Helsinki Cine Aasia is the only festival of contemporary Asian cinema in Finland. Each year in March, Helsinki Cine Aasia presents the most interesting and touching films of the moment from East and Southeast Asia. Helsinki Cine Aasia is celebrating its 10th Anniversary this year. The festival will run from 5-8 May. It will show two Chinese films Spring Tide (Yang Lina, 2019) and Ripples of Life (Wei Shujun, 2021).
Lydia Wu, representing CIFA, has been invited to talk about status-quo of Chinese independent filmmaking in the post-screening discussion for Ripples of Life on 7 May.
“Independent cinema in China began with the so-called sixth generation in the early ‘90s, as filmmaking outside of the previously state-owned studio system became possible. Since then Chinese independent films have regularly been screened at international festivals and arthouse theaters with directors like Jia Zhangke becoming renowned. What is the current situation, as control in China gets tighter and tighter? The topic is discussed with Dr Lydia Dan Wu from the Chinese Independent Film Archive (Newcastle University). In English.”