Shanghai on Screen

Timed to coincide with the Chinese New Year, the capital welcomes a host of events showcasing the vibrancy of Chinese culture past and present. Shanghai on Screen is part of China in London 2006. Shanghai has long been the centre of China’s film industry, and is increasingly being cast in a central role as a location. While it is the gleaming, futuristic skyscrapers that catch newspaper headlines, directors have been keen to explore the city’s past, its mysteries and the crises and contradictions of its recent history.

Shanghai on Screen (8 - 15 February) celebrates the city and its cinematic heritage, from the 1930s to the modern day. Recent features such as Suzhou River, a love poem to Shanghai, sit alongside rarely screened classics such as Myriads of Lights. This black and white film from Shanghai cinema’s second golden age portrays the brief period between victory over the Japanese in 1945 and the formation of the People’s Republic of China in 1949.

creening Schedule
VUE
3 Cranbourn Street, Leicester Square, WC2H 7AL
08712 240240
www.myvue.com
TUBE: Leicester Square08/02 Wed 8.30pm 大城小事 Leaving Me, Loving You
09/02 Thurs 6.30pm 美丽上海 Shanghai Story
10/02 Fri 6.30pm 大城小事 Leaving Me, Loving You
11/02 Sat 3.00pm 哪吒闹海 Nezha Conquers the Dragon King
11/02 Sat 6.30pm 万家灯火 Myriads of Lights
12/02 Sun 3.00pm 苏州河 Suzhou River
12/02 Sun 6.30pm 假装没感觉 Shanghai Women
14/02 Tue 6.30pm 逃往上海 Escape to Shanghai
15/02 Wed 6.30pm 神女 The GoddessMueseum in Docklands
No 1 Warehouse, West India Quay
Hertsmere Rd, London E14 4AL
0870 444 3856
www.mueseumindocklands.org.uk
Tuebe: Canary Wharf
DLR: West India Quay
08/02 Wed 2.00pm 林家铺子 The Lin Family Shop
19/02 Sun 2.00pm 苏州河 Suzhou River
25/02 Sat 12.00pm 小蝌蚪找妈妈 Where is Mama

Shanghai continued as the cinema capital of the People’s Republic after 1949. As well as features, it produced unique animation films like Nezha Conquers the Dragon King, based on China’s own artistic traditions. Shanghai’s return to the limelight has also made it the focus of many recent films.

Leaving Me Loving You showcases the gleaming contemporary city as a setting for romance between canto- stars Leon Lai and Faye Wong. Local woman film-maker Peng Xiaolian’s Shanghai Story, picked up the Chinese equivalent of the Best Film Oscar for its depiction Shanghai history through the lives of three generations of women.

Today, Shanghai is again the most international of Chinese cities. With over 500 cinemas ranging from brand new multiplexes to the art deco picture palaces of the thirties and China’s international film festival, it continues to cater to the demands of its population for the most exciting of world cinema.

Shanghai on Screen is supported by Film London. All screenings will take place at the Vue in the West End or Museum in the Docklands. Find out more here: www.visitlondon.com/chinainlondon.

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