With remarkable access, Chinese documentary filmmaker Zhou Hao shadows the mayor of the most polluted city in China and his problematic plan to rehabilitate its image, relocating half a million people to create a historic heritage park.
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Films from the Archive

East Meets East (Short)
A Chinese grandmother finds kinship on her bus trip to the Asian supermarket. Screening with Abacus: Small Enough to Jail.

How Mr & Mrs Gock Saved the Kumara (Short)
When two young Chinese refugees fell in love in 1953, their passion for each other and their land changed the way kumara was farmed in New Zealand. Screening with The Music of Strangers.

Delamu
Winding through landscapes of staggering beauty, the year’s most spectacular documentary accompanies a caravan as it traverses the highest and most perilous of the world's ancient routes.

Animation NOW! New Chinese Animation
The profusion of energy, skill and idiosyncratic vision on display in this showcase of recent animation from China is amazing – and the spirit of independence fills every frame.

William Yang: Blood Links
Raised a child of ‘White Australia’, photographer and performer William Yang traces his genealogy as born-again Chinese in this charming documentary tribute to the sustaining power of family ties.

The Men Who Would Conquer China
In-depth and highly entertaining documentary account of partnership between two successful entrepreneurs: a pushy New York investment banker and a savvy Hong Kong businessman.

Animation NOW! International Showcase
A celebratory showcase of some of the year’s best and brightest animated shorts. If you’re looking to sample the animation ecosystem in all its multicoloured, variously-shaped glories, there’s no better place to begin.

Cry Woman
Kuqide Nuren

Animation for Kids 2005
This collection of films selected especially for our youngest audience promises some laughs, some frights – and some food for thought. This year’s programme is probably best suited to a slightly older age group (6-10) than previous years’.

Devils on the Doorstep
Guaizi lai le

Life After Life
Zhi fan ye mao
The impact of China’s industrialisation on rural families simmers in the background of this dry, elegantly composed tale of reincarnation and relocation, produced by leading Chinese auteur Jia Zhang-ke.

Useless
Wu yong
The great Chinese filmmaker Jia Zhang-ke (The World, Still Life) presents an impressionistic, exquisitely shot documentary on China's (and, by implication, the world's) garment industry.

Dong
Great Chinese filmmaker Jia Zhang-ke's documentary companion piece to his latest feature, Still Life (also in Festival), captures the life and monumental canvases of artist Liu Xiao-dong.

Illustrious Energy
A beautiful new restoration of Leon Narbey’s dramatic tribute to the Chinese immigrants who came to Central Otago for gold in the 19th century. “Magical, dream-like… holds you there, mesmerised.” — NZ Listener

Banana in a Nutshell
A young Chinese New Zealander and her Pakeha boyfriend seek her parents’ blessing for their marriage in Roseanne Liang’s funny and poignant documentary of cross-cultural navigation.

I Wish I Knew
Shanghai chuanqi
The new film from Jia Zhang-ke, the pre-eminent Chinese filmmaker of his generation, is a richly detailed, largely admiring portrait of the history, architecture and cinematic heritage of Shanghai.

Waves
The Diaries of Chinese International Students in New Zealand
Absorbing documentary about four Chinese students at New Zealand high school provides a rich and finely nuanced portrayal of cultural displacement.

Unknown Pleasures
Ren Xiao Yao

A Decent Factory
Can a corporation balance profit-making and social responsibility? Cellphone giant Nokia sends their Ethics and Environmental Specialist to China to audit one of its suppliers in this revealing documentary.

Vivos
The great Ai Weiwei, giant of contemporary Chinese, activist and human rights art, directs with breathtaking outrage this soul-searching documentary on the devastation of a Mexican community gutted by a mass abduction of students.

Hooligan Sparrow
Filmmaker Wang Nanfu shares alarming risks with her subject, accompanying fearless Chinese women’s rights activist Ye Haiyan on a mission while facing intimidation at every turn.

