China On Screen

The sights and sounds of the Far East come to the West Midlands as Birmingham moving image exhibition project KINO 10 returns to the Barber Institute of Fine Arts with China On Screen.

Celebrating the Chinese New Year (Year of the Dragon), KINO 10 will showcase the best short films and animations China has to offer at the gallery on Tuesday 24 January. Meanwhile, during the interval, guests will be served plum wine whilst being entertained by a live performance of traditional Chinese music. There will also be tours of the Barber galleries in English and Manadrin looking at Chinese objects in the Barber collection.

Highlights include On the Way to the Sea, directed by Tao Gu. On 12 May 2008, the biggest earthquake in Chinese history occurred in the film maker's hometown of Wenchuan. According to official polls, 69,159 were killed, 374,141 were seriously injured and 17,469 are still considered to be missing. The film maker's parents, central character in the film, are survivors. In a surreal hybrid of documentary footage, experimental abstraction and fictional elements, On the Way to the Sea studies the human fragility and spiritual homelessness generated by such disasters. The film saw screenings at Toronto International Film Festival, Vancouver International Film Festival, Sundance Film Festival and Rotterdam Film Festival in 2011.

KINO 10 will also be screening Hua Yang de Nian Hua by one of China's most celebrated directors, Wong Kar-Wai. The film was screened at the Berlin Film Festival in 2001 and consists of a montage of scenes from vintage Chinese films, most of which were considered lost until some nitrate prints were discovered in a California warehouse during the 1990s. There will also be a chance to see new animated work by Royal College of Art alumni, Sharon Liu and Setaka Mizuno.