Spotlight on Chinese Female Animation Directors – Feinaki Beijing Animation Week Selection
Program curator: Yantong Zhu (festival director of Feinaki Beijing Animation Week)
Observing the Chinese autonomous animation landscape over the past decade reveals a steady rise in the number of female directors. Animation is increasingly becoming a medium for women to express themselves. This program features eight films directed by women, selected from the award-winning films of past editions of Feinaki Beijing Animation Week. It may offer you a deeper insight into what Chinese women are experiencing and thinking about.
Lenght: 70′
Ščurek s človeškim obrazom / Cockroach with Human Faces
Yinxue Li (Academy of Arts & Design, Tsinghua University)China, 2024, 7'10''
Cockroach with Human Faces is the director's undergraduate project. It's about the protagonist who breaks the legs of a creepy human-faced cockroach, only to be captured by the maddened crowd as a sacrifice to a new god at a grand festival never before seen in the desolate village.
Kite / Braided
Chenxi Zhang (California Institute of the Arts)United States, China, 2023, 6'19''
Mom always braided my hair so tautly that it carved a distinct path atop my head. But one day, she cut off the carefully braided hair. Along the path, I touched our unbreakable inner attachment and the journey of female growth we were both unprepared to face.
Pol jabolka / Half of an Apple
Xiaolin Zhou (Tama Art University)Japan, 2020, 4'19''
On a boring afternoon in December, Papa Bear washed an apple and cut it in half. Half to me and half to my twin sister. Neither of us likes the apple with a kitchen knife smell.
Njene besede / Words of Her
Charlene Xu (University of Southern California, School of Cinematic Arts)United States, China, 2024, 9'30''
A distressed woman's soliloquy. “That woman" comes to her city for a short stay. Inexplicable sensations torment her mind and body like meiyu, so she sinks into the reeds that grow out of the wounds on her finger. This film exposes a young woman's meandering feelings about sex and motherhood in relation to her chaotic perception of time.
Goreča soba / Burning Room
Xinyi Huang (Communication University of China)China, 2024, 4'47''
Mother and daughter, who live in the same room, spark a fire during their argument and eventually reach a settlement.
Šivanje ljubezni / Sewing Love
Yuan Xu (Tama Art University)Japan, 2023, 8'36''
In this film, two individuals with strong personalities, are ultimately driven to ruin by selfish possessiveness.
Poroka na kraju usmrtitve / Wedding on the Execution Ground
Zilai Feng (University of Southern California, School of Cinematic Arts)United States, China, 2023, 13'25''
After 40 years, a retired actress from the 1960s Chinese propaganda play Wedding on the Execution Ground, decides to reunite with her first love, the lead actor from the play.
Votlina / Sliver Cave
Caibei Cai (Dongyu Culture Media)China, 2022, 14'24''
Stepping into a cave, the sight fluctuates by the firelight. Left to right, top to bottom. The same goes for the screen in front of you. It is a borderless tunnel, presenting domestication and desire.