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Beautiful Men/Umbrella
Du Haibin
2/3/2009 - 3/1/2009
Chinese Contemporary Xchange
OPENING RECEPTION: Saturday, February 07, 2009 - 2-6 pm |
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A solo exhibition Beautiful Men/Umbrella by Chinese film maker/photographer Du Haibin. The exhibition is guest-curated by XiaoYi Zhu for Chinese Contemporary Xchange, Toronto's non-profit organization. Beautiful Men/Umbrella consists of two documentary films of the same names, and photographs created in relation to the themes.
Du Haibin (born Xi'an China 1972) was first educated in photography and then in film. He graduated from the Beijing Film Academy in 2000 and has already produced an impressive body of work. His documentary subjects expose China's disadvantaged, in films such as Along The Railway (2001), Beautiful Men (2005), and most recently Umbrella (2007).
The film Beautiful Men (Ren Mian Tao Hua 人面桃花) depicts the lives of gay men in the city of Chengdu, Southwest China. Presented using the split-screen method, the film examines the lives of three drag dancers on and off stage. Beautiful Men was the Winner of Best Documentary Award at the Pusan International Film Festival 2005. (Video, 98 minutes, color, in Mandarin. English and Chinese subtitles. 2005)
"Umbrella (San) is a prosaic documentary anchoring on contemporary rural Chinese society" commented Du Haibin. The five-parts documentary metaphorically links the lives of five core groups that characterized China’s pre-reform society—workers, merchants, students, soldiers and peasants. Examining their living conditions, the documentary tears apart the apparent economic prosperity and exposes the embarrassing reality in today's rural China. In an era of opportunism, restlessness and vanity, "Haibin offers an intensely personal close-up of his subjects and their struggles, observing their daily routines, their moments of weakness, their camaraderie and their isolation." (Deanna Quinones/San Francisco International Film Festival)
Umbrella premiered at the 64th Venice International Film Festival as part of the Horizons Documentary program, and it garnered honorable mention at the 30th Cinéma du Réel Film Festival. (Video, 93 minutes, color, in Mandarin. English and Chinese subtitles. 2007)
Du belongs to the Sixth Generation of Chinese filmmakers characterized as being responsible for recording the lives of ordinary Chinese at this time of great urbanization and economic disparity. Why does he choose to make documentaries? Haibin said, “I remember when I watched Robert J. Flaherty’s Nanook of the North, I was so deeply moved by it. Documentaries give me more freedom than a feature film would. I feel a responsibility to record people’s lives fairly and objectively during these times of change. I’m glad that through my work I can experience different kinds of life. This is important to me, to my life. Every time I re-watch my work it feels like re-reading some very old books. Very special.”
Du Haibin would like to acknowledge the beautiful cinematography by his cameraman Liu Aiguo.
Opening Reception - Saturday, February 07, 2009 - 2-6 pm
Saturday 7, 6 pm to 7:30 pm: premiere video screening: Umbrella
Free video screening on Saturdays:
Feb 14, 5 pm: Beautiful Men (98 minutes)
Feb 21, 5 pm: Umbrella (93 minutes)
Feb 28, 5 pm: Beautiful Men
Both films are in Mandarin, with English and Chinese subtitles.
About the Curator XiaoYi Zhu
XiaoYi Zhu was graduated from Chinese Central Fine Arts Academy with a B.A. in Fine Arts History and Theory. Holds a M.A. in film theory from the Beijing Film Academy (2000). She received her Ph.D degree in Beijing Normal University majoring in Chinese Contemporary film. She works as an independent curator focusing on Chinese contemporary arts and film. She has curated Chinese film screenings in France (Clermont-Ferrand Short Film Festival), Spain (Bilbao Film Festival,), U.K.(London Chinese Film Festival), Canada (Toronto Worldwide Short Film Festival,Alucine Film Festival).She is currently a visiting scholar at Asian Institute at University of Toronto.
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Chinese Contemporary Xchange
50 Gladstone Avenue,
Toronto, M6J 3K6 Ontario
Gallery Hours: 1-6 pm (Wednesday to Sunday)
416.535.6957
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