For the occasion of Chinese New Year, screening of three films dedicated to the Middle Kingdom: "Sur la route du thé", "Dream Empire" and the great classic "Farewell my Concubine".
Cinema Massimo – 16 February 2018, from 4.00 p.m. – Screen Three
In order to celebrate the Chinese new year, the National Cinema Museum, Luci dalla Cina and the Dong Film Fest are describing past and present China with three films dedicated to the Middle Kingdom, between tradition, progress and beauty. The programme features an afternoon dedicated to documentary cinema, with the screening of On the tea road by Michel Noll and Zhou Weiping, a journey along the commercial road which accompanied men and goods for centuries through extraordinary landscapes and countless adventures, and Dream Empire by David Borenstein, the story of Yana and of her business project, which shows the hopes and fragility of contemporary China between visionary ambitions and winning inventive. The early evening features the great classic Farewell my Concubine by Chen Kaige, twenty-five years from its first release.
Admission 6.00/4.00 euro.
Fri 16, at 4.00 p.m.
Michel Noll / Zhou Weiping
Sur la route du thé (On the tea road)
(France/China 2008, 90’, Video, o.v. it. s/t)
The most ancient caravans road is revealing its secrets to viewers for the first time. The most extraordinary commercial road of all times is over 4 thousand kilometres. It passes through oases 200 metres above sea level, it crosses three climate zones, numerous virgin forests and about twenty mountain ranges up to the eternal snows on the Tibetan Plateau, over 6,000 metres high. It is a spectacular theatre, the witness of countless human adventures and no doubt embodies the most authentic gift from China to the world.
Fri 16, at 6.30 p.m.
David Borenstein
Dream Empire
(Denmark 2016, 73 minutes, DCP, col., o.v. it. s/t)
Selling a house means selling a dream, a concept of life.
Yana has arrived from a remote province in China at Chongqing, a metropolis undergoing full expansion, and she has a crazy and cynical plan for building successful dreams. A film offering an ironical, but revealing glance on the Chinese real estate bubble and on our global present.
Fri 16, at 8.00 p.m.
Chen Kaige
Farewell my Concubine (Ba wang bie ji)
(China/Hong Kong 1993, 171’, HD, col., o.v. it. s/t)
Two children become friends while learning the harsh art of an actor. Indeed, in order to tread the stage in China, it is necessary to follow strict rules. Once they are selected as actors for a famous play starring a king and his concubine, their lives change. The actor who plays the female role enters it to the point of becoming jealous and dangerous when his friend falls in love with a prostitute.