Wang Bing[/caption]
The Film Society of Lincoln Center will honor Chinese documentarian Wang Bing with a three-film tribute titled Wang Bing: The Weight of Experience, November 16 to 18.
An intrepid chronicler of the human tribulations underlying modern China’s social and economic transformation, Wang Bing makes films that are epic in duration yet precise in scope. Forging intimate bonds with his subjects, he captures the plights of individuals and communities in factory towns and rural villages, and demands that we behold the political complexity and moral weight of their struggles.
FSLC will present the New York premiere of Wang’s latest, the eight-hour opus Dead Souls; a rare screening of his debut masterpiece, the three-part West of the Tracks (2002); and the first U.S. showing of the single-shot 15 Hours (2017), screening free in the Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center Amphitheater. Wang will appear in person to discuss these films and his singular art.
FILMS & DESCRIPTIONS
All films screen digitally at the Walter Reade Theater (165 W. 65th St.) unless otherwise noted.
15 Hours
Wang Bing, Hong Kong, 2017, 900m
Mandarin with English subtitles
This documentary installation consists of a single, 15-hour take shot in a garment factory in China and captures the daily labor of its 300,000 migrant workers and the functioning of its 18,000 production units. Rigorous and hypnotic, 15 Hours marks Wang’s most radical meditation on the contemporary meaning of work and the state of labor conditions in present-day China. (Free Amphitheater screening)
Dead Souls
Wang Bing, France/Switzerland, 2018, 495m
Mandarin with English subtitles
Wang Bing’s latest is a monumental work of testimony, largely comprised of interviews with survivors of the Jiabiangou and Mingshui re-education camps of the late 1950s, which were set up in the Gobi Desert to imprison alleged reactionaries and anti-Communists a decade after China’s revolution in 1949. In making Dead Souls, Wang interviewed over 100 survivors from almost all of China’s provinces, recording traumatic memories, melancholic recollections and sober reflections on political repression in the country prior to the Cultural Revolution of the late 1960s. As with all of Wang’s work, Dead Souls is both an engrossing epic and a profound moral act in and of itself. A Grasshopper Film and Icarus release.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GnB-4IP50Bk
West of the Tracks, Part 1: Rust
Wang Bing, China, 2003, 224m
Mandarin with English subtitles
The first part of Wang’s debut film—a nine-hour epic about the decline of an industrial Tiexi district in the city of Shenyang—follows a small group of workers employed in three state-owned factories. Wang captures the workers’ plight, caught between backbreaking labor in substandard conditions and periods of simmering anxiety as they idly wait for a shortage in raw materials to subside. West of the Tracks offers one of the most affecting and thorough looks at the effects of deindustrialization and the advent of the free market on China’s economy, and its first section is a powerful snapshot of the radically changing nature of work in the 21st century.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_z4BTaTRko
West of the Tracks, Part 2: Remnants
Wang Bing, China, 2003, 178m
Mandarin with English subtitles
The second part of West of the Tracks is devoted to the proletarian families of the state-owned housing block known as Rainbow Row, particularly their teenage children. Wang sensitively chronicles these families’ efforts to cope with the rapidly changing circumstances of their lives, from the shifting role of work within their everyday existence to their all-but-certain displacement in the face of factory closures throughout Tiexi. A rich, humanist portrait of the quotidian repercussions of fluctuations in the global economy, West of the Tracks’ second section is a captivating immersion in the daily lives of society’s most vulnerable elements and a stark reminder of all that is lost to the violent churning of capitalism.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxRJPphDEd4
West of the Tracks, Part 3: Rails
Wang Bing, China, 2003, 132m
Mandarin with English subtitles
Narrowing its focus, the final part of West of the Tracks follows a coal-scavenger father and his son, who make a living collecting raw parts from the local railyards and selling them to Tiexi’s dwindling factories. Like that of the factory workers, their future has also been rendered anxiously uncertain by the deindustrialization of 21st-century capitalism, and Wang captures their resilience and resourcefulness amid a decaying local economy and the omnipresent threat of eviction from their home. As with its two preceding parts, the conclusion of West of the Tracks is a critical, intensely moving chronicle of survival in an age when the very concept of work is in crisis.
