Odyssey 2023’s Liverpool GALA Screenings will arrive at the Picturehouse at FACT with 8 films between 2nd June and 4th June, focusing on the debate of ‘Global Sustainability’.
3 INTERNATIONAL PREMIERS & 5 UK PREMIERES, ONE SHOW ONLY AT THE PICTUREHOUSE AT FACT IN LIVERPOOL – don’t miss this rare opportunity to be the first audience in the country to watch the latest award-winning world cinema from Mainland China, Hong Kong SAR, the region of Taiwan as well as the United States. What do young filmmakers have to say about urban development, equality, and biodiversity?
In its 3rd edition, UK based independent film festival Odyssey: a Chinese cinema season celebrates “Global Sustainability” as its main theme this year, responding to the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It has 5 main strands for the festival programme comprising both online & offline screenings. They include “JOURNEY”, “EQUALITY”, “BIODIVERSITY”, “ENVIRONMENT” and “URBAN DEVELOPMENT”.
Odyssey 2023’s Lead Curator is Hong Kong born and raised Riley Wong.
All Odyssey 2023 official selections coming to Liverpool will make their debut appearance in the UK, leveling up, exclusively at the Picturehouse at FACT. Some of them are this year’s nominees for the festival’s Jury’s Special Prize.
Odyssey 2023 Liverpool GALA Screening Programme
Friday 2 June
Odyssey 2023 Official Selection:
“Survival with You” (3 films)
QUEENIE (CLOSING DYNASTY) (2023)
Winner of the 73rd Berlinale Crystal Bear
Strand: Equality
Dir. Lloyd Lee Choi
Duration: 17 min
Country: United States
Language: English | Mandarin Chinese
Genre: Short, Drama
Keywords: Tenacity, Adult world, Street life, vulnerability, resilience
Synopsis
Roaming the streets of New York, Queenie is dead set on one thing: getting money. Following the seven-year-old’s shrewd gaze as she navigates the adult world, the film speaks of things parents try to keep hidden, and of childlike tenacity.
Curator’s Take
This film exposes the struggles of an Asian family surviving in New York, from the perspective of a little girl. The innocence of Queenie intensifies the desperation and elegy of the diaspora Asian community in Western society.
HAVE A NICE DAY (2018)
*UK PREMIERE*
By the director of
THE SUNNY SIDE OF THE STREET.
Strand: Equality
Dir. Kok Rui Lau
Duration: 25 min
Region: Hong Kong SAR
Language: Urdu | Cantonese
Genre: Short, Drama
Keywords: Cultural clash, identity crisis, socioeconomic class
Synopsis
A jobless Pakistani immigrant who wants to salvage his marriage by driving for riding apps, which is targeted by the Hong Kong police.
Curator’s Take
This film explores the lives of the Southeast-Asian-Hong-Kong-born community. Being ‘local’ still seems to be a faraway reality, even if they were born and bred in Hong Kong, fluent in Cantonese.
MO (2020)
*INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE*
Strand: Equality
Dir. Ka Cheuk Fung
Duration: 30 min
Language: Urdu | English | Cantonese
Region: Hong Kong SAR
Genre: Short, Drama
Keywords: Voice, Struggle
Synopsis
Mo is a Pakistani torture claimant who has been waiting for his refugee status to be approved, but has not heard from the government yet, and as a result has to work in secret (the government prohibits illegal immigrants from working in Hong Kong). The story gives a voice to torture claimants from different parts of the world, whose dreams are as humble as having a secure home in Hong Kong.
Curator’s Take
This film is about the people who live in the borderline and their voices are not being heard. This story also reminds us that sometimes someone’s dream is simply to survive in a foreign land.
3 June Saturday
Odyssey 2023 Official Selection:
“What People Tell U” (3 films)
CONTAINED (2022)
*UK PREMIERE*
Darling and winner of many Asian awards
Strand: Urban Development
Jury’s Special Prize Nominee
Dir. Chih-Chieh Yu
Duration: 23 min 10 second
Language: Mandarin Chinese
Region: Taiwan
Genre: Horror, Science Fiction, Thriller, Short, Drama,
Thriller, Supernatural power, Poster, Agent
Synopsis
At night, two SBC agents arrived as scheduled and shifted with the other agents. As usual, they should keep an eye on the “Don’t litter, God is watching” slogan poster – the object of their monitoring task. However, an accident happened, causing the object to escape from the scene, which eventually led them to danger…
Curator’s Take
To create a unique atmosphere of horror, “Contained” is shot with a touch of dark humour in a pseudo-documentary style. This is an educational horror film that teaches us not to litter.
