Chinese Independent Film Foundation



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Thoughts on East Palace, West Palace

Words by William Duan

Fantasy and the performance of desire play a central role in the film East Palace, West Palace – through fantasy, Zhang Yuan ultimately captures a reality of queerness in ‘90s China, a time when homosexuality faced severe societal and legal repression. The film plays out on the knife’s edge of binaries, firstly through the dichotomy presented in its title: East and West – and then reverberating throughout the rest of the film; night and day, freedom and repression, exterior performance and hidden interiority.

The park, based on the famous gay beat of Dongdan Park in Beijing, is a vital, almost fantastical space in the film. Amid lush bamboo and intricate shadows, a dream-like sensuality emerges between the park’s nocturnal visitors, their fantasies of intimacy mirrored by their verdant surrounds. The reality of the hookups are a rude awakening then, transpiring in the stark and sterile urban developments of a China in the grips of modernisation. A commentary perhaps on the fragility of queer intimacy and the looming threat of external hostility.

Zhang reveals A Lan inverting the power dynamic of captor and captive with Xiao Shi through the power of storytelling and fantasy-making. Here, fantasy is not only a tool of soft-power, but also as a means of survival for A Lan himself – he speaks of his wealthy suitor and his extravagant apartment, but the film reveals the reality of an abusive partner in a sterile abandoned building. His fantasy-making functions as a way for A Lan to process his past and express his feelings in a context where open expression would otherwise be dangerous. The repeated merging of Xiao Shi's face with the faces of A Lan's past lovers further blurs the lines between reality and fantasy, suggesting a psychological overlay of desire and projection onto his captor. Is the queer experience not one which necessitates us weave beauty out of pain, fantasy out of (oftentimes) gross reality?

Throughout the film, Xiao Shi repeatedly brands A Lan a pervert, but A Lan rebuts that there is no such thing as perversion within the realms of fantasy, in the moment shared between two lovers: only love. Perhaps the true perversion in the film does not lie within A Lan’s queerness but in the violence of the men whom he hooks up with – or truer yet, the social pressures that force the distortion of queer love. The men’s shame, discomfort, and violent attempts to reconcile their identities create the very rupture the film seeks to explore.  And in that way, the film leaves us asking – is the only sanctuary for unbridled queer love one sculpted in shadows and bamboo leaves, obscured and half-seen, where fantasy takes flight?

William Duan (he/they) is an award-winning filmmaker based in Naarm (Melbourne), Australia. They are inspired by deeply human stories from the diaspora. Learn more about William’s work here. 
 
EAST PALACE, WEST PALACE 东宫西宫 (1996) will screen as part of the Chinese Independent Film Foundation’s Focus on Queer 中文 Cinema program, running from June 19 – July 7 at ACMI. This program is presented with the support of the Beijing Queer Film Festival. Book tickets here.


SUMMER PALACE 颐和园 (2006)  

Directed by Lou Ye 娄烨

In Lou Ye’s cult masterpiece, SUMMER PALACE, two young lovers play out their complex, erotic, love/hate relationship against a  volatile backdrop of political unrest – Beijing, 1989. Beautiful Yu Hong (Hao Lei) leaves her village, her family and her boyfriend to study in Beijing, where she discovers a world of intense sexual and emotional experimentation, and falls madly in love with fellow student Zhou Wei (Xiaodong Guo). Their relationship becomes one of dangerous games, as all around them, their fellow students begin to demonstrate, demanding democracy and freedom.
Sunday, June 15, 2pm
 Lido Cinemas, Hawthorn (MELB)
Book tickets
Sunday, June 15, 2pm
Ritz Cinemas, Randwick (SYD)
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China 


Chinese and English subtitles 


135 mins. 