China Blue
Life in a Chinese garment factory through the eyes of one of its 14-year-old workers. "A must-see film for anyone interested in global politics, economics, and the socio-cultural issues of contemporary China." — Globe and Mail

I Wanna Be Boss
Following the fortunes of several Chinese high school students through their final, high-stress year, this documentary offers compelling insight into the China of tomorrow.

Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress
Balzac et la petite tailleuse Chinois

Red Cliff
Chi bi
Action maestro John Woo returns to China for this historical epic, the biggest budget Asian movie ever made. “Ratchets the entertainment factor up to 11.” — Japan Times. With Tony Leung, Kaneshiro Takeshi.

Flower in the Pocket
Two small Chinese Malaysian boys are the captivating protagonists in this bittersweet slice of life. "Playful and gently moving." — Hollywood Reporter

Dream Empire
In this Kafkaeqsque documentary, a naïve young entrepreneur sets out to live the new Chinese Dream, opening a ‘rent-a-crowd’ agency servicing the booming property market.

Let the Bullets Fly
Rang zidan fei
Chow Yun Fat, Ge You and Jiang Wen star in this spectacular, brutally comic blockbuster Chinese Western. “China’s biggest domestic box-office hit to date is a freewheeling romp full of sex, violence, and humor.” — Newsweek

Platform
Zhantai

Only the River Flows
He bian de cuo wu
This stylish neo noir from upcoming Chinese director Wei Shujun finds a long-suffering detective questioning his methods and eventually his mind after a series of mysterious murders in a small rural town.

Alphabet
Austrian filmmaker Erwin Wagenhofer travels Europe and Asia to assemble evidence in favour of less regimented and competitive notions of education than those prevailing throughout much of the world (including New Zealand).

When a City Rises
This urgent documentary takes an intimate look at young political activists in Hong Kong as they take a determined stand against a global superpower to fight for freedom, democracy and a better future.

The Road
This doco provides an astonishingly revealing picture of the construction of a section of China’s massive Xu-Huai Highway, as seen by dislocated locals, exploited migrant workers and the embattled construction company.

Springtime in a Small Town
Xiao Cheng Zhi Chun

Angels Wear White
Jia nian hua
“In an intriguing film noir full of white light reflecting off virginal dresses, polished surfaces and sparkling sand, director Vivian Qu probes the status of girls in Chinese society.” — Kate Taylor, Globe and Mail

Suzhou River
Suzhou he
Trailblazing Chinese director Lou Ye's vivid, kaleidoscopic tale of doomed lovers lost in the fog and filth of Shanghai's canals receives a stunning new restoration.
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Suk Suk
Director Ray Yeung breaks new ground with Suk Suk (‘uncle’ in Cantonese), an affecting portrayal of two gay men in modern Hong Kong as they find each other in their later years and struggle with enduring matters of identity, desire and belonging.

The Home Song Stories
Tony Ayres' poignant autobiographical feature follows the turbulent life of a glamorous Hong Kong nightclub singer (Joan Chen) who emigrates to Melbourne with her two children in 1964.

China’s Van Goghs
This revealing portrait of a peasant-turned-oil painter who falls under the spell of Van Gogh while producing replicas of his paintings provides surprising perspectives on Western culture and Chinese labour.

Raise the Red Lantern
Dahong denglong gaogao gua
The great Chinese actress Gong Li delivers a performance of exquisite expressiveness as a young concubine in Zhang Yimou’s visually ravishing 1991 drama of defiance, deception and authoritarian power. In a rare 35mm print.

Return of the Free China Junk
A historic wooden Chinese sailing junk that crossed the Pacific in 1955 makes an even more improbable return journey after the family of its original sailors campaign to save it from the scrapheap and bring it home.

Together
He Ni Zaiyiqi

A Touch of Sin
Tian zhu ding
Chinese director Jia Zhang-ke’s shocking new film draws on spectacular true-crime stories. The oblique observer of how societal change impacts individual lives (Still Life, The World) now confronts contemporary violence head-on.

The Orphan of Anyang
Anyangde Guer

The Future Perfect
El futuro perfecto
Arriving in Buenos Aires, a young Chinese immigrant embraces the struggle of a new language and surroundings, reimagining herself and her future in the process, in this dry comedy of manners.

