China Up Close: ACMI summer season to focus on Chinese artists and films

ACMI presents China Up Close, a summer season of art, films and live events that explore Chinese culture and society. Marina Solomon has the details.

Artisans looking for an expansive Chinese experience will find the Australian Centre for the Moving Image’s (ACMI) upcoming ‘China Up Close‘ programme, starting December 4, to be a real treat.

As ACMI’s very first international programme to focus heavily on China, the ‘China Up Close’ season aims to provide visitors with a ‘deeply rich’ programme of art, films, talks and live events exploring the powerful changes experienced in Chinese culture and society today.

The headlining feature of ACMI’s ‘China Up Close’ season is its free art exhibition, Yang Fudong: Filmscapes, which features the works of Chinese artist Yang Fudong.

Yang Fudong, Yejiang / The Nightman Cometh, 2011. Courtesy of Yang Fudong, ShanghART Gallery and Marian Goodman Gallery.

Yang Fudong, Yejiang / The Nightman Cometh, 2011. Courtesy of Yang Fudong, ShanghART Gallery and Marian Goodman Gallery.

Considered one of the most distinguished artists to emerge from China since the 1990s, Yang’s work explores the psychology of a new generation who are searching for some sort of meaning in the modern world. Yang’s work also navigates through China-specific cultural and social issues that are currently influencing and affecting the world’s fastest growing economy today.

Yang is also celebrated for introducing multi-screen Chinese film installations to the West.

Part of the programme also includes various talks in relation to contemporary film production in China and Chinese/Australian co-productions. Those looking to gain more industry insight into producing films in China and its current filmmaking landscape will likely benefit fro these.

Still from Wong Kar-wai's The Grandmaster. Image supplied.

Still from Wong Kar-wai’s The Grandmaster. Image supplied.

Meanwhile, other live discussions exploring facets of Chinese culture and society through films like Wong Kar-wai‘s The Grandmaster or Jia Zhangke‘s A Touch of Sin will also be available to the public. These talks and more will be calling upon experts from China, Hong Kong and Australia to discuss the importance of Chinese film and screen-based art in a global context.

The ‘China Up Close’ programme will also include the Golden Koala Chinese Film Festival, hosted by ACMI and organised by Chinese Film Incorporated, and will screen some of the latest films in Chinese cinema.

For more details on ACMI’s China Up Close season, check out their full programme over at ACMI’s official website