11th Spring Film Festival at the Shang Cineplex ushers in the Year of the Rooster

The Spring Film Festival, the next best thing after luck and prosperity, will usher in the Chinese New Year this January 25-29, 2017 at the Shang Cineplex. Presented by the Ateneo de Manila University Ricardo Leong Center for Chinese Studies and the Shangri-La Plaza Mall, the film festival, now on its 11^th edition, will offer free film screening, an exhibit, a concert, and a painting workshop, all of which is something to crow about in the Year of the Rooster.

Here are the six films lined up for the festival which will be all in Digital Cinema Package/DCP format.

Book of Love/Finding Mr. Right 2/北京遇上西雅图之不二情书

Director: Xue Xialou
Cast: Tang Wei and Wu Xiubo

The romantic comedy Book of Love/北京遇上西雅图之不二情书 (2016) also titled as Finding Mr. Right 2, a casino hostess from Macau and a realtor based in Los Angeles cross paths and ultimately form a magical connection with each other all because they stumbled upon the same book.

A Complicated Story/個複雜故事

Director: Kiwi Chow
Cast: Jacky Cheung, Jacqueline Zhu, Stephanie Che, and Zi Yi

A Complicated Story/個複雜故事 (2013) is about a Hong Kong university student who accepts an offer to become a surrogate mother for an elite couple. The complications arise when her contract gets terminated and she refuses to give up the child that forces her to go into hiding.

Everybody’s Fine/切都好

Director: Zhang Meng

Cast: Zhang Guoli, Chen He, Yao Chen, Shawn Dou, and Ye Qianyun

A Chinese remake of the 1990 Italian of the same name, Everybody’s Fine/切都好 (2016) is a family comedy film about the recently widowed father who sets out to visit his four children after each bailed out on attending annual family summer outing.

Horseplay/盜馬記

Director: Lee Chi-ngai

Cast: Tony Leung, Ekin Cheng, and Kelly Chen

Horseplay/盜馬記 (2014) follows an unlikely trio composed of a reporter, a police, and a thief all working together in search of an ancient artifact that leads them on a chase all over Europe.

Red Amnesia/闯入者

Director: Wang Xiaoshuai

Cast: Lü Zhong, Shi Liu, Feng Yuanzheng, Qin Hao, Qin Hailu, and Han Yibo

Red Amnesia/闯入者 (2014), the final installment of Wang Xiaoshuai’s Cultural Revolution Trilogy, tells the story of Deng, a stubborn elderly widow whose daily routine goes into shambles when she starts receiving mysterious anonymous phone calls.

Wolf Totem/狼图腾

Director: Jean-Jacques Annaud
Cast: Feng Shaofeng, Shawn Dou, Ankhnyam Ragchaa, Basen Zhabu, and Yin Zhusheng

Adapted from the bestseller by Jiang Rong, Wolf Totem/狼图腾 (2015) is the story of young Beijing student Chen Zhen’s life among the nomadic herdsmen of Inner Mongolia, where he adopts a wolf cub in an attempt to save it from death. The film was chosen China’s entry for foreign language film category at the 2015 Academy Awards. 

Throughout the festival are added attractions like the Confucius Institute at the Ateneo de Manila University Chinese Painting Exhibit (January 25-31, 2017), An Afternoon of Beautiful Chinese Melodies: Chinese Music Concert by the Ricardo Leong Center for Chinese Studies at the Ateneo de Manila University (January 28, 2017, 3:00 PM), and A Pastel Painting Workshop with Master Fidel Sarmiento, President of the Art Association of the Philippines (January 29, 2017, 1:00 PM). And the festivities even extend up to February 5, 2017, 2:00 PM for a traditional Chinese Dragon and Lion Dance. All these event will be at the Shang’s Grand Atrium and will be free of charge.

Here is the screening schedule of the Spring Film Festival at Cinema 4 of the Shang Cineplex.

January 25, 2017

2:00 PM Red Amnesia

4:30 PM Book of Love

January 26, 2017

2:00 PM A Complicated Story

4:30 PM Everybody’s Fine

7:00 PM Red Amnesia

January 27, 2017

2:00 PM Horseplay

4:30 PM Wolf Totem

7:00 PM A Complicated Story

January 28, 2017

2:00 PM Everybody’s Fine

4:30 PM Horseplay

7:00 PM Book of Love

January 29, 2017

2:00 PM Red Amnesia

4:30 PM Everybody’s Fine

7:00 PM Wolf Totem

The Spring Film Festival is presented by the Ateneo de Manila University Ricardo Leong Center for Chinese Studies, together with the Film Development Council of the Philippines and Credit Suisse, and with the cooperation of Ateneo Celadon, Rustan’s, and Shangri-La Plaza.

Tickets:

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

For inquiries:

Ateneto de Manila Ricardo Leong Center for Chinese Studies 426-6001 local 5280/5284
Shangri-La Plaza 370-2597/98