China - The Great Wall Within
In China, once you get inside, you become the outsider. No Google, Facebook or even your beloved Instagram. You are completely separated from the rest of the world. You are on the other side of the Great Firewall. But that is not important, because you have this great opportunity to take a peek behind the curtain. Or do you?
Coming to China is like going down the rabbit hole and discovering that you’re either too big or too small for the room - too foreign. For them too you are the outsider. Nonetheless, slowly and steadily you try to find your way around the food, the language and the people. You hope, that after enough time has passed, you will be accepted, embraced, and your “Nǐ hǎo” will no longer be received with a sense of shock. But the more you look inside, the more you see the outside. It is everywhere.
About the program:
Over several months of working for the Jinzhen International Short Film Festival in Hancheng, China, two outsiders had a peek into Chinese culture and cinema. And one thing they learned quickly was, that being part of China doesn’t necessarily make you Chinese. Not the right kind anyway. If you are from Macao, Taiwan or Hong Kong, get your Visa ready. If you think a bit too outside the box, get your tea set ready, because the censors are coming.
This focus program is an attempt to uncover the Chinese outsider in all its shapes and forms, whether it’s because of one’s origin, beliefs, orientation or physical differences.
Killer Smile
Camille Ma
Fiction / Macao, China / 2017
Dummy
Yongliang Chang
Fiction / China / 2016
Fundamental
Chiu Shih-Chien
Animation / China / 2017
A Girl Covered
Gen Xin
Fiction / China / 2017
Love After Time
Tsai Tsung Han
Fiction / Taiwan, China / 2016