NYU Cinema Studies is proud to host a two-day screening marathon Friday October 24 and Saturday October 25, 2003: Feeding Boys, Ayaya and Other Queer Films: Presenting Chinese Independent Filmmaker Cui Zi'en Cui Zi’en is a director, film scholar, screenwriter, novelist and an outspoken queer activist and scholar based in Beijing. Frequently referred to as a “queer auteur,” Cui Zi’en is one of the most avant-garde DV makers in Chinese underground cinema. He has published nine novels in China and Hong Kong, one of which, Uncle’s Past, won the 2001 Radio Literature Award in Germany. He is also the author of six books on criticism and theory, as well as a columnist for four magazines. In 2002, Cui Zi’en received a Felipa Award by The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission and a California State Assembly Award in the USA. He graduated from the Chinese Academy of Social Science with a MA in literature and now serves as an assistant research fellow at the Film Research Institute of the Beijing Film Academy. Enter the Clown Fri. Oct 24, 11:00am to 12:20pm 80min. English subtitles 2001 721 Broadway, 6th Floor room 656 'Enter the clowns' unfolds as a succession of episodes, from a disturbing confrontation between a young man and his gender-bending parent, where the young man grants a final sexual request to his dying father (who insists on being called mom), to the Fassbinder-inspired "Nana Changes into a Woman," to a series of sketches involving gay desire. Realism is not for Cui Zi'en, who intertwines long takes, mundane action, and non-professional acting with a more baroque, whimsical, surreal but also darker inspiration. Narrow Path (Wu Yu) Fri. Oct 24, 1:00 to 2:15pm 72min. English subtitles 2003 721 Broadway, 6th Floor room 656 "The Narrow Path" is one of Cui’s newest works, an allegorical story of a gang of humans who abduct four aliens from Venus, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto. The film was shot within three and half hours on July 2, 2003, 4:00-7:30am, utilizing only two long takes, approximately 40 minutes each. Then, the film was edited into five sequences. Feeding Boys, Ayaya Fri. Oct 24, 2:30 to 4:00pm 87min. English subtitles 2003 721 Broadway, 6th Floor room 656 This new video continues Cui's examination of sexual politics in a rapidly changing society, trading the claustrophobic domestic spaces of his previous work in favor of the urban outdoors, the public parks and bustling streets of Beijing. Dabin preaches Catholicism to his younger brother, a male prostitute, in hopes of taking him off the streets. He fails in his efforts, only to see his youngest brother take up the sex trade as well. But as bodies are bought and sold, an inchoate personal freedom also blossoms. Departing from the merely grim and from rote critique, FEEDING BOYS, AYAYA wittily probes the social contradictions of China's capitalist "experiment." As one of its hustlers opines, "The minority always tells the truth." IN PERSONFri. Oct 24, 4:00 to 5:00pm Hosted by Professor Zhang Zhen: Conversation with director Cui Zi’en with English interpretation (room 656)
The Old Testament (Jiu Yue)Sat. Oct 25, 1:00 to 2:15pm 74 min. English subtitles 2002 721 Broadway, 6th Floor room 651 Set in contemporary China, renowned experimental filmmaker Cui Zi En’s THE OLD TESTAMENT is a distinguished weaving of moving storytelling and intricate social allegory. At its core are three episodic tales addressing such issues as AIDS, homophobia and bisexuality. The first story centers on a gay couple’s troubled relationship when one partner brings home a mysterious young stranger. The second story revolves around a bisexual gigolo who marries both his female and male lovers. The third story concerns two gay college students and the emotional abuse they endure from family members when their relationship is discovered. Framed by biblical references and a chorus singing each story’s conclusion, THE OLD TESTAMENT has its roots firmly planted within the fertile ground of avant-garde filmmaking, sacrificing nothing in terms of emotional gratification. An Interior View of DeathSat. Oct 25, 2:30 to 3:35pm 65 min. English subtitles 2003 721 Broadway, 6th Floor room 651 IN PERSONSat. Oct 25Fri. Oct 24, 3:45 to 5pm Conversation with director Cui Zi’en in mandarin Chinese (room 651)
The event is in part supported by the Department of East Asian Studies.
