FILM CLUB SCREENING - Li Mi Conjecture (Chinese/2008/95mins) Dir.Cao Baoping. Due to the intervention of her parents, taxi driver Li Mi had to break up with her long-term boyfriend, Fang Wen, who disappeared from her life yet seemed to remain connected. For four years, Li Mi continued to search for his whereabouts in a constant tug-of-war between hope and despair. An eerie murder was witnessed, leading her to a man nearly identical to her missing lover. Could he be the one she has been looking for? Her life suddenly changes. Then come terrible yet pitiful drug dealers, and irascible but highly duteous police detectives… Behind the cascade of mysteries, compromises lie between those who were once in love… Collab: China Embassy

FILM CLUB SCREENING - Storm Warriors (Chinese/2009/110mins) Dirs.Peng Fa & Peng Shun. Jue Wushen, head of Wushenjuegong School, has a desire to excel in martial arts. He casts a greedy eye on the Central Plains. To seize imperial power, he captures a number of masters of martial arts, forcing them to submit to his rule. Bu Jingyun, Nie Feng and Wu Ming, martial arts master of the previous generation, become his captives. Once they escape, Bu Jingyun, sworn to making Jue Wushen pay for his crimes, practices martial arts diligently. Nie Feng takes the risk of practicing evil skills so as to protect the whole world. During the decisive fight, Jue Wushen, Bu Jingyun and Nie Feng fight each other desperately, making the land turn dark all around. As Jue Wushen’s true purpose of invasion is exposed, it remains to be seen whether justice triumphs over evil or not. Collab: China Embassy

FILM CLUB SCREENING - East Wind Rain (Chinese/2010/115mins) Dir.Liu Yunlong. On the eve of the outbreak of the Pacific War in 1941, the world was in turmoil. Foreign forces gathered in Shanghai, a metropolis which was threatened by growing crises. Through Ozaki Hotsumi, an intelligence agent who hid among the high leaders of Japan, the Communist Party of China (CPC) got the information that Japan was to attack Pearl Harbor, with the code name “East Wind Rain”. During the period of cooperation between CPC and the Kuomintang, An Ming, the leader of the CPC Intelligence Group in Shanghai, sent the information to the United States. However, Pearl Harbor was still attacked, touching off the outbreak of the Pacific War. Then the Japanese invaders arrested an intelligence agent of Jun Tong, and the members of An Ming’s group were arrested and killed one after another. At that time, a roll of film on the important secrets of the Japanese government was sent to Shanghai after being passed through many hands. Various forces started heart-stirring struggles for it…. Collab: China Embassy

FILM CLUB SCREENING - Forever Enthralled (Chinese/2008/138mins) Dir.Chen Kaige. Born to a family of well-known Peking Opera singers in Beijing in 1894, Mei Lanfang showed a precocious gift for the art. Of the many people in his life dedicated to Peking Opera, some were loving and supportive elders and passionate fans, while some were friends who supported him but also used him. He had a wife who stood by him through happiness and hardships and a confidante who shared his artistic vision. Mei Lanfang not only changed traditional prejudices towards actors, but also took Peking Opera onto the world stage. More importantly, the spirit of Peking Opera was enhanced because of the dignity he displayed during the Japanese occupation of China. Collab: China Embassy

FILM CLUB SCREENING - Short Film Festival. A showcasing of critically acclaimed short films from across the world Collab: Shamiana

FILM CLUB SCREENING - Super Typhoon (Chinese/2008/90mins) Dir.Feng Xiaoning. A mammoth storm threatens to level a major city in this thriller advertised as China's first disaster movie. Xu is the mayor of a large city off the south coast of China, and one day he receives disturbing news from Cheng, a trusted scientific advisor. A powerful and rapidly growing typhoon nicknamed "Blue Whale" is heading towards the city, and Xu and Cheng must formulate a strategy to protect the city and its citizens before the storm reaches the shore. Chang has had experience with world-class storms before; his father was a storm chaser who died in a typhoon in 1956, and as he deals with the current crisis, he can't help but think of the disaster of fifty years earlier. Meanwhile, a handful of people in the city are struggling to deal with their personal issues as they prepare to meet the storm, including a visiting meteorologist from the United States, a politician in town for the wedding of his daughter, a thief on the run from the cops, and a man who lives on a small island nearby trying to get back to protect his wife, who is expecting a baby. A major box office success in China, Chaoqiang Taifeng (aka Super Typhoon) was an official entry at the 2008 Tokyo Film Festival. Collab: China Embassy

FILM CLUB SCREENING - Charulata (Bengali with Eng subtitles/2011/130mins) Dir.Agnidev Chatterji. Prod. Bipin Kumar Vohra Cast: Rituparna Sen Gupta, Kaushik Sen & Arjun Chakrabarty. A modern take-off on Satyajit Ray's classic Charulata. The screening will be followed by an interaction with the director.

DOC FILM - The Celestial Dancers of Manipur A film on Lai Haroba and Raasalila in Manipur by Benoy K. Behl. Prod. Doordarshan

DOC FILM - 1³ (Eng/39mins) Dir.Pramod Dev. Criss-crossing the lives of three women from three cities on a working day, the film explores the complex ways in which women are impacted by globalisation while living in a male dominated society. Collab: dev.inc & Heinrich Böll Stiftung, India