image via TwitterDead Souls (Si Ling Hun)
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Film Society of Lincoln Center to Honor Chinese Documentarian Wang Bing with Tribute Screening
[caption id="attachment_32347" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] Wang Bing[/caption]
The Film Society of Lincoln Center will honor Chinese documentarian Wang Bing with a three-film tribute titled Wang Bing: The Weight of Experience, November 16 to 18.
An intrepid chronicler of the human tribulations underlying modern China’s social and economic transformation, Wang Bing makes films that are epic in duration yet precise in scope. Forging intimate bonds with his subjects, he captures the plights of individuals and communities in factory towns and rural villages, and demands that we behold the political complexity and moral weight of their struggles.
FSLC will present the New York premiere of Wang’s latest, the eight-hour opus Dead Souls; a rare screening of his debut masterpiece, the three-part West of the Tracks (2002); and the first U.S. showing of the single-shot 15 Hours (2017), screening free in the Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center Amphitheater. Wang will appear in person to discuss these films and his singular art.
FILMS & DESCRIPTIONS
All films screen digitally at the Walter Reade Theater (165 W. 65th St.) unless otherwise noted.
15 Hours
Wang Bing, Hong Kong, 2017, 900m
Mandarin with English subtitles
This documentary installation consists of a single, 15-hour take shot in a garment factory in China and captures the daily labor of its 300,000 migrant workers and the functioning of its 18,000 production units. Rigorous and hypnotic, 15 Hours marks Wang’s most radical meditation on the contemporary meaning of work and the state of labor conditions in present-day China. (Free Amphitheater screening)
Dead Souls
Wang Bing, France/Switzerland, 2018, 495m
Mandarin with English subtitles
Wang Bing’s latest is a monumental work of testimony, largely comprised of interviews with survivors of the Jiabiangou and Mingshui re-education camps of the late 1950s, which were set up in the Gobi Desert to imprison alleged reactionaries and anti-Communists a decade after China’s revolution in 1949. In making Dead Souls, Wang interviewed over 100 survivors from almost all of China’s provinces, recording traumatic memories, melancholic recollections and sober reflections on political repression in the country prior to the Cultural Revolution of the late 1960s. As with all of Wang’s work, Dead Souls is both an engrossing epic and a profound moral act in and of itself. A Grasshopper Film and Icarus release.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GnB-4IP50Bk
West of the Tracks, Part 1: Rust
Wang Bing, China, 2003, 224m
Mandarin with English subtitles
The first part of Wang’s debut film—a nine-hour epic about the decline of an industrial Tiexi district in the city of Shenyang—follows a small group of workers employed in three state-owned factories. Wang captures the workers’ plight, caught between backbreaking labor in substandard conditions and periods of simmering anxiety as they idly wait for a shortage in raw materials to subside. West of the Tracks offers one of the most affecting and thorough looks at the effects of deindustrialization and the advent of the free market on China’s economy, and its first section is a powerful snapshot of the radically changing nature of work in the 21st century.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_z4BTaTRko
West of the Tracks, Part 2: Remnants
Wang Bing, China, 2003, 178m
Mandarin with English subtitles
The second part of West of the Tracks is devoted to the proletarian families of the state-owned housing block known as Rainbow Row, particularly their teenage children. Wang sensitively chronicles these families’ efforts to cope with the rapidly changing circumstances of their lives, from the shifting role of work within their everyday existence to their all-but-certain displacement in the face of factory closures throughout Tiexi. A rich, humanist portrait of the quotidian repercussions of fluctuations in the global economy, West of the Tracks’ second section is a captivating immersion in the daily lives of society’s most vulnerable elements and a stark reminder of all that is lost to the violent churning of capitalism.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxRJPphDEd4
West of the Tracks, Part 3: Rails
Wang Bing, China, 2003, 132m
Mandarin with English subtitles
Narrowing its focus, the final part of West of the Tracks follows a coal-scavenger father and his son, who make a living collecting raw parts from the local railyards and selling them to Tiexi’s dwindling factories. Like that of the factory workers, their future has also been rendered anxiously uncertain by the deindustrialization of 21st-century capitalism, and Wang captures their resilience and resourcefulness amid a decaying local economy and the omnipresent threat of eviction from their home. As with its two preceding parts, the conclusion of West of the Tracks is a critical, intensely moving chronicle of survival in an age when the very concept of work is in crisis.
