Art Attack: PhotoSpring, Movies and Out-of-Reach Celebrities

Just think, if film hadn’t been invented a couple hundred years ago, this week would look a lot more boring. As it stands, we’re being hit with a deluge of things captured through a lens then reflected on light-sensitive paper and projected back out (or, you know, whatever digital version of that exists now … kids these days, sheesh). Read on for great photography and tons of films to catch.

If you haven’t heard by now, Beijing’s premier photography festival, Caochangdi PhotoSpring, starts this Saturday with an opening celebration at Three Shadows Photography Art Centre. Cross your fingers it doesn’t rain, but even if it does, at least the exhibits will be indoors. You can duck in, dry off as you get a good look at some tip-top photos, then pop over to the next gallery. If you want to know more about the festival, we’ve got an interview with one of the co-founders, Berenice Angremy. Have a read here. We've highlighted some of the exhibits below, but to find out more about all the exhibits (and other events like the PhotoFolio Review), check out their website here.

Meanwhile, we’ve all been hearing buzz about this year’s Beijing International Film Festival (Apr 23-28). But let’s be honest, we can only care so much that James Cameron and Keanu Reeves may or may not be rolling around on a red carpet that us little people will never be invited to. As for the screenings? A schedule is finally up on the BJIFF website.

If you’ve been hoping to catch this year’s Oscar flicks, they’ll be showing in spades: The Artist, The Help, The Descendants, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, Tree of Life, Money Ball and Best Foreign Film A Separation are all coming very soon to a screen near you. Other flicks of interest: socio-documentary The Furious Force of Rhymes, Taiwanese indie epic Seediq Bale, Super 8 and Rango for the Peter Pans among us, and several screenings of the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy. (Haven’t you always said you wanted to rewatch them again? Here’s your chance – on the big screen, no less.)

If you’d rather fry some smaller fish, there are plenty of other screenings to catch too. Chief among them: BC MOMA is hosting an intriguing event called Piccadilly Revisited. As part of the UK Now Festival (a cultural exchange linked with the Olympics), they’ve put together a tribute to Anna May Wong, Hollywood’s first Chinese movie star. They’ll be showing the classic British silent film Piccadilly, in which Wong stars, but it’ll be set to live orchestral music. The last time BC MOMA did a screening + live music event, folks were raving. This sounds pretty class, so movie lovers ... don't miss out. Details below.

Next week, we’ll talk about other types of film, like the thin one that gathers on your teeth throughout the day. (Just kidding.)

EVENTS THIS WEEK (APR 20-26)

Apr 21
Photography Festival: Caochangdi PhotoSpring Opening Week
Apr 21-24. Beijing’s bombshell of a photo festival features works by photographers from China, Japan, Singapore, France, Spain and more. Free. Three Shadows Photography Art Centre (6432 2663)

Apr 21-22
Film + Music: Piccadilly Revisited
Hollywood's first Chinese movie star on the screen plus strings and winds on the stage make for a classy night out. RMB 60. 7.30pm. BC MOMA (8438 8258)

Apr 22
Books in Film: Bloody Morning
Li Shaohong adapts Yu Hua’s northern Chinese version of Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s Chronicle of a Death Foretold. That’s a lot of adaptating goin’ on. Free. 6.30. Modernista (136 9142 5744)

Food, Film & Friends: Vietnam
Breathe in the fish sauce, basil and lime before catching idyllic film The Scent of Green Papaya. RMB 240, RMB 200 (members), RMB 30 (screening only). 5pm (cooking), 7.30pm (screening). The Hutong (159 0104 6127)

Laofei Library Secondhand Book Fair
They provide the spot, you bring used books and DVDs to sell or exchange. Free. Noon-midnight. Modernista (136 9142 5744)

Apr 26
Veggie Table Movie Night
Watch Forks Over Knives, a pro-vegetarian documentary. Contact Mia on 138 1122 4998 for more information. Free. 9.30pm. The Veggie Table (6446 2073)

CAOCHANGDI PHOTOSPRING EXHIBITS (HIGHLIGHTS):

Transcendence: The 2012 Three Shadows Photography Award
Apr 21-Jun 15. Hundreds of young photographers submitted nearly 10,000 works. See the finalists and find out this year’s winner at the opening on Apr 21. Part of Caochangdi PhotoSpring (see Feature, p54). Free. Three Shadows Photography Art Centre (6432 2663)

FRAC Collection: 30th Anniversary
Apr 21-May 31. France’s Regional Fund for Contemporary Art celebrates 30 years of crucial art funding with a special exhibit of photos and videos from its rare collection. Part of Caochangdi PhotoSpring (see Feature, p54). Free. China Art Archives and Warehouse (8456 5152)

Jean-Christian Bourcart: Camden
Apr 21-May 31. A closer look at Camden, New Jersey – the most dangerous city in America. Part of Caochangdi PhotoSpring (see Feature, p54). Free. C-Space (6432 2663)

Beyond Words: Photography from the New Yorker
Apr 15-Jun 10. Images from 1890 up to 2010 that have decorated the pages of one of the world’s most-read magazines. Part of Caochangdi PhotoSpring (see Feature, p54). RMB 15. UCCA (5780 0200)

Stefen Chow and Lin Hui-Yi: The Poverty Line
Apr 21-May 31. Photographs of what a day’s wages can buy in different parts of the world in an exploration of global poverty. Part of Caochangdi PhotoSpring (see Feature, p54). Free. Three Shadows Photography Art Centre (6432 2663)

Photo: Courtesy of BC MOMA