Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
C
oventry University Media The screenings will be
staff and students have put productions from throughout
together a new film society South East Asia, including
that promises to fill your China, Hong Kong, Korea,
Wednesday afternoons with Japan, Taiwan, Thailand and
surprising East-Asian screenings and Malaysia. The society’s plan
intriguing debates. is to raise cultural awareness
At a time when Europe is still strug- in a campus that accommo-
gling to overcome the current state of go to China/ Hong Kong to meet and
the economy, distribution of East Asian “the hidden interview some very famous directors
films is often postponed or forgot- and staff like Johnnie To (To-Kei Fung),
ten, claims the film society. Spencer film reality of Wai Ka-Fai and Aaron Kwok.”
Murphy, media lecturer and initiator of
this society says: “We are to screen only Asia, beyond Being aware of the unfortunate fact
that most of the western students as-
films that are unavailable, that haven’t
been distributed in the West”.
kung fu and sume Asian films are all the same, the
Coventry East Asian film society aims to
‘Coventry Close Encounters: A
Programme of Contemporary Films
martial arts” help them enhance some knowledge of
the Asian culture.
from the Cinemas of East Asia’ aims dates over 3000 international students, Talking about the “idea that cultures
to celebrate the hidden film reality of while encouraging a variety mix. produce different things than what is
Asia, beyond kung fu and martial arts. “I Media lecturers Val Hill and Spen- promoted”, Spencer mentions a “great
want to give students the opportunity cer Murphy started this project as an cinema quote that broadly says: ‘We
to watch some films that they may not initiative, determined by the “very good can hear the culture singing in the
encounter otherwise” says Spencer. turnout of students” at last summer’s background, but we don’t listen to the
conference on East Asian films. “Rather music.’”
“We are to than academic, with papers and co., we
wanted to open this up” commented
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screen only Spencer, while also expressing his de- “... the programme
sire to pass this on: “I want the students
films that are to run it themselves”. is designed to be
unavailable, that When asked why only East Asian cin-
ema, Mr. Murphy said this is the begin- linked with the
haven’t been ning, as there will be opportunities for
students to screen ‘un-heard-of’ films famous and yet
distributed in themselves, from any other culture,
adding that: “That’s my research inter-
infamous module
the West”. est, my PhD research is in Hong Kong
cinema, and I had the opportunity to
called PDP.”
Coventry’s close encounter with East-Asian cinema
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
“it’s a great