Monday, January 28, 2013

Chinese films, arts and culture highlight 7th Spring Film Festival


February 1-10, 2013
Shang Cineplex (Cinema 2), Shangri-La Plaza
Mandaluyong

Chinese culture will be once again at the forefront as the Filipino-Chinese community prepares to celebrate the coming of the Chinese New Year. Shangri-La Plaza Mall, in partnership with the Ateneo de Manila University’s Ricardo Leong Center for Chinese Studies, Ateneo Celadon and the Confucius Institute of the Ateneo de Manila University and Credit Suisse present  7th Spring Film Festival along with other activities and events as part of these celebrations.

The 7th Spring Film Festival, now on its seventh year in promoting Chinese culture to the Filipino people, will be held on February 1 to 10, 2013 at the Shangri-La Cineplex. Six contemporary Chinese films (with English subtitles) namely 2 Become 1, Piano in a Factory, Storm Warriors, Jasmine Women, Space Dream and Golden Times will be screened throughout the 10 day festival. Popular actress Zhang Ziyi stars in the film Jasmine Women. Admission is free on all screenings on a first-come, first-served basis.

Other highlights of the 7th Spring Film Festival include the book launch of Chinese Painting in the Philippines, a 180-page hardcover art book featuring the works of notable Chinese-Filipino artists. While the films are being screened at the cinemas, the 2013 Spring Festival Chinese Painting Exhibit will be on display at the Grand Atrium. The On the Wings of Culture Chinese Photo Exhibit, to be located at the 4th level, will feature images and scenes that depict the new wave of cultural reform now happening in China.

Piano in a Factory


A special screening was held during the press conference for the upcoming Spring Film Festival. The movie that was screened was Piano in a Factory from 2010 which pleased me a lot since I am also a pianist. This film, directed by Zhang Meng has won numerous awards that include the Best Actor award for Wang Qian-Yuan at the 23rd Tokyo International Film Festival. The film has also won Best International Movie at the 28th Miami International Film Festival and the Special Award of Jury at the 28th Golden Flower Movie Festival.

Piano in a Factory is a family drama that highlights the struggle of the Chen Guilin (Wang Qian-Yuan) who is going through a divorce and fighting custody for his daughter Xiao Yuan (Liu Xing-Yu). With the daughter deciding that she would go to the one who could get her a piano, Chen tries all possible avenues from borrowing to stealing just to ensure that he gets his daughter a piano. But when all else fails, the only thing he and his ragtag bunch of laid-off steel factory workers could do was to build a piano from scratch.

The film is a charming story of a father’s love and devotion to his daughter. What I liked about this film is that it is devoid of any hysterics that plague local movies. It’s also very interesting to see how much Russian music was featured in this film making me think that the film’s setting was somewhere up north close to the Russian border. I won’t tell if Chen and his team were able to build a piano from scratch but it does require a lot of imagination in order for me to buy into their plans. Despite the questionable feasibility of making a piano from scratch, the film manages to depict relationships in a realistic manner that transcends borders.

For those planning to catch Piano in a Factory and the rest of the films to be shown at the Spring Film Festival, here is the schedule of the film screenings.

February 1, 2013 
12:30 PM 2 Become 1
3:00 PM Piano in a Factory
5:30 PM Storm Warriors
8:00 PM Jasmine Women

February 2, 2013 
12:30 PM Piano in a Factory
3:00 PM Space Dream
5:30 PM Golden Times
8:00 PM Storm Warriors

February 3, 2013
12:30 PM Space Dream
3:00 PM 2 Become 1
5:30 PM Jasmine Women
8:00 PM Piano in a Factory

February 4, 2013 
12:30 PM Storm Warriors
3:00 PM Golden Times
5:30 PM 2 Become 1
8:00 PM Space Dream

February 5, 2013 
12:30 PM Golden Times
8:00 PM Jasmine Women

February 6, 2013 
12:30 PM Storm Warriors
3:00 PM 2 Become 1
5:30 PM Piano in a Factory
8:00 PM Golden Times

February 7, 2013 
12:30 PM Jasmine Women
3:00 PM Golden Times
5:30 PM Space Dream
8:00 PM 2 Become 1

February 8, 2012 
12:30 PM 2 Become 1
3:00 PM Jasmine Women
5:30 PM Piano in a Factory
8:00 PM Space Dream

February 9, 2013 
12:30 PM Storm Warriors
3:00 PM Space Dream
5:30 PM 2 Become 1
8:00 PM Golden Times

February 10, 2013 
12:30 PM Golden Times
3:00 PM Storm Warriors
5:30 PM Jasmine Women
8:00 PM Piano in a Factory

Tickets:
Free admission. First-come, first-served basis

For inquiries:
633-7851 local 113
www.shangrila-plaza.com

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