Awards
2022 – 5th Kim Kong Awards;
2022 – Shanghai International Short Week;
2022 – 7th Ningbo Short Film Festival;
2022 – 3rd Cross-Strait, Hong Kong and Macao Youth Short Film Season;
2022 – 6th Pingyao International Film Festival;
2022 – 17th Screwdriver International Student Film Festival;
2022 – 7th New Taipei City Student Film Awards;
2022 – 44th Golden Harvest Awards
CATCH A STAR IF YOU CAN (2022)
*INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE*
Recommendation from the
Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts.
Strand: Equality
Jury’s Special Prize Nominee
Dir. Tanya Choi Ying Liu
Duration: 33 min 25 seconds
Language: Cantonese
Region: Hong Kong SAR
Genre: Horror, Science Fiction, Thriller, Short, Drama
Keywords: Adventure, Change, Experience, Teenage life
Synopsis
Long, who has been timid in every situation, decided to leave the swimming team training camp at night to watch the Leo meteor shower. With the help of Nick, who is always unbridled. They started their journey eventually.
First time setting foot in the adults’ world. While Nick was charmingly untangling all these problems, these experiences began to change Long’s perspective regarding his miserable teenage life. Long and Nick eventually arrive at the beach. Meanwhile, Long has made a life-changing decision…
Curator’s Take
This film celebrates love, passion, and bravery. To catch a star before it’s too late – To be yourself before the opportunity is gone like a meteor.
TINNITUS (2022)
*INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE*
Strand: Equality
Jury’s Special Prize Nominee
Dir. Tsering Yangkyi
Duration: 21 min 28 second
Language: Tibetan | Mandarin Chinese
Country: China
Genre: Short, Drama
Keywords: Tibetan culture, Grief and loss, Inner journey, Ancestral connection
Synopsis
A Tibetan girl named Yuzhen came back to Lhasa for her grandmother’s funeral. Unexpectedly, getting altitude sickness prevents her from lighting a lamp for the late grandma. In her dream, she found the grandma in a temple, and what happened in that journey has created some subtle connections to real life.
Curator’s Take
A Tibetan girl named Yuzhen came back to Lhasa for her grandmother’s funeral. Unexpectedly, getting altitude sickness prevents her from lighting a lamp for the late grandma. In her dream, she found the grandma in a temple, and what happened in that journey has created some subtle connections to real life.
4 June Sunday
Odyssey 2023 Official Selection:
“One Weird Dream” (2 films)
EVERYTHING (2022)
*UK PREMIERE*
Strand: Biodiversity
Jury’s Special Prize Nominee
Dir. Helai Lu
Duration: 28 min 50 second
Language: Mandarin Chinese
Country: China
Genre: Short, Drama
Keywords: Free Spirit, Passion, Imagination, Urbanisation, Nature, Love
Synopsis
A boy takes on an adventure with a girl who can transform into everything.
Curator’s Take
“Everything” is a beautiful love letter to all creatures. It is a spiritual experience. Watching this film is like looking at a kaleidoscope, varied, wonderful and engaging. The communication between man and man, man and nature are presented by the director in a poetic way that resembles a fairy tale. It is unique, edgy, and creative. There is something unexpected and refreshing about this short film.
THE PAST TIME (2021)
*UK PREMIERE*
Executive produced by Korean director Kim Ki-duk.
Strand: Urban Development
Dir. Cici Li
Duration: 1 hour 5 mins
Language: Mandarin Chinese
Country: China
Genre: Feature, Experimental
Keywords: Memories, Relationships, Romance
Synopsis
The love story of four young people in Jingnian City, a scenic spot, goes in an unexpected direction due to an “epidemic” …
Curator’s Take
“The Past Time” draws a discussion on human nature with the background of an “epidemic” in a closed town.
About Our Partner Picturehouse at Fact
FACT Liverpool could be described as a hidden gem with its tucked away location in the historic Ropewalks Quarter of Liverpool, just a few steps from Liverpool’s famous Bold Street.
It’s the UK’s leading organisation for exhibiting and supporting artists that use art and film to embrace new technology and explore digital culture. FACT regularly participates in Liverpool Biennal, the contemporary art festival featuring art from all over the world.
Exhibitions at FACT Liverpool are developed by a range of international world-class artists and curators, with the aim of increasing knowledge about new technologies and how they affect us socially.
ABOUT ODYSSEY 2023
Cinema is where people connect.
60+ films, masterclasses, 10 discussion panels and exclusive Q&As. Odyssey is the biggest annual film festival in the UK, bridging curious audience with Greater China and overseas Chinese communities. The theme for 2023 is ‘Global Sustainability’.
Presented by UK-China Film Collab (UCFC)
Festival Date: 26 May-30 June 2023
Format: Offline in Person & Online via Shift 72
Festival Website: odysseychinesecinema.uk
Instagram & Twitter Handle: @odysseyccs
Hashtags: #globalsustainability #odyssey2023 #ukchinafilm #peace
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