The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business
Top shopping mall Shangri-La Plaza is celebrating the richness of Chinese arts and culture by hosting the 10th Spring Film Festival at Cinema 4 of the Shang Cineplex until Feb. 7.
The wonderful roster of 10 films, which aims to encourage Filipinos to appreciate Chinese culture and language more, is put together by the Ateneo de Manila University’s Ricardo Leong Center for Chinese Studies, together with the Cultural Section of the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China, the Confucius Institute, the Film Development Council of the Philippines and Credit Suisse, and with the cooperation of Ateneo Celadon and Shangri-La Plaza.
Leading the 10 films in this year’s festival is Coming Home (Feb. 2, 5 p.m.; Feb. 4, 5 p.m.; Feb. 7, 7:30 p.m.) by renowned director Zhang Yimou. It tells the touching story of a couple (Gong Li and Chen Daoming) separated by dire events surrounding the Cultural Revolution.
Based on the real-life experiences of an eight-year-old Italian girl, Angel Vera (Feb. 1 and 4, 2:30 p.m.) traces that girl’s journey to realize her dream of becoming a Beijing opera performer.
In wartime Guangzhou, the title character of Qiu Xi (Feb. 3, 2:30 p.m.; Feb. 5, 7:30 p.m.) makes her living as a tanka, or boat person. Amid difficulties, she finds herself falling in love with an undercover communist agent working for the Kuomintang regime.
Wild Horse (Feb. 2, 2:30 p.m.; Feb. 5, 5:30 p.m.) centers on Geza, called the “wild horse” of his village on the Tibetan plateau, and his quest to win a marathon to save his younger sister’s life.
Set in 1940s Shanghai, East Wind Rain (Feb. 4, 7:30 p.m.; Feb. 6, 2:30 p.m.) revolves around the spy An Ming, who secures information on Japan’s intended attack on Pearl Harbor, and his dangerous mission to deliver this to the appropriate authorities.
At That Summer (Feb. 3, 7:30 p.m.) tells the unlikely love story between a kind young man and a pregnant girl abandoned by her lover.
Retired bus driver Ge’s life hasn’t gone as he imagined it would—his son by his first marriage doesn’t speak to him, and he has been forced out of his own house. In Full Circle (Feb. 1, 5 p.m.; Feb. 6, 7:30 p.m.), he finds hope again, thanks to a bunch of rebellious senior citizens living in a nursing home.
Lost in Thailand (Feb. 1, 7:30 p.m.; Feb. 5, 2:30 p.m.; Feb. 7, 5 p.m.), the rambunctious sequel to Raymond Yip’s Lost on Journey, focuses on two ambitious business managers competing for a revolutionary new technology, and the outrageous comedy of errors that results from it.
Back to 1942 (Feb. 3 and 6, 5 p.m.) is about a North Henan landlord who embarks on a pilgrimage to Sha’anxi province during the 1942 famine, and struggles to survive as war with Japan looms on the horizon.
And in Say Yes (Feb. 2, 7:30 p.m.; Feb. 7, 2:30 p.m.), an odd partnership develops into a meaningful pairing as two unlikely individuals—a beautiful cellist and an average-looking construction worker—find their perfect match in each other.
For inquiries, call (632) 370-2500, local 597, or visit www.facebook.com/shangrilaplazaofficialfanpage.