd with the premiere of Queer China, “Comrade” China at 7:00pm. The screening will include a Q&A session with several guest speakers and an after-party that will immediately follow. The remaining films will be screened throughout the weekend.

  At NEW PEOPLE
  1746 Post St,
  San Francisco, CA 94115
  For directions, see VISIT page

  “We are thrilled to showcase seven of our titles at VIZ Cinema in China Underground, the first film series of its kind,” says Karin Chien, president of dGenerate Films. “Independent documentaries are the only free media existing in mainland China today. There is a new generation of filmmakers, artists, and activists wielding digital cameras and laptop edit systems, creating some of the most daring cinema in the world today. These films will have a special relevance and resonance with the diverse communities of the Bay Area.”

  Queer China, ‘Comrade’ China | Directed by Cui Zi’en
  Friday, 12/3 at 7:00pm
  China, 2008, 60min, Mandarin with English subtitles
  China’s most prolific queer filmmaker presents a comprehensive historical account of the queer movement in modern China. Unlike any before, this film explores the historical milestones and ongoing advocacy efforts of the Chinese LGBT community. Tickets are $15.00.

  Super, Girls! | Directed by Jian Yi, China
  Saturday, 12/4 at 1:00pm
  2007, Documentary, 73min. Mandarin with English subtitles
  SUPER, GIRLS! follows ten teenagers on their quest to become superstars on China’s biggest tv show. Through candid interviews and footage of nail-biting auditions, SUPER, GIRLS! offers a fascinating look inside what the Chinese media have dubbed “the Lost Generation.”
  Tickets are $10.00.

  Meishi Street | Directed by Ou Ning
  Saturday, 12/4 at 2:45pm
  China, 2006, Documentary, 85min, Mandarin with English subtitles
  MEISHI STREET shows ordinary citizens taking a stand against the planned destruction of their homes for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Acclaimed at over two dozen museums and galleries around the world, Meishi Street, by renowned visual artist Ou Ning, works as both art and activism, calling worldwide attention to lives being demolished in the name of progress. Tickets are $10.00.

  Using | Directed by Zhou Hao
  Saturday, 12/4 at 4:45pm
  China, 2008, Documentary, 105min, Mandarin with English subtitles
  A twisted relationship develops between an urban Chinese couple struggling with heroin and a filmmaker chronicling their addiction, in this provocative documentary on drug abuse, filmmaking and friendship. Zhou’s unflinching depiction of his friends’ repeated attempts to quit blurs the line between filmmaker and subject, and raises provocative questions about the ways in which each uses the other. Tickets are $10.00.

  Ghost Town | Directed by Zhao Dayong
  Saturday, 12/4 at 7:15pm
  China, 2008, Documentary, 169min, Mandarin, Nu, & Lisu dialects with English subtitles
  Zhiziluo is a town barely clinging to life. Tucked away in a rugged corner of Southwest China, the village is haunted by traces of China’s cultural past while its residents piece together a day-by-day existence. Tickets are $10.00.

  1428 | Directed by Du Haibin
  Sunday, 12/5 at 1:00pm
  China, 2009, Documentary, 117min. Mandarin and Sichuan dialects w/ English subtitles
  Du Haibin’s award-winning documentary of the earthquake that devastated China’s Sichuan province in 2008 explores how victims, citizens and government respond to a national tragedy. Du depicts a world in chaos, both material and moral. “Without judgment but with a deep compassion for their subjects, the filmmakers of 1428 bring us a myriad of individual stories of absurdity, confusion and grief.”(Cherise Fong, CNN). Tickets are $10.00.

  Crime and Punishment | Directed by Zhao Liang
  Sunday, 12/5 at 3:30pm
  China, 2007, Documentary, 122min, Mandarin with English subtitles
  “Zhao’s artistry is instantly apparent.” (Robert Koehler, Variety)
  A prime example of how independent documentaries are on the vanguard of Chinese cinema, Crime and Punishment is an unprecedented look at the everyday workings of law enforcement in the world’s largest authoritarian society. With penetrating camerawork, Zhao Liang (Petition, 2009 Cannes Film Festival) patiently reveals the methods police use to interrogate and coerce suspects to confess crimes – and the consequences when such techniques backfire. Tickets are $10.00.