image via Twitter
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Toronto International Film Festival Unveils 2018 Wavelengths Program of 43 Experimental Films
[caption id="attachment_31419" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]
What You Gonna Do When the World’s on Fire?[/caption]
The Toronto International Film Festival unveiled the 18th edition of it’s Wavelengths program showing adventurous and carefully curated lineup of shorts and feature films from around the world. This year’s selection of 43 films, comprises 4 programs of experimental short films, 2 curated pairings, and 10 features, each contributing to an exciting, diverse lineup of moving-image art.
Wavelengths ’18 offers trenchant reflections on home, memory, and a world in flux through artistic narratives produced by a mix of emerging talent and contemporary masters and working across a variety of inventive styles. Fiction highlights include Bi Gan’s dazzling and mysterious Long Day’s Journey Into Night, a dreamy neo-noir about memories, passion, and the malleability of time that received critical acclaim at Cannes; the beautiful and intimate RAY & LIZ, the searing debut feature by Richard Billingham, Turner Prize–nominated photographer-turned-filmmaker, inspired by his family and his own Thatcher-era childhood memories; and Mariano Llinás’ epic 14-hour drama La Flor — the longest film in Argentine history — which took nearly a decade to produce and which explores the possibilities of cinematic narrative through impressive and ingenious experiments in acting and genre.
Wavelengths will showcase several astonishing and sure-to-be landmark documentaries, including master Chinese filmmaker Wang Bing’s powerful Dead Souls, a momentous, eight-hour documentary that offers sobering testimonials of experiences in China’s forced re-education camps in the 1950s; the World Premiere of the stunningly shot The Stone Speakers by Igor Drljača, a compelling documentary about faith, tourism, shifting industries, and competing historical narratives in Bosnia and Herzegovina; the provocative and powerful What You Gonna Do When the World’s on Fire? by the returning Roberto Minervini, a fiery portrayal of Black life in the American South; the gripping found-footage film The Trial by Festival mainstay Sergei Loznitsa, which assembles original material from a show trial conducted under Stalin’s Soviet government in 1930s Moscow; and the elegant, moving Erased,___Ascent of the Invisible by Ghassan Halwani, a personal-essay film by the animator of The Lebanese Rocket Society (Wavelengths 2012) inspired by the distorted image of a mysterious man thought to have disappeared many years ago in Beirut. Andrea Bussmann’s solo debut, Fausto, and Jodie Mack’s The Grand Bizarre are two of this year’s most exhilarating cinematic experiments; they defy categorization as they meld documentary inquiry with inspired audio-visual expressions, ranging from the mythical to the musical.
Short-film highlights include new works by Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Abraaj Group Art Prize winner Lawrence Abu Hamdan, Nathaniel Dorsky, Mary Helena Clark, Laida Lertxundi, Ben Rivers, Kevin Jerome Everson, Laura Huertas Millán, and more. The programme also features the World Premiere of artist-filmmaker Beatrice Gibson’s I Hope I’m Loud When I’m Dead, a KW Production Series co-commission with Mercer Union (Toronto), Camden Arts Centre (London), and Bergen Kunsthall (Bergen), which is supported by the Julia Stoschek Foundation and Outset Germany_Switzerland and which features appearances by poets Eileen Myles and CAConrad.
