THE CONCRETE REVOLUTION
Q+A with the director
(Guo / 2004 / UK / Chinese (English subtitles) / 62 mins / uncert)
(Mon 6th / 7pm / £4/3)

Part objective documentary, part personal essay, on the surface this film charts the transformation of Beijing. In order to present a modern glossy face to the world, one where shiny new buildings and icons of western consumerism are rapidly built and pushed to the foreground, the Chinese Government prefers to hide in the background the hardship of the people constructing the new image, and that of the disappearing world of its culture-carrying elders.

Told through the contrast of individual's stories with elements of retrospective context, the film functions as a feminine poem on a macho subject using a mix of colour and black & white film, stills, snippets of media newsflash as well as quotes and songs from Maoist China. Currently up for competition at the Amsterdam Film Festival.

Filmmaker and novelist Xiaolu Guo moved to the UK 2 years ago and has written many essays on Chinese cinema, a subject on which we are hoping she will speak about after the film. She will also present her previous film NEAR AND FAR. www.guoxiaolu.com/films.htm