January 24 – February 2, 2014 at the Shangri-La Plaza Mall. Admission is FREE
The Spring Festival is one of the most celebrated festivals in the Chinese-Filipino community. For the past eight years, the Ateneo de Manila University Ricardo Leong Center for Chinese Studies and the Ateneo Celadon have brought the joys and artistry of the culture of Chinese films to the Philippines through the annual Spring Film Festival.
Over the years, we have extended our reach and have held the festival simultaneously in Metro Manila, Cebu and Davao, with the recent addition of Ilo-Ilo and Cagayan de Oro to our list of festival destinations just last year. On the 8th Spring Film Festival we will further expand our audience to Naga, Dagupan, and Baguio showing 8 Chinese film
Over the years, we have extended our reach and have held the festival simultaneously in Metro Manila, Cebu and Davao, with the recent addition of Ilo-Ilo and Cagayan de Oro to our list of festival destinations just last year. On the 8th Spring Film Festival we will further expand our audience to Naga, Dagupan, and Baguio showing 8 Chinese film
Snowfall in Taipei
May, a singer from mainland China, suddenly lost her voice
and had conflicts with Ah Lei, her producer and secret lover. In anger, she
came to Old Town of Jingtong where she met Xiao Mo, a warmhearted man. Xiao Mo
helped May find a dwelling place, and introduced her to work at a local
restaurant. Thanks to their constant contacts, they made a good impression with
each other. May found happiness and consolation from the old streets of the
small town, and her voice was getting better and better. However, May had left
her heart at another place. Gradually, Xiao Mo understood that when one
deliberately disappears, one wants to be looked for by others. Along with a
sudden appearance of Jack, a muckraking journalist, the situation began to
develop towards the uncontrolled direction.
City Monkey
He Zhipeng is a senior student in high school who lives in a
big old Beijing hutong yard with his mother and grandmother. He loves parkour,
an extremely dangerous sport in most people’s eyes. With his good psychology
and physique, he becomes the star player of “City Monkey” parkour club. But his
mother strongly disapproves it and hopes he could focus only on his entrance
exams to university. Clashes of different concepts, rebellion of the youth, and
persistence to the ideal are unavoidable problems for them. What would the two
generations do?
Aftershock
Tangshan, 1976. Two seven-year-old twin children are buried
under the rubble of the devastating earthquake. The rescue team explains to
their mother, Li Yuanni that freeing either child will almost certainly result
in the death of the other. She is forced to make the most difficult decision of
her life and must choose between her children. Li Yuanni has no idea that her
decision is overheard by her daughter Fang Deng, the female twin. Although she
has been left behind as dead, the little girl miraculously survives for several
more days before being pulled clear by another rescue team who believe that she
is simply a corpse. She wakes up in the pouring rain next to the dead body of
her father. Suffering from the emotional shocks of the disaster and the painful
memory of her mother's choice, Fang Deng refuses to reveal her identity. She is
adopted by a middle-aged Chinese couple and years later
moves to Canada to marry. Shadowed by the traumatic experiences of the
earthquake and devastated by her mother's decision to abandon her, she
continues to be emotionally withdrawn throughout her adult years.
Where is My Home
Mrs. Geng is a simple village mother who raised two children
on her own. Her son made his way to the city and offers to have her come live
with him and his family. Despite the improved material conditions of the city,
Mrs. Geng cannot help feeling isolated and lonely. It takes some time for her
children to understand how she feels, and they rebuild their family’s
affection.
The Go-King and his
Son
Liu Yishou, an amateur Go player, is called by his friends
“the king of Go”. Liu Yishou has been laid off quite a long time ago and now,
with no other skills to make a living, teaches Go in a humble training course
for children. Life has been hard, and his wife has decided to divorce him. His
young son, Xiaochuan, has chosen to stay with him through his difficulties. On
an unexpected occasion, Xiaochuandisplayed an amazing talent for Go, and his
father vowed to support him to further develop his gift for the game. They
confronted challenges, but with courage, persistence and profound love between
father and son, they eventually arrived at the destination towards which they
were heading.
1911 Revolution
As the country enters the new century, China is facing a
crisis. Two warring factions have emerged, starvation amongst the citizens is
rampant and political reforms have made matters worse. The seven year old
Emperor and his mother, Empress Dowager Longyu (Joan Chen), are out of sync
with people’s needs after 250 years of total power. As Huang Xing (Jackie Chan) arrives from his
studies on modern warfare in Japan, he finds himself picking up his sword to
lead a rebellion against the powerful Qing Dynasty and the New Army.
Let’s Fall in Love
Tan Momo, who showed his natural gift in music in his
childhood, entered the Conservatory of Music to learn to play Guqin
(seven-stringed plucked instrument) smoothly. His teacher placed great hopes on
him and his girlfriend Xia Fei had the greatest esteem for him. Upon their
graduation, Momo, Xia Fei and other young people who cherished dreams finally
walked out of the campus and began to experience the ups and downs in real
life. While in front of conflicts between their ideals and family relation,
love and morality, what would they choose…
Li Mi Conjecture
Due to the intervention of her parents, taxi driver girl Li
Mi had to break up with her long-term boyfriend, Fang Wen, who had disappeared
from her life yet seemed to remain connected. For four years, Li Mi had
continued to search for his whereabouts in a constant tug-of-war between hope
and despair. An eerie murder was witnessed, leading her to a man nearly
identical to her missing lover. Could he be the one she has been looking for?
Her life suddenly changes. Then come terrible yet pitiful drug dealers, and
irascible but highly duteous police detectives…Behind the cascades of
mysteries, compromises lie still between those who were once in love.
