CINEMA ALLEY 2010

19 February 2010

For one night only, Parker Street, Haymarket is transformed into a street cinema screening animation from the 1960s by the Shanghai Animation Company and contemporary video art by one of China’s leading video artists — Yang Fudong.

This double billing showcases Yang’s celebrated, poetic film originally shot on 35mm, Estranged Paradise,as well as The Cowboy’s Flute, a short animation work from the Shanghai Animation Studio, one of the key animation studios established during the 1950s in China.

Yang Fudong is internationally renowned for his poetically challenging photography and film work, which lyrically captures modern life. Moments of intimacy: moods, dreams, feelings and aspirations embody experiences of alienation in urban life.

An Estranged Paradise, his first major film work, follows the character of Zhuzi, a young intellectual swept up in melancholy and the beauty of the world, who eventually finds contentment in life’s simple pleasures. Set in the beautiful southern city of Hangzhou, nicknamed ‘paradise’, Zhuzi’s restlessness is mimicked by Hangzhou’s relentless rain and languor. Blurring China’s traditional and contemporary cultures and landscapes, the film’s sense of timelessness is at odds with the bustling modernity that Zhuzi is deeply embroiled in.

The Cowboy’s Flute is an animation classic directed by Te Wei (b 1915) and produced by the Shanghai Animation Studio. The studio is renowned for its beautiful animation style incorporating ink and wash painting, ‘New Year’ style woodcuts, paper cutting and puppetry. The Cowboy’s Flute is about a young cowherd, with extraordinary flute playing abilities, and his faithful water buffalo. This film has no dialogue. Its narrative unfolds through the masterfully animated brush and ink painting and a whimsical musical soundtrack.