Drama

I’M SO SORRY 无去来处 (2021)  

Directed by Zhao Liang 趙亮

Zhao Liang’s anticipated follow-up to BEHEMOTH (2015), which examined the effects of Chinese coal mining, is an audacious essay-film about nuclear power. Visiting the exclusion zones surrounding the Chernobyl and Fukushima disaster sites, the director constructs a sobering account of the lasting human and environmental cost of technological progress. As spirits in Noh masks drift through the film’s apocalyptic landscapes, I’M SO SORRY spotlights the predicament of climate change in the most urgent terms.
Sunday, July 13, 2pm
 Lido Cinemas, Hawthorn (MELB)
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Sunday, July 13, 2pm
Ritz Cinemas, Randwick (SYD)
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China 


Chinese and English subtitles 


96 mins. 


Documentary

REPUBLIC 我们的共和国 (2023)  

Directed by Jin Jiang 晋江

Chinese hippie Eryang lives out his own version of communism in Republic, his six-square-meter apartment where young Beijing misfits hang about. Time comes to a halt for the drug-addled adolescents in this cluttered room, somewhere between psychedelic utopia and claustrophobic hell, dream and reality. Jia Jiang’s camera remains unobtrusive, an impressive achievement in such a cramped, swarming mess, as Eryang and his visitors wax poetic in a verbal cocktail of political philosophy and Internet babble. 
Sunday, August 10, 2pm
 Lido Cinemas, Hawthorn (MELB)
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Sunday, August 10, 2pm
Ritz Cinemas, Randwick (SYD)
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China 


English subtitles 


107 mins. 


Documentary

BLUE SUN PALACE 蓝色太阳宫 (2024)  

Directed by Constance Tsang 曾佩裕

The complexities of the migrant experience are tenderly depicted in Constance Tsang’s deeply felt debut feature, which was nominated for Cannes Critics’ Week Grand Prize. In New York City, recently arrived Chinese workers Amy and Didi are employed at a massage parlour in Flushing, Queens. As they navigate the demands of family back home and the difficulties of their new circumstances, the film sensitively portrays the need for community that defines the process of putting down roots in a foreign land. But when an unexpected act of violence encroaches on the two women’s lives, an unlikely bond is formed.
Sunday, September 14, 2pm
 Lido Cinemas, Hawthorn (MELB)
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Sunday, September 14, 2pm
Ritz Cinemas, Randwick (SYD)
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USA 


English subtitles 


117 mins. 


Drama

AN ELEPHANT SITTING STILL 大象席地而坐 (2018)  

Directed by Hu Bo 胡波

Finished just before his death at the age of 29, Chinese filmmaker Hu Bo’s monumental debut feature follows the troubled lives of four desperate people over the course of a single, suspensful day. In the northern Chinese city of Manzhouli, they say there is an elephant that simply sits and ignores the world. Manzhouli becomes an obsession for the protagonists of this film, from dawn to dusk, when the train to Manzhouli is set to depart.
Sunday, October 12, 2pm
 Lido Cinemas, Hawthorn (MELB)
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Sunday, October 12, 2pm
Ritz Cinemas, Randwick (SYD)
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China 


English subtitles 


234 mins. 


Drama

BUMMING IN BEIJING: THE LAST DREAMERS 流浪北京 (1990)  

Directed by Wu Wenguang 吴文光

Regarded as one of the most influential Chinese documentaries, BUMMING IN BEIJING: THE LAST DREAMERS follows the lives of five young artists, including two painters, a theater director, and a photographer. After graduating college, all of them reject state-assigned jobs, and move to Beijing as they strive for personal and artistic fulfillment in the Chinese capital. In Wu’s debut documentary, viewers come to understand these five creatives as they navigate the world without a fixed income or the security of a home during late 1980s China. 
 Sunday, November 16, 2pm
 Lido Cinemas, Hawthorn (MELB)
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Sunday, November 16, 2pm
Ritz Cinemas, Randwick (SYD)
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China 


Chinese and English subtitles 


134 mins. 


