SAN FRANSICSO—The 57th annual San Francisco International Film Festival will be presented from April 24 to May 8 by the San Francisco Film Society.
In an interview with Rachel Rosen, the director of programing for the film society, she said she has seen technology and the internet playing sizable roles in films from Asia.
After watching hundreds of films from around the world, several of the film-society selections were from China, or were films that reveal the social situation in China.
She noticed a trend in the films, in the way the internet, social media, and new technology are affecting life in China or Asia.
She mentioned the Thai film “Mary is Happy, Mary is Happy” as an example. The film is based on 410 Twitter tweets of a high school girl.
The film “Trap Street,” by new director Vivian Qu, reveals how social media and the internet are still not able to reveal the secrets of the Chinese government.
China-related films chosen by the SF Film Society include “American Dream in China,” “Trap Street,” and the documentary “Three letters from China.”
Rosen said Western directors depicting China each have a different perspective, but they all provide a unique perspective that other filmmakers don’t.
“Sometimes an outsider can take a step back and look what’s going on in a way that people living in the country don’t,” Rosen said. On the other hand, she said filmmakers and media see situations within China that Westerners often miss.
“Three letters from China,” directed by Swiss director Luc Schaedler, looks at three different areas—an industrial zone, parched farm, or booming metropolitan, and audiences get to meet people and see what life is like in these very different places.
“American Dream in China,” directed by Peter Ho-sun Chan, a Hong Kong director active in mainland China, talks about the struggles and triumphs of three college graduates building their own business in China.
