ONLINE EVENT A String of Pearls: Mandarin Ducks, Butterflies, and Modern Shanghai in the 1920s (premiere)
Pre-Recorded Premiere
£ FREE but ticketed | 45 mins | with BSL-English interpretation and closed captions
A String of Pearls exemplifies the kind of “modern cinema” Shanghai filmmakers and intellectuals in the 1920s had aspired to achieve before the Japanese invasion of Manchuria in 1931. It is also one of few surviving films written by Hou Yao (1903–42), who was a pioneer in Chinese-language film theory and criticism. In this talk, Victor Fan will introduce the historical background and critical discourses of Shanghai cinema in relation to this masterpiece.
£ FREE but ticketed | 45 mins | with BSL-English interpretation and closed captions
A String of Pearls exemplifies the kind of “modern cinema” Shanghai filmmakers and intellectuals in the 1920s had aspired to achieve before the Japanese invasion of Manchuria in 1931. It is also one of few surviving films written by Hou Yao (1903–42), who was a pioneer in Chinese-language film theory and criticism. In this talk, Victor Fan will introduce the historical background and critical discourses of Shanghai cinema in relation to this masterpiece.
Victor Fan is Reader in Film and Media Philosophy, King’s College London. He was Film Consultant of the Chinese Visual Festival from 2013–21. He is the author of Cinema Approaching Reality: Locating Chinese Film Theory (University of Minnesota Press, 2015) and Extraterritoriality: Locating Hong Kong Cinema and Media (Edinburg University Press, 2019). His forthcoming book, Cinema Illuminating Reality: Media Philosophy through Buddhism, will be published in 2022 by University of Minnesota Press. His articles appeared in journals including Camera Obscura, Journal of Chinese Cinemas, Screen, and Film History.
To tune in to our online premieres, simply visit the HippFest Facebook page or the Falkirk Community Trust YouTube account at the advertised start times. Alternatively, you can also book a free ticket via the Box Office and be emailed a link ahead of the Premiere if preferable.
Supported by The Confucius Institute for Scotland in the University of Edinburgh
