SHANGHAI DREAMS (Qing Hong)

Director(s): Xiaoshuai Wang
Country: China
Year: 2005
Language: Mandarin Chinese with English subtitles
Length: 123 minutes

Program:
31 March - 19.45 hours - Rialto Amsterdam
01 April - 19.30 hours - Filmhuis Den Haag
02 April - 19.30 hours - Filmhuis ’t Hoogt Utrecht
03 April - 19.30 hours - Filmhuis Arnhem
04 April - 21.00 hours - Vera Groningen
05 April - 19.30 hours - Plaza Futura Eindhoven
06 April - 19.30 hours - Filmmuseum Vondelpark Amsterdam

In the late 60’s, when China feared attack by the USSR, armament industries were relocated from cities to remote inland areas, and idealistic young adults were persuaded to staff these towns.

Less than 15 years later, many were desperate to move back to the urban sophistication of such cities as Shanghai. The Wu family is a case in point. The tough-love patriarch Zemin is determined that his two children should put down no local roots; this means, amongst other things, sabotaging his daughter Qinghong’s burgeoning romance with local factory worker Honggen. Qinghong, who was born in Guiyang, knows no other home; talk of Shanghai makes her nervous and her father’s intransigence brings out a sullen, rebellious streak.