Xiang Fan from Goldsmiths, University of London has been selected to join UCFC as a member via the organisation’s Future Talent Programme 2020-2021.
Here is Xiang’s own introduction to her expertise as well as her project at UCFC for this coming year:
“I’m a PhD researcher and Associate Lecturer at the Goldsmiths, University of London. My PhD project is an ethnographic account of art cinema culture in China. It examines how intermediary practitioners, mainly involved in the independent exhibition, internet criticism and underground distribution, think about cinema, negotiate judgement and construct a discourse of value that forges the culture of art cinema in China. What strikes me the most in my research is that female film industrial participants are largely relegated to the fringe of the field. It provoked me to rethink how gender inequality and distinction is inscribed in the cinephilic culture and film industry, not only in China but also across the globe. Taking part in the UK-China Film Collab provides me with an opportunity to explore this subject matter in practice, beyond academic writing.
As Specialised Programme Lead Curator in the UCFC, I will be leading a project called “women in the film industry”. It aims to provide vigorous conversations, build connections, and disseminate female filmmakers’ works between the UK and China. This project encompasses a series of online forum discussions, revolving around the question of what it means to be a woman working in the male-dominated film industry and patriarchal society. In parallel with the forum, I intend to organise online/offline screening events to showcase British and Chinese female filmmakers’ work to local audiences. Hopefully, the project can bring inspirations and inspire changes to female film professionals in both the UK and China.
Contact Xiang: x.fan@gold.ac.uk
Selected Project Outcome
Discussion Panel: “British East/ Southeast Asian Women in Film and TV”
