1997 Annual Chinese Film Showcase

The 1997 Chinese Film Showcase is an annual event hosted by Asian Media Access to bring in top quality Chinese films to the Twin Cities. This year focus will be the "Hong Kong 1997" issue. In order to expand the educational aspects of this activity for both the Asian and non-Asian audiences, we also hope to include special speaking engagements with one or more of the internationally acclaimed directors, such as Wong Kar Wai, Ann Hui, or Clara Law, as well as other experts on Hong Kong 1997 issues.

The imminent reunification of Hong Kong with the People's Republic of China will occur in 1997. It is an issue that has been explored in a number of recent Chinese films. The Showcase will offer a realistic depiction of contemporary urban life in Hong Kong, and to capture the anxiety of the uncertainty. The Showcase will include the style and quality of films from diverse but linked by a common past and future.

The films will be selected not only on the basis of cinematographic innovation and artistry, but also on the basis of well-crafted dialog, intriguing plot development, engrossing character representations, emotional depth, and socially pertinent commentary. We have films from Mainland Chinese, Hong Kong, and Taiwanese film makers in an attempt to cover widest angles and perspectives that Hong Kong return to the mainland entails; these films themselves examine various implications and ramifications of the reunification. The artistic quality of the films will be very high but the styles will be so different, range from avant-garde artistic films, to serious dramas, to great comedy. To make the Showcase complete we also deem it necessary to feature a few documentary films dealing with colonial history of Hong Kong. These will undoubtedly help set the receptacle for the current films to be understood in their owncontexts.

The Showcase includes:

"Emigration vs. Immigration" Series
"Anxiety of the Uncertainty" Series
"Searching for the Root" Series
"Live-Like-There's-No-Tomorrow Symptom" Series
"Collaboration Between Hong Kong and China Policemen" Series
Historical Perspectives Series