Wavelengths will also present a number of historical restorations and rediscoveries. This year’s archival selections include the previously unseen 1986 Summer (1986), by Japanese avant-garde titan Toshio Matsumoto; Lisa Baumgardner’s punchy Girl Pack (1981), recently restored by the Museum of Modern Art in New York; and the fascinating and idiosyncratic portrait film Alice (1974), directed by Austrian painter and filmmaker Maria Lassnig as part of her Soul Sisters series.
The 43rd Toronto International Film Festival runs from September 6 to 16, 2018.
WAVELENGTHS SHORT FILM PROGRAMS
Wavelengths 1: Earth, Wind & Fire
Polly One Kevin Jerome Everson | USA | Canadian Premiere Blue Apichatpong Weerasethakul | France/Thailand | International Premiere Fainting Spells Sky Hopinka | Ho-Chunk Nation/USA | International Premiere Prologue to the Tarot: Glenna Brittany Gravely, Ken Linehan | USA | World Premiere Hoarders Without Borders Jodie Mack | USA | World Premiere ante mis ojos Lina Rodriguez | Colombia/Canada | World Premiere ALTIPLANO Malena Szlam | Chile/Argentina/Canada | World PremiereWavelengths 2: Another Brick in the Wall
Ada Kaleh Helena Wittmann | Germany | World Premiere The Glass Note Mary Helena Clark | USA | North American Premiere mumok kino Philipp Fleischmann | Austria | International Premiere TREES DOWN HERE Ben Rivers | United Kingdom | International Premiere 1986 Summer ( 1986夏) Toshio Matsumoto | Japan | International Premiere Words, Planets Laida Lertxundi | Spain/USA | Canadian Premiere The Invisible Cinema 3 Philipp Fleischmann | Austria | International Premiere Walled Unwalled Lawrence Abu Hamdan | Germany | North American PremiereWavelengths 3: Centerfold
Girl Pack Lisa Baumgardner | USA | International Premiere Please step out of the frame. Karissa Hahn | USA | Toronto Premiere The Air of the Earth in Your Lungs Ross Meckfessel | USA/Japan | World Premiere Sira Rolla Tahir | Canada | World Premiere Slip Celia Perrin Sidarous | Canada | Toronto Premiere Alice Maria Lassnig | USA | Canadian Premiere Fallen Arches Simon Liu | United Kingdom/USA/Hong Kong | World Premiere I Hope I’m Loud When I’m Dead Beatrice Gibson | USA/Italy/United Kingdom | World PremiereWavelengths 4: We’ve Only Just Begun
Colophon (for the Arboretum Cycle) Nathaniel Dorsky | USA | World Premiere A Return James Edmonds | Germany | North American Premiere The Labyrinth ( El Laberinto) Laura Huertas Millán | Colombia/France | North American Premiere Île d’Ouessant David Dudouit | France | North American Premiere Julio Iglesias’s House ( La casa de Julio Iglesias) Natalia Marín | Spain | North American Premiere Man in the Well ( Jing li de ren) Hu Bo | China | North American PremierePAIRINGS
L. COHEN James Benning | USA Canadian Premiere preceded by Arena Björn Kämmerer | Austria International Premiere The Grand Bizarre Jodie Mack | USA North American Premiere preceded by Those Who Desire ( Los que desean) Elena López Riera | Switzerland/Spain International PremiereFEATURES
Dead Souls ( Si Ling Hun) Wang Bing | France/Switzerland North American Premiere Erased,___Ascent of the Invisible ( Tirss, Rihlat Alsoo’oud ila Almar’i) Ghassan Halwani | Lebanon North American Premiere Fausto Andrea Bussmann | Canada/Mexico North American Premiere In My Room Ulrich Köhler | Germany/Italy North American Premiere The Flower (La Flor) Mariano Llinás | Argentina North American Premiere Long Day’s Journey Into Night (Di qiu zui hou de ye wan) Bi Gan | China/France North American Premiere RAY & LIZ Richard Billingham | United Kingdom North American Premiere The Stone Speakers (Kameni Govornici) Igor Drljača | Canada/Bosnia/Herzegovina World Premiere The Trial Sergei Loznitsa | Netherlands North American Premiere What You Gonna Do When the World’s on Fire? Roberto Minervini | Italy/USA/France North American Premiere Previously announced Canadian titles in the Wavelengths Program include Lina Rodriguez‘s ante mis ojos, Andrea Bussmann’s Fausto, Rolla Tahir’s Sira , Celia Perrin Sidarous’ Slip, and Igor Drljača’s The Stone Speakers.
