CHINA - THE GREAT WALL WITHIN

CINEMA 'KINO BIZE' 29.11 / 19.00

China - The Great Wall Within
In China, once you get inside, you become the outsider. No Google, Facebook or even your beloved Instagram. You are completely separated from the rest of the world. You are on the other side of the Great Firewall. But that is not important, because you have this great opportunity to take a peek behind the curtain. Or do you?
Coming to China is like going down the rabbit hole and discovering that you’re either too big or too small for the room - too foreign. For them too you are the outsider. Nonetheless, slowly and steadily you try to find your way around the food, the language and the people. You hope, that after enough time has passed, you will be accepted, embraced, and your “Nǐ hǎo” will no longer be received with a sense of shock. But the more you look inside, the more you see the outside. It is everywhere.

Over several months of working for the Jinzhen International Short Film Festival in Hancheng, China, two outsiders had a peek into Chinese culture and cinema. And one thing they learned quickly was, that being part of China doesn’t necessarily make you Chinese. Not the right kind anyway. If you are from Macao, Taiwan or Hong Kong, get your Visa ready. If you think a bit too outside the box, get your tea set ready, because the censors are coming. This focus program is an attempt to uncover the Chinese outsider in all its shapes and forms, whether it’s because of one’s origin, beliefs, orientation or physical differences.

KILLER SMILE, Camille Ma, fiction, Macao SAR of China, 2017, 14'35''

The smile of a baby is the sweetest thing in the world. But what if this smile can kill? Alice, an urban single-mother sacrifices everything to protect her baby boy Marco, who is born with a deadly smile.

DUMMY, Yongliang Chang, fiction, China, 2016, 21"

Story about the life and inner world of a left behind teenager Dummy. When traveling players come to his village Dummy discovers Peking Opera. He is deeply attracted to the female character…

FUNDAMENTAL, Chiu Shih-Chien, animation, China, 2017, 7"

Warped into an ultra-religious environment from a young age, a teenager is forced to adhere to a rigid and sometimes irrational world view. One day he gathers the courage to leave his faith behind.

A GIRL COVERED, Gen Xin, fiction, China, 2017, 29"

GaoJie tries to reverse her sexual orientation under the pressure of family and society. Due to the aversion treatment she develops an instinctive desire to vomit, when intimate with girls.

LOVE AFTER TIME, Tsai Tsung Han, fiction, Taiwan, China, 2016, 15'24"

After a nuclear disaster people have mutated and cut off government supplies. A female mutant robs the provisions of a military officer. When she is about to be arrested she discovers a secret.

Films will be screened in the original language with Latvian subtitles.

Curator: Inita Jansone