  Before the Flood | Directed by Li Yifan and Yan Yu
  Sunday, 12/5 at 5:45pm
  China, 2005, Documentary, 147min. Mandarin and Sichuan dialects with English subtitles
  A landmark documentary following the residents of the historic city of Fengjie as they clash with officials forcing them to evacuate their homes to make way for the world’s largest dam. Shot over two years, Before the Flood is a breathtaking achievement in verité-style documentary filmmaking. This profound film shows the human effects of one of history’s grandest social engineering projects, reflecting on the loss of both home and heritage. Tickets are $10.00.

Shanghai Portraits Project: Gianpaolo Lupori

Creative Hunt

Published November 12, 2010

http://www.creativehunt.com/shanghai/articles/gianpaulolupori-shanghaiportraitsproject-rovingdreams-shortfilm
CreativeHunt and SmartShanghai have been working with Lazy Susan Productions on their Shanghai Portraits Project and over the course of four weeks will profile each of the four directors who made short films for the series. The project challenged locally-based independent directors to represent "My Shanghai" in short documentary format, keeping the film length under four minutes and the budget under 3,000rmb (USD$450.) 

First up is Italian Gianpaolo Lupori, who took time out from his busy filming schedule to chat with Creative Hunt about his contribution to the Shanghai Portraits Project. 

What made you decide to come to China and make films?
I've been here almost 6 years now and moved here with my family, partly because I felt fed up with the way things were in Europe – Italy in particular – where doing media work can be very difficult, and the political and cultural environment doesn’t really appreciate and cultivate creativity. I'd initially planned to come here for just six months, really for a break, but then realized that there's so many interesting stories to be told as things develop here. There's a huge amount of information from an economic and political perspective – companies moving into China, the car industry and so forth … but no cultural information specific to what it is like to be Chinese right now... there isn't that much from a human point of view. China is not all rice paddies and China is not the Cultural Revolution, nor is it all glass buildings, it's a lifestyle – like everywhere. And of course where there’s all this movement there’s an incredible amount of drama and wanted to be able to tell these stories. It’s that that made me stay. 

Is that what we should expect from your film? Some of this movement and drama?
Not so much in this one – it only touches on it in only a very marginal way. It's an aesthetic piece, it looks good but could be punchier. It's Shanghai nightlife told from the point of view of a taxi driver. It's not so much about the driver himself, more him as a connection, a point of reference between so many different lifestyles and strands of society that come together in Shanghai. A taxi driver is an important figure in so many situations. Shanghai does accentuate things in a particular way, for better or worse, and there’s moments when you're super excited in a taxi and this particular driver has met so many of those people in both positive and negative situations: after a night out, on their way to an important meeting, being lost... what are the traces left in his life? The idea was to get a feel for him moving around the city and talking about not so much himself but more his relationship with people. 

Watching the film, there were moments when I was unsure whether I was watching a fiction or a documentary. Which was it, and was the ambiguity a conscious decision?
I don't come from a documentary background; I come from a fiction background. I do like the documentary aesthetic, but I also like having control over what's being said. I have done other pieces which are more documentary in look, but with this one I wanted to flip things around and make a documentary which has a cinematic feel, which looks more like a movie whilst still being a documentary. We stayed with the one driver and everything that is spoken about is recreated in various sequences or fragments. It's quite staged – there was lots of lighting and rigs involved, not that kind of shaky camera, guerilla feel which I do like but for this I wanted [to create something different]. The only element which is unusual is a kind of questioning of what makes a documentary: there’s this notion that they're like the bible, that they have a strong element of truth and therefore a certain authenticity which is very, very relative. I mean just the fact that you are following a particular story, that you gather a lot of material and you put it together in a certain way makes for a strong editorial point of view, but if you push this idea further, where does it tip over into fiction? Just the act of putting a microphone in front of someone and asking a question [means that people end up saying] things that they wouldn't necessarily say on other occasions, and just because there's a microphone and you’re not giving them a script doesn't necessarily mean that it's any more authentic than had it been scripted. I think often movies are better able to capture reality, the essence of something than, say, the news. Everyone was aware of the camera – people were told to either act like themselves or do certain things. The overall structure is documentary in that there’s no narrative and that it’s based on an interview with this one guy 

