Chinese Independent Film Foundation



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A NEW OLD PLAY 椒麻堂会 (2021)  

Directed by Qiu Jiongjiong 邱炯炯 

Qiu Jiongjiong’s visually magnificent A NEW OLD PLAY is a unique hybrid of fiction, historical reminiscence, and experimental theatre. Its overview of China from the 1930s to the 1980s is filtered through Qiu Yu, a Sichuan opera 'clown' based on the director’s own famous grandfather. As Qiu Yu negotiates his entry into Hades with two comic sidekicks, his departing soul reviews his childhood, his performances, family tragedies, and political perils.
Sunday, October 6, 2pm
Lido Cinemas, Hawthorn (MELB)
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Sunday, October 13, 2pm
Ritz Cinemas, Randwick (SYD) 
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China 


Chinese and English subtitles 


179 mins. 


History / Drama

AN UNFINISHED FILM 一部未完成的电影 (2024)  

Directed by Lou Ye 娄烨

Chinese auteur Lou Ye tackles the seismic disruption brought by COVID through an exhilarating blend of drama and documentary. In AN UNFINISHED FILM, a fictional crew stumbles upon 10-year-old footage of a (real) aborted queer film and sets about reuniting the cast to complete it with a new act. But this is early 2020, and fate has other ideas – the unexpected comes crashing down on Wuhan, the film is halted again and the project eventually morphs into something else entirely.

Sunday, October 27, 2pm
Lido Cinemas, Hawthorn (MELB)
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Sunday, October 27, 2pm
Ritz Cinemas, Randwick (SYD) 
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China 


Chinese and English subtitles 


106 mins. 


Politics / Drama / Documentary



PICKPOCKET 小武 (1997)

Directed by Jia Zhangke 贾樟柯

The feature debut of visionary director Jia Zhangke announced the arrival of arguably the most important Chinese filmmaker of his generation. Left behind by friends who have taken advantage of the changing economy and moved on with their lives, aimless pickpocket Xiao Wu (Wang Hongwei) drifts into a relationship with a sex worker (Hao Hongjian) as he begins to question the purpose of his existence. Shot guerrilla style in 16 mm with a cast of nonprofessional actors, PICKPOCKET is at once an intimate character study and a trenchant examination of the political and economic forces reshaping Chinese society in the 1990s.
Sunday, November 2, 2pm
Lido Cinemas, Hawthorn (MELB)
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Sunday, November 9, 2pm
Ritz Cinemas, Randwick (SYD) 
Book ticketsChina
Chinese and English subtitles 
110 mins. 
Drama / 4K Restoration



A BRIGHTER SUMMER DAY 牯嶺街少年殺人事件 (1991)

Directed by Edward Yang 楊德昌

Among the most praised and sought-after titles in all contemporary film,  A BRIGHTER SUMMER DAY is set in the early sixties in Taiwan, and based on the true story of a crime that rocked the nation. A film of both sprawling scope and tender intimacy, this novelistic, patiently observed epic centers on the gradual, inexorable fall of a young teenager (Chen Chang, in his first role) from innocence to juvenile delinquency, and is set against a simmering backdrop of restless youth, rock and roll, and political turmoil.
Lido Cinemas, Hawthorn (MELB)
Ritz Cinemas, Randwick (SYD) Past event

Taiwan


Chinese and English subtitles 


237 mins. 


Drama / Crime / Romance 




A BRIGHTER SUMMER DAY
牯嶺街少年殺人事件 (1991)

Directed by Edward Yang 楊德昌




Among the most praised and sought-after titles in all contemporary film,  A BRIGHTER SUMMER DAY is set in the early sixties in Taiwan, and based on the true story of a crime that rocked the nation. A film of both sprawling scope and tender intimacy, this novelistic, patiently observed epic centers on the gradual, inexorable fall of a young teenager (Chen Chang, in his first role) from innocence to juvenile delinquency, and is set against a simmering backdrop of restless youth, rock and roll, and political turmoil.
 Past event (2024)



Taiwan


Chinese and English subtitles 


237 mins. 


