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Special

A New Old Play

Hoezo in KINO

Winner of Locarno 2021, selection of IFFR 2022, this film has been nominated and awarded at numerous international film festivals, however, due to the epidemic, it has not been screening physically in the Netherlands until March, with extremely well-received two full house screening. This will be the first time the film returns to Rotterdam for a physical screening, with a 30-minute post-screening discussion with director Qiu Jiongjiong about the creation and production process.

Credits

Regie
Qiu Jiongjiong
Cast
Yi Sicheng, Guan Nan, Qiu Zhimin, Xue Xuchun, Gu Tao
Speelduur
179 minuten
Land
China
Taal
Chinese
Ondertiteling
English

Storyline

Following Qiu Yu, a clown in the Sichuan opera who is based on the director’s famous grandfather, we venture into a fantasy-like world full of political drama based on the reality of living in China between the 1930s and the 1980s. With his two humorous sidekicks, Qiu Yu tries to negotiate his entry into Hades whilst his departing soul looks back on his childhood, performances, family tragedies, and political affairs.

The hybridity between fiction, historical recollections, and experimental theatre adds to the unique aesthetic of A New Old Play (2021). On top of being the film’s director, Qiu Jiongjiong is also a well-known contemporary artist which can be seen in the images he created, setting the scene while embracing the absurdity, political and ritualistic spectacles, and comical vaudeville.