Documentary

YI YI 一一 (2000)  

Directed by Edward Yang 楊德昌

The extraordinary, internationally embraced YI YI, directed by the late Taiwanese master Edward Yang, follows a middle-class family in Taipei over the course of one year. Whether chronicling a middle-age father’s tentative flirtations with an old flame or a precocious young son’s attempts at capturing reality with his beloved camera, the filmmaker deftly imbues every gorgeous frame with a compassionate clarity. Warm, sprawling, and dazzling, this intimate epic is one of the undisputed masterworks of the new century.
 Lido Cinemas, Hawthorn (MELB)
Ritz Cinemas, Randwick (SYD)
Past event  

Taiwan 


Chinese and English subtitles 


174 mins. 


Drama

MAMA 妈妈和七天的时间 (2020)  

Directed by Li Dongmei 李冬梅

In Li Dongmei’s debut feature film, MAMA, she explores the tenuous connection between memory and real life through the childhood trauma of losing a loved one. 12-year-old Xiaoxian remembers what happened over seven days in her village in rural China during the Summer of 1992. During those seven days, she witnesses three deaths and two births, including the death of her own mother who dies giving birth to her fourth sister.
Lido Cinemas, Hawthorn (MELB)
Ritz Cinemas, Randwick (SYD)
Past event

China 


Chinese and English subtitles 


133 mins. 


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.

Lido Cinemas, Hawthorn (MELB)
Ritz Cinemas, Randwick (SYD)
Past event  



China 


Chinese and English subtitles 


106 mins. 


Politics / Drama / Documentary

LAN YU 蓝宇 (2001)  

Directed by Stanley Kwan 關錦鵬

Filmed in secret in Beijing, this tender gay romance by Stanley Kwan combines the timeless conventions of classic melodrama with a radically frank depiction of queer intimacy as it traces, over the course of years, the relationship between a wealthy businessman (Hu Jun) and a young architecture student (Liu Ye) as they come together, fall apart over the former’s fear of commitment, and gradually realize that they are fated to be together. Kwan’s expressive visuals and the sensitive lead performances yield a daring, deeply affecting love story that doubles as a haunting reflection on life in post-Mao China in the wake of the Tiananmen Square massacre.
 Lido Cinemas, Hawthorn (MELB)
Ritz Cinemas, Randwick (SYD)
 Past event  

China / Hong Kong 


Chinese and English subtitles 


87 mins. 


Drama

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.
Ritz Cinemas, Randwick (SYD)
Lido Cinemas, Hawthorn (MELB)
Past event
China
Chinese and English subtitles 
110 mins. 
Drama / 4K Restoration

LOVE IS A GUN 愛是一把槍 (2023)  

Directed by Lee Hong-Chi 李鴻其

Award-winning actor Lee Hong-Chi (THANATOS, DRUNK, 2015) embarks on his directorial debut in a stylish neo-noir drama with elegant long takes that meander from the vibrant cityscape to the enigmatic urban countryside. Honoured with the Best Debut Film accolade at the Venice Film Festival, LOVE IS A GUN follows recently-released convict Sweet Potato, played by Lee Hong-Chi himself. 
Lido Cinemas, Hawthorn (MELB)
Ritz Cinemas, Randwick (SYD)
Past event  

Taiwan 


Chinese and English subtitles 


81 mins. 


Drama

BLACK DOG 狗阵 (2024)  

Directed by Guan Hu 管虎

Presented at Cannes’ Un Certain Regard, BLACK DOG tells the story of Lang (Eddie Peng), who returns to his hometown after being released from prison after a lengthy stint in jail. Haunted by the past and confronted with an uncertain future, Lang tries to get work as a ‘bounty hunter’ of stray dogs but ends up falling into an unlikely camaraderie with a rabid dog he’s forced to quarantine with. Filled with expansive imagery and percolating with sly cultural critique, Guan Hu’s poignant latest depicts human–animal friendship without excessive sentimentality, finding profundity in the interplay of two different but simpatico species.

Lido Cinemas, Hawthorn (MELB)
Ritz Cinemas, Randwick (SYD)
Past event

China 


English subtitles 


116 mins. 


Drama



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 




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 

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.
Lido Cinemas, Hawthorn (MELB)
Ritz Cinemas, Randwick (SYD)
Past event

China 


Chinese and English subtitles 


179 mins. 


History / Drama


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. 


Drama




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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