We are delighted to announce the seventh CIFA Screening and Research Seminar, Space of Ruins: Fragments of a City, chaired by researcher and filmmaker Désirée Marianini from La Sapienza University of Rome. The event will feature the showcase of her documentary Happy New Year (2016), which explores fragments of life within a semi-abandoned building in Wuhan, China, and a post-screening Q&A session with Désirée virtually.
The film (30mins) is available on the CIFA YouTube channel https://youtu.be/9P3feVBHBDw?si=VgKv6cvlc_3WKWZA and the in-person screening and discussion will take place from 2pm to 3.30pm on 14 May at the CIFA space (Old Library Building, Room 2.23). You can also join the Q&A session via the zoom link https://newcastleuniversity.zoom.us/j/6235842876?omn=84694325773.
Happy New Year (2016)
Running time: 32 minutes 8 seconds
Original language: Chinese
Country of production: Italy
a
Synopsis
Outside, the Chinese dream is becoming a reality. Inside, pieces of life in a semi-abandoned building, the fragmentation of an ideal and of a relationship.
Désirée Marianini studied Chinese Language at La Sapienza University of Rome, and Directing and Project development at ZeLIG School for Documentary, Television and New Media, Italy. She is currently a PhD candidate at La Sapienza University of Rome, researching creative re-use of family archival material in Chinese personal documentaries. She is also a narrative translator and documentary filmmaker. She spent ten years in China, studying and working for the Cultural Heritage Protection Centre in Beijing and for China Files.