"RAIDING AFRICA": African filmakers exploring China

The 21th edition of the African, Asian and Latin American Film Festival (http://www.festivalcinemaafricano.org/eng/index.php), held in Milan, begins today (March 21) and lasts until March 27. After the success of "Forget Africa" (a program that took place and involved international filmmakers encountering for their first time Africa), this year the collaboration with the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR, http://www.filmfestivalrotterdam.com) continues: this time, though, the perspective has completely been turned upside down, thanks to the special section "Raiding Africa" (http://www.festivalcinemaafricano.org/eng/index.php?pag=sez_retrospettiva). 
"Raiding Africa" is the name of a program involging seven African filmmakers (coming from Sudafrica, Uganda, Ruanda, Congo-Brazzaville and Angola) and that shows their first encounter with China. I believe it is a wonderful opportunity to see China in a very different and new way, that's why I strongly recommend it! You can get a glimpse of this China - seen through African's creative eyes - online, in the festival blog from Gertjan Zuilhof, who travelled in China with the group of young directors (in total, 13 posts are currently available and many nice pictures of the journey). A synopsis of each of the seven films is available here (in Italian).

(Henrique "Dito" Narciso filming for Moamba Chinesa)

(Still image from Li Xia's Salon, by Omelga Mthiyane)

La 21ma edizione del Festival Cinema Africano, Asia e America Latina (http://www.festivalcinemaafricano.org/), che si tiene a Milano, inizia oggi (21 marzo) e proseguirà fino al 27 marzo. Dopo il successo di "Forget Africa" (un progetto che ha coinvolto vari registi internazionali nel momento del loro primo incontro con l'Africa), quest'anno la collaborazione con l'International Film Festival di Rotterdam (IFFR, http://www.filmfestivalrotterdam.com) continua: questa volta, però, la prospettiva è stata completamente stravolta, grazie alla speciale rassegna "Raiding Africa" (http://www.festivalcinemaafricano.org/index.php?pag=sez_retrospettiva). 

"Raiding Africa" è il nome di un progetto che riguarda sette registi africani (provenienti da Sudafrica, Uganda, Ruanda, Congo-Brazzaville e Angola) e mostra il loro primo incontro con la Cina. Credo che si tratti di una bellissima occasione per vedere la Cina in una maniera diversa e nuova, ed è per questo che ve lo raccomando! Si può avere un'idea di questa Cina, vista attraverso occhi africani, online, nel blog del festival di Gertjan Zuilhof, che ha viaggiato in Cina con il gruppo di giovani registi (in totale ci sono 13 post e molte foto del viaggio). La trama di ognuno dei sette film è disponibile qui (in italiano).

CHINA POWER STATION II

I really like Cao Fei's artistic style: after my last post entitled CHINA POWER STATION I, I kept looking for her works, as something else displayed in the exhibition in Turin drew my attention: a few big pictures hanging on the wall and a video. The pictures were still imaeges taken from a documentary she did in 2004, entitled "Cosplayers" (an ultra-brief - and probably unnecessary - explaination: the word "cosplay" is the contraction of "costume" and "play", it originated in Japan and refers to a sort of performance art, in which participants dress up like some famous fictional characters, usually drawn from manga, anime, comics, animation, video games, and so on). Unfortunately, I couldn't find Cao Fei's video online, but on her website I found a statement from which I would like to propose an exerpt, as it describes a peculiar phenomenon of popular culture that is becoming extremely trendy also in China: 

"In recent years a group of COSPLAYERS, growing up in and around China's coastal cities, have been confronted by both the traditional values of the Chinese education system and subjected to the pull of invading foreign cultures in the new century. As a group of adolescents who refuse to grow-up, they choke themselves with passionate impulses and an undisguised infatuation with personal fancies, expressed through ways and manners only they can understand and be comfortable with. Their characters are often filled with violence, a thirst for power, as well as magical powers but, compared to the boredom, emptiness, rebelliousness, and violence that accompany the lives of many of today's adolescents, escaping inside this sub-cultural cocoon merely seeks to affirm the value of their own existence in society. They frequently and eagerly appear in all kinds of large and small commercial events or trendy places, gaining exposure in the news media, and setting themselves up as spoke-persons for young people today. In the process they attract the attention of many curious onlookers and a sizable peer group following. The satisfaction they gain from their contrived fantasy world counterbalances their despair and despondency in the real world. In fact, since they seek to hide their personality, the pleasure and sense of honor they gain derives from their virtual characters, not their natural identity. They are prepared to shoulder the burden of a split personality in the everyday world, for such a duality of reality and fantasy soothes and comforts their cravings in the same way as fairy tales have become an indispensable part of their lives." (http://www.caofei.com/works/photography/, choose "Coldplayers" on the right and this statement can be found after the first still)

