Proposing “ecocinema” as a new critical framework, the fourteen essays in the volume collectively investigate a wide range of urgent topics in today’s world: Chinese and Western epistemes of nature and humanity; the dialect of socialist modernization amid capitalist globalization; shifting configurations of space, locale, cityscape, and natural landscape; gender, religion, and ethnic cultures; as well as bioethics and environmental politics. The individual chapters zero in on diverse Chinese-language films by talented directors such as Zhang Yimou, Chen Kaige, Tian Zhuangzhuang, Jia Zhangke, Lou Ye, Fruit Chan, Wu Tianming, Tsai Mingliang, Li Yang, Feng Xiaogang, Zhang Yang, Wang Xiaoshuai, Wang Bing, Ning Hao, Zhang Ming, Dai Sijie, Wanma Caidan, and Huo Jianqi. The book is a timely engagement with Chinese cinema’s ecological consciousness in a historic moment of unparalleled environmental crises and destruction.

The contents of the book can be found on the website of Hong Kong University Press.

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The films and discussion will focus on the Tibetan Plateau, where the mighty glaciers are melting, drastically altering the lifestyle and livelihood of the local population. The Tibetan Plateau feeds the Yellow, Yangtze, Mekong, Salween, Brahmaputra, Ganges, and Indus Rivers. The impending exhaustion of glacial feed has grave implications for the people across Asia. Check out a preview of Michael Zhao’s short film Less Blessed, which will screen at the festival:

China Green Multimedia Festival: The Third Pole

Oct 13, 2009 | 6:30 pm to 9:30 pm
Asia Society
725 Park Avenue, New York, NY
$7 Students and Members; $11 non-members

For more information about this event, including film descriptions, please visit the Asia Society’s China Green Multimedia Festival website.

Click here to enter our free ticket giveaway.

Update: Winners announced!  Congrats!

John B.
Rob C.
Ruth M.
Jim B.
Ari T.

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Ten Thousand Pig Farm, Jiangxi (Photo courtesy of Brighter Green)

We’re excited to announce a new partnership with environmental policy organization Brighter Green on the production of their documentary Meat World, which explores the impact of meat and dairy consumption on developing countries like China.  This marks the beginning of a new chapter for dGenerate Films.  Increasing inquiries from American producers have led us to start offering co-producing and consulting services for documentary and fiction films interested in filming in China.

We’ve been fortunate throughout the short life of our business to develop extensive ties and strong relationships to the best and brightest of the independent Chinese filmmaking community, as well as an insider’s understanding of how the film business works there.  For Meat World, we’ve connected Super, Girls! director Jian Yi with Brighter Green to helm the project and have been supervising the pre-production and production process in Beijing, Jiangxi, and Guangzhou.  Early feedback has it that the footage is remarkable and transformed the Chinese crew into vegetarians by day three of the shoot!

Check out this enlightening blog post by Brighter Green’s Mia MacDonald on the Meat World project.

Any productions in search of location assistance, crew, talent, producing partners, or anything production-related in China, don’t hesitate to get in touch. We’d love to explore ways to work with you while continuing to support truly independent filmmaking in China.

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