Feeding Boys, Ayaya and Other Queer Films:
Presenting Chinese Independent Filmmaker Cui Zi'en
Cui Zi’en is a director, film scholar, screenwriter, novelist and an outspoken queer activist and scholar based in Beijing. Frequently referred to as a “queer auteur,” Cui Zi’en is one of the most avant-garde DV makers in Chinese underground cinema. He has published nine novels in China and Hong Kong, one of which, Uncle’s Past, won the 2001 Radio Literature Award in Germany. He is also the author of six books on criticism and theory, as well as a columnist for four magazines. In 2002, Cui Zi’en received a Felipa Award by The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission and a California State Assembly Award in the USA. He graduated from the Chinese Academy of Social Science with a MA in literature and now serves as an assistant research fellow at the Film Research Institute of the Beijing Film Academy.
Enter the Clown Fri. Oct 24, 11:00am to 12:20pm
80min. English subtitles 2001 721 Broadway, 6th Floor room 656
'Enter the clowns' unfolds as a succession of episodes, from a disturbing confrontation between a young man and his gender-bending parent, where the young man grants a final sexual request to his dying father (who insists on being called mom), to the Fassbinder-inspired "Nana Changes into a Woman," to a series of sketches involving gay desire. Realism is not for Cui Zi'en, who intertwines long takes, mundane action, and non-professional acting with a more baroque, whimsical, surreal but also darker inspiration.
Narrow Path (Wu Yu) Fri. Oct 24, 1:00 to 2:15pm
72min. English subtitles 2003 721 Broadway, 6th Floor room 656
"The Narrow Path" is one of Cui’s newest works, an allegorical story of a gang of humans who abduct four aliens from Venus, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto. The film was shot within three and half hours on July 2, 2003, 4:00-7:30am, utilizing only two long takes, approximately 40 minutes each. Then, the film was edited into five sequences.
Feeding Boys, Ayaya Fri. Oct 24, 2:30 to 4:00pm
87min. English subtitles 2003 721 Broadway, 6th Floor room 656
This new video continues Cui's examination of sexual politics in a rapidly changing society, trading the claustrophobic domestic spaces of his previous work in favor of the urban outdoors, the public parks and bustling streets of Beijing. Dabin preaches Catholicism to his younger brother, a male prostitute, in hopes of taking him off the streets. He fails in his efforts, only to see his youngest brother take up the sex trade as well. But as bodies are bought and sold, an inchoate personal freedom also blossoms. Departing from the merely grim and from rote critique, FEEDING BOYS, AYAYA wittily probes the social contradictions of China's capitalist "experiment." As one of its hustlers opines, "The minority always tells the truth."
IN PERSONFri. Oct 24, 4:00 to 5:00pm
Hosted by Professor Zhang Zhen: Conversation with director Cui Zi’en with English interpretation (room 656)
The Old Testament (Jiu Yue)Sat. Oct 25, 1:00 to 2:15pm
74 min. English subtitles 2002 721 Broadway, 6th Floor room 651
Set in contemporary China, renowned experimental filmmaker Cui Zi En’s THE OLD TESTAMENT is a distinguished weaving of moving storytelling and intricate social allegory. At its core are three episodic tales addressing such issues as AIDS, homophobia and bisexuality. The first story centers on a gay couple’s troubled relationship when one partner brings home a mysterious young stranger. The second story revolves around a bisexual gigolo who marries both his female and male lovers. The third story concerns two gay college students and the emotional abuse they endure from family members when their relationship is discovered. Framed by biblical references and a chorus singing each story’s conclusion, THE OLD TESTAMENT has its roots firmly planted within the fertile ground of avant-garde filmmaking, sacrificing nothing in terms of emotional gratification.
An Interior View of DeathSat. Oct 25, 2:30 to 3:35pm
65 min. English subtitles 2003 721 Broadway, 6th Floor room 651
IN PERSONSat. Oct 25Fri. Oct 24, 3:45 to 5pm
Conversation with director Cui Zi’en in mandarin Chinese (room 651)
The event is in part supported by the Department of East Asian Studies.