Animation Now! International Programme #3: Asia Animation Review
Eye-grabbing animations from China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore make our first ever survey of new work and indie talent in the region an Animation Now! highlight.

Ilo Ilo
Ba ma bu zai jia
Winner of the Camera d’Or for Best First Feature at Cannes this year, Anthony Chen’s finely observed family drama pivots on the relationship between a wilful small Singaporean Chinese boy and his Filipina nanny

Vengeance!
Baochou

Seafood
Haixian

The Wild Goose Lake
Nan fang che zhan de ju hui
Gangland subterfuge tumbles into a dazzling nocturnal manhunt in Chinese director Diao Yinan’s film noir par excellence – a modern genre classic in the making.

South of the Clouds
Yun de Nanfang

Morning Sun
Ba Jiu Dianzhong de Taiyang

Looking for an Icon
Made to honour the 50th anniversary of the World Press Photo of the Year, this doco tells the story behind four iconic images – of the Vietnam War, Salvador Allende, Tiananmen Square and the Gulf War.

Return to Burma
Gui lai de ren
Shot (beautifully) under the censors’ radar, this semi-autobiographical, semi-documentary by a young expatriate Chinese-Burmese director provides a uniquely close encounter with life in Myanmar/Burma.

Fighter
Real-life kung fu champ Semra Turan stars as Aicha, the feisty daughter of traditional Turkish immigrants determined to be a contender.

Come Drink with Me
Dai Zui Xia

Woman Is the Future of Man
Yeojaneun Namjaeui Miraeda

Huloo
Robin Greenberg's documentary introduces us to the remarkable life of New Zealand's very own T'ai Chi master, Loo-Chi Hu.

The Farewell
Deft and deeply felt, with a star-making turn from Awkwafina, Lulu Wang’s widely praised drama tells the story of a Chinese American family paying their last respects to a mother and grandmother who doesn’t know she’s dying.

Animation NOW! Living Masters New Works
Seriously impressive new work from nine of the biggest names in the animation pantheon is brought together in this stimulating and highly enjoyable programme.

Animation NOW! International Showcase
A celebratory showcase of some of the year’s best and brightest animated shorts. If you’re looking to sample the animation ecosystem in all its multicoloured, variously-shaped glories, there’s no better place to begin.

Animation NOW! Dark Hearts
From the dark side, this bold, bracing collection of short films goes deeper and blacker than live-action will allow.

Happy Everyday: Park Life in China
Sydney-based New Zealander Peter O’Donoghue shot, directed and edited this ambivalent, entertaining picture of senior calisthenics and other recreational activity in the leafy public parks of Shanghai and Beijing.

Mothers
Mama di quanzhuang
Mothers is a gripping vérité documentary that shows how China’s one-child policy plays out in the daily lives of women in a northern Chinese village: those who enforce it and those who try to elude it.

Angry Monk: Reflections on Tibet
The myth of Tibet as a peaceable kingdom is shaken by this documentary portrait of Gendun Choephel (1903-1951) an angry, sensualist monk who riled the Tibetan government.

Animation NOW! Black & White
A surprising amount of animation is created in black and white. This carefully curated programme musters a collection of shorts that harness the creative promise of light, shade, form, texture and movement – without colour.

DNA Dreams
This Dutch documentary features a young generation of scientists in genomics research. What if we could identify the genes for human intelligence? Would a brave new world of improved human beings be waiting for us?

How Is Your Fish Today?
Jin tian de yi zen me yang?
Blurring the boundaries between fiction and reality, a scriptwriter follows his main character on a journey to a northern Chinese village, where the young man has fled after murdering his lover.

12:08 East of Bucharest
A fost sau n-a fost?
Two unlikely guests are invited to recall their moments of revolutionary glory on a small-town TV station. Romanian director’s sardonic take on heroism won the Camera d’Or at Cannes this year.

Squeegee Bandit
Sandor Lau’s energetic documentary portrait of South-Auckland car-windscreen cleaner Starfish, who pounces with the speed and grace of a tiger.

