APSIG newsletter no. 63: March 2007

Appointment to ANU Pacific Research Collection

Hong Kong, Shanghai: Cinema Cities, 2 March - 27 May 2007

An APT5 Cinema program presented by the Queensland Art Gallery's Australian Cinémathèque from 2 March to 27 May 2007 : Hong Kong, Shanghai: Cinema Cities is an extraordinary opportunity to embark on a thematic and chronological journey through the interconnected film histories of Shanghai and Hong Kong. Screening more than 60 films and presented midway between the centenaries of mainland Chinese cinema in 2005 and Hong Kong cinema in 2009, the program includes the earliest existing film from silent-era Shanghai, Romance of a Fruit Peddler 1922 (dir: Zhang Shichuan), which will screen with live musical accompaniment; a retrospective of the work of actress Ruan Lingyu (known as the 'Shanghai Garbo'), which includes her best known film, Goddess 1934 (dir: Wu Yonggang); and Chinese cinema classics set in city streets and against a backdrop of political turmoil. Other highlights include the cinema stories of celebrated writer Eileen Chang, the genre of tenement films (responses to crowded communal living conditions), and the songstress films of perennial stars Zhou Xuan, Li Lihua and Grace Chang (Ge Lan).Visit http://www.asiapacifictriennial.com/cinema for screening details.

Japan Fantastic: Focus on Tezuka
5 - 13 April 2007

Covering a spectrum of issues and styles, the anime of Osamu Tezuka (1928-1989) consistently combines seemingly cute characters with powerful post-nuclear sentiments. Familiar yet strange, kitsch yet elegant, Tezuka's iconic animated work affords the viewer an insight into the perplexing formal mutations and weird narrative contortions that typify postwar Japanese culture. Curated by Philip Brophy, Australia's leading expert on anime, and presented in conjunction with the Australian Centre for the Moving Image, Focus on Tezuka screens throughout the Easter holidays and includes Tezuka Kids' Flicks.

To view complete film notes for Japan Fantastic: Focus on Tezuka see http://www.asiapacifictriennial.com/cinema/focus_on_tezuka

APT5 Filmmakers: until 27 May 2007

The APT5 Cinema programs explore the diversity of cinema practice in the Asia-Pacific region and show case the work of seven APT5 filmmakers: Jackie Chan (Hong Kong), Beck Cole (Warramungu/Luritja people, Australia), Kumar Shahani (India), Sima Urale (Samoa/New Zealand), Vi_t Linh (Vietnam), Apichatpong Weerasethakul (Thailand) and Yang Fudong (China). A display in the Australian Cinémathèque's media gallery celebrates Jackie Chan as director, action choreographer and actor.

(Judy Gunning)