Resurrection
Synopsis
An audacious, ambitious vision from master filmmaker Bi Gan (Long Day’s Journey Into Night), Resurrection is a whirlwind love letter to cinema unlike any before. Set in a future where society has lost the desire to dream, a clandestine set of rebels called “Fantasmers” continue to indulge in fantasy and imagination. A curious creature, armed with a device able to extract their fading dreams, attempts to catalog these illusions. The result is a mesmerizing, maximalist masterpiece that toggles between a dizzying array of film styles and aesthetic modes—from a Méliès-inspired silent film to a slick story about playing card-toting con artists, as well as a bloodsoaked, red-filtered modern vampire romance.
To watch this layered, daring work is to experience five or six films in one. Replete with eye-popping production design, expertly choreographed long takes, and a constantly shifting rollercoaster of a narrative, Resurrection uses its sci-fi-inflected premise to ponder an art form’s past as it imagines its future.
Screenings & Events
There are currently no upcoming screenings of this film.
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Media
Film Credits
- Shan Zuolong, Charles Gillibert. Yang Lele
- Bi Gan, Zhai Xiaohui
- Jackson Yee, Shu Qi, Mark Chao, Li Gengxi, Huang Jue, Chen Yongzhong, Guo Mucheng, Zhang Zhijian, Chloe Maayan, Yan Nan
- m83
- Bi Gan, Wan Juan
- Huace Pictures, Dangmai Films, CG Cinéma
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Shorts 8: Drama
Synopsis
In these five shorts, exceptional international filmmakers explore subjects ranging from sex and war to grief and hippos. Whether employing dark humor or grounded realism, these stories speak to the complexities of the human experience.
In a building housing an old cinema on its last legs, a child discovers their true identity through the magic of the movies and the quiet curiosities of everyday life in Honey, My Love, So Sweet. In Hippopotami, a young girl sets out on a highly anticipated trip to the zoo when she comes to understand a new side of her parents’ inner lives. When their father dies, two brothers must return home to face their complicated past and find a way to move beyond their history in I’m Glad You’re Dead Now. The Cow takes place in occupied Croatia in 1991, where an army major reluctantly cares for a left-behind bovine in a hastily abandoned home, forcing him to face his repressed guilt. In Made of Sugar, Maria, a neurodivergent woman, decides to claim autonomy over her own body, refusing the societal norms and structural barriers telling her she can’t.
Screenings & Events
There are currently no upcoming screenings of this film.
Standby Only? Learn when new tickets get released by signing up for our ticket availability email list!
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Hippopotami He Ma
Synopsis
When a young girl embarks on a highly anticipated trip to the zoo with her parents and some unexpected strangers, she comes to understand a new side of her parents’ inner lives. This story of innocence lost deftly weaves dark humor with delicately nuanced characters.
This film screens as part of Shorts Program 8: Drama.
Film Credits
- Lou Ying, Lin JJianjie
- Lin Jianjie
- Liao Yanlong, Wang Cong, Zeng Mingke
- Li Chen
- Zhang Zhiyong, Wang Zixi, Xu Ge, Wang Zhenhua
- Zhang Wen, Li Haoyuan
- MOS Productions, Paradigm Shift Entertainment
- https://www.lightsonfilm.com/hippopotami.html
CineYouth Program
Pulling Focus: Documentary
Synopsis
Whether it’s a visual love letter to far away relatives, a detailed account of individuals’ experiences of colorism, or a behind-the-scenes look into the meticulous process of crafting authentic Lion Dance Heads, these seven personal documentaries shed light on lives, beliefs, and cultures.
Please note: Films in this program contain themes, images, language, that may not be suitable for all ages.
Films
Places Nowhere
While discussing the topic of unexplainable memories with his friends, Filmmaker Alex Chen recounts a childhood memory of going to a mall with an exterior that was “painted like the sky.” He always figured it was a figment of his imagination… except his friend remembers the same mall. Assembling many years’ worth of archival and personal footage, Alex Chen attempts to rediscover the feeling of being in this long-forgotten mall.
Memories of a new destination (Records d’un nou destí)
Told through postcards and first-hand experiences, this film is a touching tribute to those that have traveled away from home. This profound documentary provides an avenue for the filmmakers to have a deeper connection with their relatives, learn more about their lives, and comprehend the bravery it must have taken for each of them to start anew.
A-Okay
In the form of a letter to their past self, filmmaker J Fitzpatrick takes the viewer on a deeply intimate journey through their early experiences (or lack thereof) of crushes and discovery of asexual and aromantic spectrums. Told in the second person perspective, A-Okay examines the highly sexualized society we live in and explores harmful stigmas surrounding sexual orientations, while also giving a voice (and advice) to those within the underrepresented communities.
Epiphany
This colorful documentary follows the mother and daughter team of Master Li and Master Zhou as they work through all the steps of creating traditional Lion Dance Heads. The observational camera work captures the details of their craft as Li and Zhou share their family heritage and the cultural significance of the artform.
Tainted by the Visual
Through an immersive viewing experience, filmmaker Laura Calzada explores the subjective experiences of blind individuals and uses different techniques to express sound artist Andy Slater’s experience of how vision loss reshaped his perception of sound.
Stay Out of the Sun
This vignette-style multimedia documentary discusses the global cultural practice of colorism. Various women recount their individual experiences and opinions about this issue from childhood through adulthood.
Butterflies
In this celebration of love and resilience, high school sweethearts Quinn and Josh reflect on the prom night that turned a mother’s fears into a moment of triumph. Through heartfelt stories and reflections, Butterflies challenges perceptions of disability, demonstrating that love knows no boundaries and victories, no matter how small they may seem, are always worth celebrating.
Sponsors
Program Sponsor
CineYouth Program
Between Me and You
Synopsis
Captivating visuals and unconventional storytelling illuminate a wide range of relations between parents and children, best of friends, and bitter enemies. These seven shorts explore how the different people we encounter in our lives can have a lasting effect on us for better or for worse.
Note: Films in this program contain themes, images, and language that may not be suitable for all ages, including guns and violence.
Films
Check Please
In this comedy action film, a Korean and a Korean-American fight over their pride, honor, and who gets to pick up the tab.
Bi-Nocular Panic
Two young girls spend an afternoon in the park spying on boys when one of them discovers something new about themself.
Until He’s Born
Years after the death of his unborn brother, a teenager comes face to face with his guilt and grief in this beautiful rumination on tradition and family set during China’s one-child policy.
Loose Lace
Lighten up with this lighthearted film, which unites two of our favorite things – skating and pizza – to subtly depict humans being human.
Desync
Confronting the past, a young Filipina filmmaker re-lives a painful conversation with her mother to produce the perfect movie scene of a mother and daughter cooking. Sophisticated camera work shifts the scene between the present-day movie set and her memory exploring the complexity of the mother-daughter dynamic.
Just. Drop. Dead.
Two inept hitmen struggle to complete their latest job. Their target? A man with dance moves so rhythmic that he seems to dodge death at every turn.
The New Raymond
After an attempted break-in goes wrong, a burglar is held captive by the homeowners–a grieving couple with a sinister plan for bringing their son back.
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