UCCA Beijing

Film Auteur: The Starting Point

2014.5.8
17:00 - 19:00

Location:  UCCA Auditorium
Language:  In Chinese and French with Chinese interpretation

Claire Denis is one of the world’s most renowned filmmakers. The daughter of a colonial administrator, she spent her childhood in Cameroon, Burkina Faso, and Djibouti. Because of this experience, her films are strongly influenced by post-colonialist ideas. Initially a photographer, Denis attended the Institut des hautes études cinématographiques (IDHEC, also known as La Fémis) film school. After graduating in 1972, she worked as an assistant to Dušan Makavejev, Jacques Rivette, Jim Jarmusch, and Wim Wenders, among others. Her style varies from film to film: some works seem radical, others simple and direct, her subjects ranging from a family living in the streets of Paris to pristine African landscapes. Recurring themes include leaving one’s homeland, father-son relationships, and the difficulties of loving another.

For the 9th edition of the Festival Croisement, celebrating French culture in Beijing, ten of Denis’s films will make their China debut.

In cooperation with the French Embassy, Beijing, UCCA is pleased to invite Claire Denis and Chinese director Wang Chao to discuss their filmic practice. Their conversation will center on script-writing and the adaptation process, film styles and camera operation, and the role of the auteur in the film industry.

Note

*You can collect your ticket from the ticket desk 30 minutes before the event begins.

*Tickets are limited and will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis.

*Doors close 30 minutes after event begins. No late entry.

Speakers

Claire Denis was born in Paris in 1948. Her first feature film, Chocolat, was inspired by her childhood in Cameroon. The film was entered into competition at the Cannes Film Festival. Denis has also filmed a number of shorts and documentary films, including the short “The Hooped Dress” for the Arte “Monologues” collection, “US Go Home” (1994) for the series Tous les garçons et les filles de leur âge…, and the documentaries Man No Run (1989) and Towards Mathilde (2005), among many others. Bastards, her latest feature film, was selected for the Un Certain Regard section at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival.

Wang Chao was born in Nanjing in 1964. In 2001 his film The Orphan of Anyangwas nominated for the Directors’ Fortnight independent festival running parallel to Cannes. It later won the FIPRESCI Award at the Chicago International Film Festival. In 2004 his filmDay and Night won the Golden Montgolfiere, Best Director, and the Youth Jury Prize at the 26th Nantes Three Continents Festival. In 2006 his film Luxury Car won the Prix Un Certain Regard in the 59th Cannes Film Festival. His Fantasia was selected to be a part of the Un Certain Regard section at Cannes in 2014.