CUArts - Arts Initiative @ Columbia University

SCHEDULE OF SCREENINGS
WR - Walter Reade, 165 W. 65th St., Between Broadway and Amsterdam
CU - Roone Arledge Cinema: Columbia University, Lerner Hall, 115th and Broadway. South east corner.

The opening night of the film tour on April 12, 2007 will be held in New York at Columbia University in the Roone Arledge Auditorium and will feature the internationally acclaimed performing artists, the Zhou Brothers, as they conduct a presentation of their signature live painting performance, also featured are award-winning musician Liu Yang and a poetry reading by Bei Dao.

The Zhou Brothers are some of the most accomplished contemporary artists in the world today renowned for their unique collaborative work process. They work together on their paintings, performances, sculptures, and prints, often communicating without words in a so-called dream dialogue. Their thinking, aesthetic, and creativity are a symbiosis of Eastern and Western philosophy, art, and literature, which has informed their development since early childhood. Shan Zuo and DaHuang Zhou were born in China in 1952 and 1957 respectively. The Zhou Brothers received an invitation to exhibit in Chicago in 1986 and have consequently maintained their home and studios in Chicago, Illinois, while actively exhibiting their work both nationally and abroad.

Liu Yang is the prize-winner of the Twelfth International Tchaikovsky Violin Competition in Moscow and is one of the most important Chinese violinists of his generation. He was born in Qindao China and accepted into Beijing's Central Conservatory of Music at the age of nine. Liu Yang has performed cross continentally and is currently a faculty member at Roosevelt University's College of Performing Arts in Chicago.

Zhao Zhenkai was born on August 2, 1949 in Beijing. The poet began using his pseudonym Bei Dao, which translates literally as "North Island," when a friend suggested this name as a reference to both the poet's provenance of Northern China as well as his tendency toward solitude. In the 1970s Bei Dao became the poetic voice of his nation. He turned to writing as an alternative to political activism. Themes central to Bei Dao's poetry include the pressures of a conformist society, disillusionment, and the sense of a lost cultural heritage.

Bei Dao's poems will be read in English by the essayist, editor, and translator, Eliot Weinberger. He is the author of a study of Chinese poetry translation, 19 Ways of Looking at Wang Wei, the editor of The New Directions of Classical Chinese Poetry, and the co-translator of Bei Dao's Unlock. His other translations include the Selected Non-Fictions of Jorge Luis Borges and the Collected Poems of Octavio Paz. His most recent books of literary and political essays are What Happened Here: Bush Chronicles; Muhammad; and An Elemental Thing.

These artists will come together at Columbia University not only to celebrate, but also to demonstrate and share their accomplishments with distinguished guests, filmmakers, and audience members alike.

Note: Films are playing in two separate locations. See schedule key

The Film Society of Lincoln Center: Walter Reade Theater
165 W. 65th St., Between Broadway and Amsterdam
$11 Public / $7 Students/Members
https://tickets.filmlinc.com

Columbia University: Roone Arledge Cinema, Alfred Lerner Hall,
115th and Broadway. South east corner.
$10 Public / $7 Students for April 12 and $7 Public / $5 Students for April 13 and 14.

Full priced tickets can be purchased here https://www.ovationtix.com/trs/cal/207
Student discounted and tickets for the public are also available at the Lerner Box Office. Lerner Box Office (115th and Broadway) March 29 - April 14 12PM - 6PM. For questions call 212-851-1872

The independent film industry in China is facing growing opportunities and challenges against the backdrop of rapid economic growth and social transformation,. The "On the Edge: New Independent Cinema from China" inter-university tour is designed to provide a direct look at this industry through discussions by China’s leading independent filmmakers and screenings of their award-winning films. Five distinguished film directors from mainland China will be featured, including Han Jie, Jia Zhangke, Li Yang, Wanma Caidan, and Wang Chao. They are amongst the most celebrated directors of China's independent film scene. Their films have garnered top accolades in the international film circuit and continue to shape the direction of China's independent film industry. Commenting on Jia Zhangke and other Chinese filmmakers, Martin Scorsese writes that their films "represent some of the finest, toughest, most vitally alive work in modern moviemaking." (Martin Scorsese's "Foreword" to SPEAKING IN IMAGES by Michael Berry).

This film event begins in New York on April 12, 2007. The Chinese filmmakers are scheduled to participate in the film screenings and discussions hosted by Columbia University and the Lincoln Center on April 12-April 15. They will visit the University of Notre Dame on April 16-April 21. At Columbia, the opening night in Roone Arledge Auditorium on April 12 will feature performing artists (the Zhou Bothers), award-winning musicians (Liu Jie and others), and poetry reading by Bei Dao. The concert is followed by the screening of Jia Zhangke's film The World. On April 13 and 14, we will screen the remaining films each evening in the Lerner Hall cinema as well as at the Film Society of Lincoln Center followed by discussion with the filmmakers. On the afternoon of Saturday the 14th, there will be a panel discussion with the five Chinese filmmakers.

The Chinese Students Club
Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures
Weatherhead East Asian Institute
The Arts Initiative at Columbia University
Committee on Chinese Culture
Center for New Media Teaching and Learning
The Film Society of Lincoln Center
TODAY Literary Journal
Lower Manhattan Art Council
Stiftung Omina - Freundeshilfe
the University of Notre Dame