From the US cold war to a Chinese diner in Washington D.C., Taiwanese filmmaker Tzu-An Wu retraces the fragmented memory of his family by following the discovery of the bond between a lost painting and his own story of displacement. Platform Asia presents two films — This Shore: A Family Story 此岸：一個家族故事 and A Maiden’s Prayer 少女的祈禱 by experimental filmmaker Tzu-An Wu as part of the RCA Film Night Series. Characterised by the entanglement of memories, friendship, family and Asian diasporic identities, the programme brings new perspectives to understanding Taiwan and its history. And considers filmmaking as an artistic exploration of finding roots and remembering.
Being shortlisted for the 2021 Taipei Arts Awards, and both premiered at the Golden Horse Film Festival, this will be the first time two films to be screened parallel in the UK to explore the magic of assembling memories in East Asian filmmaking.
Curated by Platform Asia. Delivered in association with the Royal College of Art. Chinese and English subtitles. (附中英文字幕)
Date and time: Tuesday, 27 Sept 22 – 6:00 pm, followed by a conversation between filmmakers Tzu-An Wu and George Clark.
Chinese and English subtitles. (附中英文字幕)
Price: FREE
Address: Gorvy Lecture Theatre, Dyson Building, Riverside, 1 Hester Rd, London SW11 4AN
Tickets: Eventbrite
Please book your ticket in advance.
Programme:
A Maiden’s Prayer 少女的祈禱, Tzuan Wu, 2021, 8:08 mins
This work was made for the memory of a friend who has passed on. Structured by his poem, with stray fragments like diary films, visiting of ruins, and semi-improv theatre, fabricating a souvenir of a faraway memory.
「虛構的事物都有記錄的成份，標榜真實的都有虛構的部分」，而記錄的目的是為了虛構再jam的方式。我們在一個難以忍受的熱天相約，去青潭觀水相。失焦過曝的膠卷碎片沒有目的地被產出，又因為某種偶然被縫在一起。這些，可能是為了記得我們應有的耽溺的權力。 這是一部為了朋友的驟世而製作的作品。以已逝詩人的詩作為主軸，使用日記電影，廢墟探訪，與即興架構的半戲劇場景為素材，由斷簡殘篇編織出遠方記憶的紀念物。該紀念的東西，都是你的memento mori。但同時，在重重AT力場的煙霧包圍中，少女還是一直在祈禱。某處，沒有人能進入的地下室，有人在祈禱。蘭若寺、鳳學園，或是其他我們用想像建構的社區中，傳來呼叫廣播，垃圾車傳來了少女的祈禱…
This Shore: A Family Story 此岸：一個家族故事, Tzuan Wu, 2020, 62 mins
Stories had been told repeatedly, their shapes changed by the narrators. Memories revisited each time in different forms like the waves beat on the shore, then vanish. This Shore is an experimental documentary that opens with a family anecdote: When coming across my grandmother’s painting in a random Chinese restaurant in the States, my aunt burst into tears. The film wanders through Cold War constructions, Taiwan–United States relations, generations of diaspora, family romances, and ghost stories. While the personal and collective memories are transformed into another tale of “the Flying Dutchman”, doomed to sail the oceans forevermore.
故事總被重複訴說，它們的形狀隨著敘事者不斷變形。記憶的造訪亦如是，如同浪花襲岸，以不同形狀前來，而後破滅。本片以個人的家族故事開始：我的美國姑姑偶然地在美國某地的某中國餐廳遇見了奶奶的畫作，她說她立刻哭了。假藉追溯故事，本片在不同的主題間晃蕩：冷戰、不同世代的離散與流動、家族羅曼史、鬼故事……當不同敘事線逐漸交疊，所謂真實的歷史，個人或集體的記憶被重組為一場關於「飛行荷蘭人」的虛構幻想。
About the artist:
Tzu-An Wu works between experimental film and its expansions. He makes collages with analogue films, through mixing heterogeneous images, audio, and texts in an attempt to inquire about the constructs of (cinematic) narratives and the selves. He holds an MA in Media Studies from The New School, New York, and a BA in Gender and Cultural Studies from NTHU, Taiwan. His works have been shown internationally, including BFI Flare (London), IFFR (Netherland), CROSSROADS (San Francisco), Golden Horse Film Festival (Taiwan), TIDF(Taiwan). Exhibitions include Taipei Art Awards, Taiwan Biennial, Metropolitan Museum of Manila, and Taipei Artist Village, etc. He also does programming of experimental cinema.
吳梓安從事實驗電影的創作、推廣、研究與擴延。他以Super 8和16mm膠卷的技法，拼貼異質的影像、聲音與文本進行創作，質問電影敘事與自我建構。 畢業於台灣清華大學人文社會學系，紐約新學院（The New School）媒體研究所。作品呈現形式包括放映，展覽與表演。影展經歷包括：倫敦BFI Flare、鹿特丹影展、舊金山電影資料館、雪菲爾紀錄影展、東京Image Forum、首爾EXiS、吉隆坡KLEX、台灣金穗獎、金馬影展、台灣國際紀錄片影展等。展覽經歷包括：台北美術獎、台灣錄像雙年展、台灣雙年展、台北國際藝術村、馬尼拉大都會美術館等。亦參與策劃各種實驗電影映演活動。
Guest speaker:
George Clark is an artist, writer and curator. His work focuses on moving images in the expanded field working across film, installation and performance with an interest i/n collaborative practice in global context. His projects explore non-aligned histories and geographies, looking to question how histories are constructed and developing methods of exchange and collaboration. His films have been exhibited at museums and festivals internationally. He is co-founder of the West Java West Yorkshire Cooperative Movement with Ismal Muntaha, Bunga Siagian and Will Rose, a collaborative platform with Jatiwangi Art Factory and Pavilion. His curatorial projects for museums, galleries, cinemas and festivals focus on broadening the histories of film and video practice globally.
