polskiChinese transformations are one of the most fascinating cultural and political contemporary phenomena. Always cherished and appreciated mainstream animation studios stopped seeking new forms that would enable fusion of traditional Chinese arts with animation medium in 1990s and turned towards simplifications and consumerism. The rebirth of artistic language that would express individuals’ feelings and views can be credited to the specific and small group of mostly young authors. Among them one can find Lei Lei, one of the most impressive new Chinese talents currently in residence in France. His surreal My My and Missing One Player combine children-like naive imaginary with colourful and disturbing visuals. Shen Jie from Shanghai, author of non-narrative Run! and The Stammer enjoys loop sequences filled with subversiveness and deformations. History and specific historical memory full of traumas and innuendos became highly relevant subject in Pan Tianshou of Joe Chang who is a leading professor at Zhejiang University in Hangzhou; Chasing of visual artists Xia Weilun and Wu Chao as well as Ketchup of Guo Chunning and Yan Baishen, married couple of animators. Guo Chunning is also a pedagogue at Renmin University in Beijing. Her student Yao Liu is an author of intimate and touching Short-Sighted. Animated music videos is an autonomous and equally interesting story. Sunday Morning was made for the punk band Joyside by the famous Beijing-based, counter-cultural label Maybe Mars that used to create and stimulate alternative music scene of Chinese capital through production, recording, organizations of concerts and promotion. One could have perceived Maybe Mars’s activities as an expression of range against mainstream filled with kitch aesthetics and ultra-sexual narratives. Chick Chick made by Superfun for Wang Rong Rollin could be an example of such practice however it is impossible to unnotice its self-irony and ability to play with gender stereotypes.
Curator: Olga Bobrowska
1. Sunday Morning, dir./reż. & prod. Maybe Mars, China 2001, 1’44”
2. Chick Chick, dir./reż. Superfun, prod. Wujixing Culture, China 2014, 3’50”
3. My My, dir./reż. & prod. Lei Lei, China 2011, 4’33”
4. Run!, dir./reż. & prod. Shen Jie, China 2012, 3’22”
5. Short-Sighted, dir./reż. Yao Liu, prod. Renmin University of China, China 2015, 3’40”
6. Ketchup, dir./reż. & prod. Guo Chunning, Yan Baishen, China 2012, 6’28”
7. Pan Tianshou, dir./reż. Joe Chang, prod. Joe’s Film, China 2003, 5’23”
8. Missing One Player, dir./reż. and prod. Lei Lei, China 2015, 4’32”
9. Stammer, dir./reż. & prod. She Jie, China 2013, 3’15”
10. Chasing, dir./reż. Chao Wu, Weilun Xia, China 2011, 27′
Total: 64 min
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