Controversial Chinese films find an audience in London
Chinese Visual Festival will screen more than 40 independent films from Chinese-speaking world in British capital
When you think of London cinema, premieres in Leicester Square, twee Richard Curtis romcoms and James Bond stunt scenes probably spring to mind.
But until May 22, works including experimental video art from Hong Kong, a controversial documentary charting decades of cultural repression in Singapore and feature films from Taiwan and mainland China will be entertaining cinephiles in the British capital.
Now in its fifth year, the Chinese Visual Festival will screen more than 40 independent films from the Chinese-speaking world, at venues including the prestigious British Film Institute, on the South Bank.
Among those in attendance will be Zhang Peili, pioneer of the video-art genre in China and dean of the new media department at the China Academy of Art, which has campuses in Shanghai and Hangzhou.
Award-winning director Gu Tao's documentary , which explores dying traditions and the fate of ethnic minority groups in modern China, was due to be screened on Friday, followed by a Q&A session with the filmmaker.
Directed by a Scotsman - film critic and Chinese-cinema obsessive James Mudge - the festival aims to introduce its offerings to British audiences as well as Asian-born cinephiles residing abroad.
"When I started in this job, I didn't even know why Brits got into Chinese film," says China-born festival spokeswoman Chieco Qiu. "Some people just get into the issues happening far away from them, in another world. Some want to hear scholars discuss the state of independent Chinese cinema. We have quite a stable audience in London."
The incentive for the Asian filmmakers to show their works in Britain, however, is clear - freedom of expression.
Gu is a case in point. The former radio host has been arrested for his art and, Qiu says, diplomatically, he has "issues" showing his films in China.
"I would say it would be easier for people to see his work in London [than it is] in China," she says, with a wry smile.
Taking advantage of the liberal setting is the festival's Queer China programme. Aiming to "demonstrate the energy and diversity of queer filmmaking in contemporary China", it will feature the British premiere of . A playful take on performances across China of Eve Ensler's classic feminist play , the former is directed by Fan Popo, who sits on the committee of the Beijing Queer Film Festival.
Etan Smallman in London