Drama / Crime / Romance 




FAREWELL MY CONCUBINE 霸王别姬 (1993)

Directed by Chen Kaige 陈凯歌

A breathtakingly intimate romance unfolds against a sweeping backdrop of social upheaval in renowned director Chen Kaige’s sumptuous saga of passion, fate, and the transcendent possi­bilities of art. Spanning fifty years of twentieth-century Chinese history, FAREWELL MY CONCUBINE follows aspiring actors Cheng Dieyi (a heartbreaking Leslie Cheung) and Duan Xiaolou (Zhang Fengyi) as they emerge from a childhood of brutal training to become Beijing-opera stars, with life mirroring art as Dieyi’s unrequited love for Xiaolou and the country’s changing political tides engulf them in their own personal tragedies of jealousy and betrayal. The first Chinese film to win the Palme d’Or is epic filmmaking of the highest order — visually and emotionally ravishing from frame to exquisite frame.
Lido Cinemas, Hawthorn (MELB)
Ritz Cinemas, Randwick (SYD)
Past event

China


Chinese and English subtitles 


171 mins. 


Drama / History / Romance 



LOST COURSE 迷航 (2019)

Directed by Jill Li

Embedding herself in the village of Wukan, southern China for several years starting in 2011, first time documentarian Jill Li witnessed an unprecedented experiment in local democracy. Corrupt officials had illegally sold villagers' land, but the villagers decided to fight back. LOST COURSE is divided into two halves: the first, "Protests", depicts the grassroots activities of Wukan residents as they work to reverse the land sales and gain a substantial measure of control over their local territory. We see how the villagers themselves learn to organize elections, form alliances, and win support. Part two, "After Protests", confronts the collapse of idealism as the newly elected village government finds itself mired in the same kind of corrupt dealings they had originally condemned.
Lido Cinemas, Hawthorn (MELB)
Ritz Cinemas, Randwick (SYD)
Past event
Hong Kong


English subtitles 


179 mins. 


Documentary 




STONEWALLING 石门 (2022)

Directed by Huang Ji & Ryuji Otsuka

From Beijing-based wife-and-husband directorial team Huang Ji and Ryuji Otsuka is a piercing, meticulously observed examination of contemporary Chinese youth starring their recurring leading lady, the brilliant Yao Honggui. She plays the twenty-year-old Lynn, a flight attendant in training whose path of upward mobility is derailed when she finds out she is pregnant. Indecisive and running out of time, Lynn tells her boyfriend she’s had an abortion and returns to her feuding parents and their failing clinic to try and figure out what’s next. Surveying the new norms of the gig economy, gray markets, MLMs, and hustling in modern-day, post-TikTok China, STONEWALLING unfolds as a haunting character study and a socioeconomic thriller of the everyday.
Lido Cinemas, Hawthorn (MELB)
Ritz Cinemas, Randwick (SYD)
Past event

China / Japan


Chinese and English subtitles 


148 mins. 


Drama 




BARBARIAN INVASION 野蛮人入侵 (2021)

Directed by Tan Chui Mui 陈翠梅

Moon Lee, a celebrated award-winning actress, has become a full-time mom and divorcée since retiring. Desperate to regain her sense of self, she jumps at the chance to work with her long-time collaborator, director Roger Woo, again. Only this time, he casts her as the lead in a do-your-own stunts martial arts film. The role requires extensive training and though Moon is at first uncertain, she leaves her young son in the care of Roger’s assistant and commits herself to back-breaking training. As soon as she starts to gain some confidence, Roger breaks the news to her: the only way the film can move ahead is to cast her ex-husband, Julliard, as the male lead.
Lido Cinemas, Hawthorn (MELB)
Ritz Cinemas, Randwick (SYD) 
Past event

Malaysia


Chinese and English subtitles 


106 mins. 


Documentary 




THIS WOMAN 这个女人 (2023)

Directed by Alan Zhang

In this impressive and courageous first feature, Alan Zhang follows the journey of a young woman in order to profoundly question the role of women in contemporary Chinese society. To what obligations and expectations are they subjected, and how can they free themselves from these constraints? A political and timely film, with a wonderful protagonist and a playful tone.
Lido Cinemas, Hawthorn (MELB)
Ritz Cinemas, Randwick (SYD)
Past event

China


Chinese and English subtitles 


90 mins. 


Drama / Mockumentary 



About
Chinese Independent Film Foundation (CIFF) is a not-for-profit, dedicated to distributing and screening arthouse Chinese-language films to Australian audiences. Our monthly program features a curated selection of titles, with one-off cinema screenings across Melbourne and Sydney.  

TEAM 
Cliff Xiao | cliff@ciff.org.au
Duan Mu | duanmu@ciff.org.au
Jason He | jason@ciff.org.au
Ji Li | lljj320@ciff.org.au
Pong Pong | pongpong@ciff.org.au
Victor Tang | victor@ciff.org.au
Xiao Xiao | xiaoxiao@ciff.org.au

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COMMUNITY PARTNERS
Element Theatre Company 
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