Other photographic works about cosplayers are displayed on her website: Un-Cosplayers and Cos-Cosplayers. From this last series, I chose the ones I like best and share them here. I guess I like them because I appreciate the contrast of the romantic gothic outfit and the "bad" elements (namely the helmets) of Darth Vader and Stormtroopers from George Lucas' Star Wars.

Mi piace lo stile artistico di Cao Fei: dopo aver postato CHINA POWER STATION I, ho continuato a cercare le sue opere, visto che qualcos'altro esposto alla mostra di Torino mi aveva incuriosito: alcune fotografie appese al muro e un video. Le fotografie erano immagini still prese da un documentario del 2004, intitolato "Cosplayers" (una velocissima - e probabilmente non necessaria - spiegazione: la parola "cosplay" è la contrazione di "costume" e "play", ha avuto origine in Giappone e indica una sorta di arte performativa, in cui i partecipanti si vestono come alcuni personaggio famosi, di solito provenienti da manga, anime, fumetti, animazioni, video giochi, e così via). Purtroppo, non ho trovato il video di Cao Fei, ma nel suo sito ho trovato una dichiarazione, di cui voglio proporre un estratto, visto che descrive un fenomeno peculiare delle cultura popolare, che sta diventando di tendenza anche in Cina: 

"In recent years a group of COSPLAYERS, growing up in and around China's coastal cities, have been confronted by both the traditional values of the Chinese education system and subjected to the pull of invading foreign cultures in the new century. As a group of adolescents who refuse to grow-up, they choke themselves with passionate impulses and an undisguised infatuation with personal fancies, expressed through ways and manners only they can understand and be comfortable with. Their characters are often filled with violence, a thirst for power, as well as magical powers but, compared to the boredom, emptiness, rebelliousness, and violence that accompany the lives of many of today's adolescents, escaping inside this sub-cultural cocoon merely seeks to affirm the value of their own existence in society. They frequently and eagerly appear in all kinds of large and small commercial events or trendy places, gaining exposure in the news media, and setting themselves up as spoke-persons for young people today. In the process they attract the attention of many curious onlookers and a sizable peer group following. The satisfaction they gain from their contrived fantasy world counterbalances their despair and despondency in the real world. In fact, since they seek to hide their personality, the pleasure and sense of honor they gain derives from their virtual characters, not their natural identity. They are prepared to shoulder the burden of a split personality in the everyday world, for such a duality of reality and fantasy soothes and comforts their cravings in the same way as fairy tales have become an indispensable part of their lives." (http://www.caofei.com/works/photography/, scegliere "Coldplayers" alla destra e questa dichiarazione comparirà sotto alla prima immagine still).

Nel suo sito, si possono trovare altre opere fotografiche sui cosplayers: Un-Cosplayers e Cos-Cosplayers. Di quest'ultima serie, ho scelto le foto che mi hanno colpito e le ripropongo qui. Credo mi piacciano perché apprezzo il contrasto dell'abbigliamento romantico/gotico e gli elementi "cattivi" (gli elmi) di Darth Vader e degli Stormtroopers della serie Guerre Stellari di George Lucas.