The Wayward Cloud
Tian bian yi duo yun
The most-talked about film at this year’s Berlin Film Festival. Festival regular Tsai Ming-liang delivers a film that fluctuates wildly between broad camp tomfoolery and a desolate view of pornography.

Animation NOW! The Best of Punto y Raya
Based in Barcelona, Punto y Raya is a nomadic festival celebrating the art of animation in its most abstract forms. Prepare to be dazzled. This collection showcases highlights of the 2016 edition.

Three Sisters
San zimei
In a Chinese mountain village a family of remarkable sisters aged ten, six and four, sustain themselves with minimal adult support in this remarkable doco. “A work of sustained observation and exquisite empathy.” — Cinema Scope

Democrats
“The quasi-Kafkaesque administration holding Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe’s corrupt dictatorship in place finally gets the first-hand scrutiny it merits in Camilla Nielsson’s riveting documentary.” — Guy Lodge, Variety

Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself
Wilbur begår selvmord
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Hong Kong Moments
Vivid and strikingly objective, Zhou Bing’s in-the-field documentary covering both sides of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy Umbrella Movement examines the personal and political identities at odds in this ongoing conflict.
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Heroic Losers
La Odisea de los Giles
After being scammed into bankruptcy, a community of working-class Argentines band together to devise the ultimate payback – an elaborate money heist inspired by the movies – in Sebastián Borensztein’s winning underdog comedy.

We Come As Friends
Hubert Sauper (Darwin’s Nightmare) exposes the international powers at work in the world’s newest country, South Sudan, in this astounding doco which received an award for ‘Cinematic Bravery’ at the Sundance Film Festival.

Linsanity
This close-up encounter with NBA star Jeremy Lin was in the works long before he exploded onto the scene in February 2012. “Not just a stirring sports drama but also a classic immigrant-family success story.” — Hollywood Reporter

Red Amnesia
Chuangru zhe
An elderly woman is haunted by the sacrifices she made for her family in this tense, moving and beautifully acted drama that highlights historic amnesia and the growing generation gap in contemporary China.
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Between Two Worlds
Ahasin Wetei
This mesmerising, densely beautiful film from Sri Lanka takes us on a mysteriously symbolic journey with a young man who plunges to earth. “Like a freshly remembered dream.” — San Francisco Bay Guardian

24 City
Er shi si cheng ji
Jia Zhang-ke’s (The World, Still Life) doco about a Chengdu military factory becoming a luxury apartment block. “Eloquent testimony to a China that is vanishing with each swing of the wrecking ball.” — Time

Up the Yangtze
Beyond the tourist views of life on the soon-to-be-flooded Yangtze River. "An astonishing documentary of culture clash and the erasure of history amid China's economic miracle." — NY Times

Hero
Ying Xiong

The World
Shijie
"We are in the hands of a master… his imagery is so boilingly alive that we come away from it feeling exhilarated rather than depressed." — David Chute, LA Weekly

The Ornithologist
O Ornitólogo
This seductively meandering, playfully queer and richly cinematic riff on the St Anthony of Padua legend from Portugal’s João Pedro Rodrigues uses the classic man-in-a-forest motif in a strange journey of self-discovery.

Yi Yi
aka A One and a Two

People Mountain People Sea
Ren shan ren hai
Inspired by a true-crime story, this bold and unsettling revenge film takes a road trip down the dark by-ways of modern Chinese society. Director Cai Shangjun won the Best Director Award at Venice for this searing vision of moral decay.

A Touch of Zen
Xia nu
Frequently imitated (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) and never surpassed, King Hu’s spectacular pre-CGI masterpiece of wuxia cinema has been radiantly restored. “The visual style will set your eyes on fire.” — Time Out

Flight of the Red Balloon
Le Voyage du ballon rouge
Taiwanese master Hou Hsiao-hsien delivers a richly layered picture of life in Paris starring Juliette Binoche. "A movie of genius." — Village Voice

A Mighty Heart
Angelina Jolie stars as the impassioned heroine at the centre of Michael Winterbottom's urgent docudrama retelling of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl's abduction by Islamic militants.