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Films by Spike Lee, Jean-Luc Godard, Nandita Das Among 2018 Cannes Film Festival Official Selection Lineup | Complete List [ VIDEO ]
The Cannes Film Festival yesterday announced the Official Selections of the 71st edition of the festival. The titles include the feature films in Competition, at Un Certain Regard, Out of Competition, in Midnight Screenings and in Special Screenings.
The 71st Cannes Film Festival will take place May 8 to 19, 2018.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0swRBkl11rI
In Competition
Opening Film Asghar FARHADI TODOS LO SABEN (EVERYBODY KNOWS)
Stéphane BRIZÉ AT WAR Matteo GARRONE DOGMAN Jean-Luc GODARD THE IMAGE BOOK (LE LIVRE D’IMAGE) Ryusuke HAMAGUCHI NETEMO SAMETEMO (ASAKO I & II) (ASAKO I & II) Christophe HONORÉ SORRY ANGEL Eva HUSSON GIRLS OF THE SUN JIA Zhang-Ke ASH IS PUREST WHITE KORE-EDA Hirokazu SHOPLIFTERS Nadine LABAKI CAPERNAUM LEE Chang-Dong BUH-NING (BURNING) Spike LEE BLACKKKLANSMAN David Robert MITCHELL UNDER THE SILVER LAKE Jafar PANAHI THREE FACES Pawel PAWLIKOWSKI ZIMNA WOJNA (COLD WAR) Alice ROHRWACHER LAZZARO FELICE Kirill SEREBRENNIKOV LETO A.B SHAWKY YOMEDDINEUn Certain Regard
Ali ABBASI GRÄNS (BORDER) Meryem BENM’BAREK SOFIA Andréa BESCOND, Eric METAYER LITTLE TICKLES BI Gan LONG DAY’S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT Nandita DAS MANTO Antoine DESROSIÈRES SEXTAPE Lukas DHONT GIRL Vanessa FILHO ANGEL FACE Valeria GOLINO EUPHORIA Gaya JIJI MY FAVORITE FABRIC Wanuri KAHIU RAFIKI (FRIEND) Etienne KALLOS DIE STROPERS (THE HARVESTERS) Ulrich KÖHLER IN MY ROOM Luis ORTEGA EL ANGEL Adilkhan YERZHANOV THE GENTLE INDIFFERENCE OF THE WORLDOut of Competition
Ron HOWARD SOLO A STAR WARS STORY Gilles LELLOUCHE LE GRAND BAINMidnight Screenings
Joe PENNA ARCTIC YOON Jong-Bin GONGJAK (THE SPY GONE NORTH)Special Screenings
Aditya ASSARAT, Wisit SASANATIENG, Chulayarnon SRIPHOL, Apichatpong WEERASETHAKUL 10 YEARS IN THAILAND Nicolas CHAMPEAUX, Gilles PORTE THE STATE AGAINST MANDELA AND THE OTHERS Carlos DIEGUES O GRANDE CIRCO MÍSTICO (THE GREAT MYSTICAL CIRCUS) Romain GOUPIL LA TRAVERSÉE Michel TOESCA TO THE FOUR WINDS WANG Bing DEAD SOULS Wim WENDERS POPE FRANCIS – A MAN OF HIS WORD