CHINA POWER STATION I

To my surprise, the exhibition on Chinese contemporary art I missed last time I was in Turin has been delayed until the end of March! I really didn't want to loose this chance and I went to visit, just before getting on the train to go back home. The name of the exhibition is CHINA POWER STATION and it is currently hosted by Pinacoteca Agnelli (Lingotto). I was lucky to find a very nice guide and a group of people who wanted to visit with the help of some detailed explainations, so I spent there a few hours. Among the works I saw, I was fascinated by "i·MIRROR" (我·镜), a second life documentary film. This video, that was also featured in the Chinese Pavillon during the Venice Biennale in 2007, was shot by China Tracy, the second life avatar of the Chinese artist Cao Fei 曹斐. I have to be honest: as I was afraid of missing my train, I didn't have the time to sit down and watch the entire documentary, but I regret that. I found this three parts on Youtube and want to share them with you. The thing that struck me most is that, at least from an outsider's point of view (as I'm not really into contemporary art!) it completely lack Chinese elements.
Here is a link also with some infos on the artist  (http://nwn.blogs.com/nwn/2007/07/this-is-truly-c.html) and the link to her blog  (http://www.caofei.com). Enjoy!

PART 1

PART 2

PART 3

Con mia grande sorpresa, la mostra d'arte cinese contemporanea che avevo perso durante la mia ultima gita a Torino è stata posticipata fino a fine marzo! Non volevo perdere quest'occasione e sono andata a visitarla, proprio prima di prendere il treno per tornare a casa. Il nome della mostra è CHINA POWER STATION e al momento è ospitata dalla Pinacoteca Agnelli (Lingotto). Sono stata fortunata a incontrare una guida simpatica e un gruppo di persone che volevano fare una visita con l'aiuto di alcune spiegazioni dettagliate, quindi sono stata lì un paio d'ore. Tra le opere che ho visto, sono rimasta affascinata da "i·MIRROR" (我·镜), un film/documentario sulla seconda vita. Questo video, esposto anche nel Padiglione cinese alla Biennale di Venezia nel 2007, è firmato China Tracy, l'avatar dell'artista Cao Fei 曹斐. Sarò sincera: avendo paura di perdere il treno, non ho avuto il tempo per sedermi e vedere tutto il documentario, ma me ne pento. Ho trovato le tre parti su Youtube e le condivido qui. La cosa che mi ha colpito di più è che, almeno dal punto di vista di una outsider (visto che non sono proprio per l'arte contemporanea!) manca completamente di elementi cinesi. 
Qui un link con alcune informazioni anche sull'artista (http://nwn.blogs.com/nwn/2007/07/this-is-truly-c.html) e qui il link al suo blog (http://www.caofei.com). A voi!

China@Turin

I've recently been invited to a seminar entitled "La via cinese ai media" (the Chinese way to media), held in Turin, in collaboration with Ordine Giornalisti Piemonte, Scienze della Comunicazione (Università di Torino) and CIRCE (Centro Interdipartimentale di Ricerca sulla Comunicazione). Here is the brochure of the event, that proved to be an interesting occasion for gathering and discussing Chinese media, including television, information system, the Internet and - of course - advertising, also with professionals from the communication sector. I think the picture that has been chosen for the brochure could be used also in one of my courses as a fitting example of the "recycling" of the revolutionary culture in contemporary China (and this is why I like it!). 
This is the link to the PODCAST of my intervention "Advertising 'with Chinese characteristics'":
http://elearning.unito.it/lettere/blocks/inwicast/index.php?id=21

Di recente sono stata invitata ad un seminario intitolato "La via cinese ai media", tenutosi a Torino, in collaborazione con l'Ordine Giornalisti Piemonte, Scienze della Comunicazione (Università di Torino) e CIRCE (Centro Interdipartimentale di Ricerca sulla Comunicazione). Questa è la locandina dell'evento, che si è rivelato essere un'occasione interessante per riunirsi e discutere di media cinesi, televisione, sistema informativo, internet e pubblicità compresa, anche con professionisti della comunicazione. La foto che è stata scelta per la locandina potrebbe essere usata in uno dei miei corsi come esempio calzante di "riciclaggio" della cultura rivoluzionaria nella Cina contemporanea (e, proprio per questo, mi piace!). 

Questo è il link al PODCAST del mio intervento "La pubblicità 'con carattertistiche cinesi'": 

http://elearning.unito.it/lettere/blocks/inwicast/index.php?id=21