How was it working with the taxi driver? How's your Shanghainese?
My Shanghainese is awful! I have a collaborator who helped me so much: she was translator, production assistant, assistant director and producer. She helped us find the guy and yes, [language] was an issue, I realized that that is a wall that you end up banging up against as a foreigner. We did a first interview and I was very, very unhappy with it. When we first met the guy he told us some crazy stories – women offering themselves to him in exchange for payment because they had no money, people making out in the back of the car and asking him to wait outside, all sorts of crazy stuff, and I thought this is going to be fun. But then when we started interviewing him he became like cardboard, very materialistic and optimistic. When we asked him about why he felt people came to Shanghai he replied for the Expo – you know, things that you can’t put in a piece which is about a mood and not so much about details. We had to redo the interview. Initially, I just wanted to let him talk and we gather some things and then the visuals would follow, but in the end we had to tell him that we wanted him to talk about people and prompt him a lot more – we don’t want to talk about Expo! 



Sounds like quite a challenge!
Yeah, also the guy was a bit deaf which added an extra layer of difficulty when it came to communicating! But the thing is this guy had been an extra in a few movies so he knew how to work with the camera. He's rather dramatic in his movements and he followed instructions, he was easy to work with in terms of being fine with all the lights and rigs we put all over his car and he enjoyed the limelight. 

You decided that your 'My Shanghai' should be from the perspective of a taxi driver – did you learn anything unexpected or surprising about them while filming it?
Yes, that Shanghai drivers are not as philosophical as I’d hoped! I've had some conversations with a few that have been very interesting and you imagine these stereotypical figures, the figures that we see in popular culture who have so much contact with society on various levels that it's easy to assume that they all have this street knowledge and wisdom that will just come out spontaneously and that’s not necessarily the case. 

What attracted you to the Shanghai Portrait Project in the first place?
As a freelancer, you can be very free, you cling to the fact that you're free to do what you want, but often you're not free to do anything at all, you can end up a little complacent. Sometimes you need a deadline for that spark. At first I didn’t want to do a documentary piece, it’s not really my thing. I’d thought that unless you spend a year with someone you’re not going to get enough information, the depth of their real emotion, really get behind their front. But then I knew if I said yes then I'd have to do it. I also liked the attitude of Lazy Susan Productions: the stylistic element was important to them, that it's not 'just' a documentary, it's 50% subject, and 50% author, which made it a lot more personal and gave me room to play around with it a little bit. There’s the idea of a patchwork too, I'm interested in seeing how it fits in with the other films. 



What's next for you?
This was a very aesthetic piece, all about the look. There's this camera called a 5 D Mark II and there's something happening now that I’m not especially happy about – to myself and a lot of other people. There was a time when video cameras became very accessible, everyone was making their own little movies, but the cameras wouldn’t allow them to look good so instead you had this very cool, in-your-face, guerilla feel that everyone moved towards and there was no real question of personal style because that was all you could do. The camera became dominant … but then all of the sudden there’s this new camera which is just the opposite. Suddenly it’s very easy to make something that looks good and a lot of people fall into this trap where the aesthetic aspect overshadows the content. I think I've gotten this 'beautiful' thing out of my system now and I’m back to why I’m in the media business in the first place: meaning. I’m not saying the two can’t work together, but you can get sidetracked. 

I'm currently working on a feature version of a short film I made a few years back which is all about Chinese popular youth culture, the effect of the internet on society, personal engineering online... I'm very upset that this Facebook movie just came out, which I guess is very much along the lines of what I’m doing. Three years ago I made this film about people desperately trying to get famous online... 

Gianpaolo, they copied you!
Ha ha! It's kind of like Trainspotting from an internet point of view – you have people bury themselves in this alternate reality, and to some extent, they're liberated, but it can also throw them into a worse situation and you end up unsure of which reality is safer. It's about the positive and negative elements of the internet, especially in China where it’s very unique. 



It seems you manage to strike a nice balance between commercial and creative projects.
Yes, now I do, but for the first few years it wasn't like this. I've learnt a lot along the way, I've improved and of course projects like this one can help get your name out there. There's no way I can just focus on creative stuff – this is the first time I've received any sort of sponsorship or outside help for a creative project – and I was very , very grateful for it.