01 / 03
01 / 03
A New Old Play
椒麻堂会
QIU Jiongjiong
- 179 min
- 2021
- Fiction
- Sichuanese Dialect
- English and Chinese Subtitles
Content Advisory: This film contains scenes of disturbing content
The 74th Locarno Film FestivalSpecial Jury Prize
The 46th Hong Kong International Film FestivalFirebird Award, FIPRESCI Prize
One evening in the 1980s, Qiu Fu, a leading clown-role actor in 20th-century Sichuan opera, departs this world and must reluctantly set off for the Ghost City under the escort of two underworld officials. Along the way, he meets old friends. As they recall the past, earthly scenes creep into the mists of the Netherworld.
Qiu Fu’s life in opera unfolds against the backdrop of a secular upheaval. The “New-New” Troupe in which he grows up and learns his trade is affiliated with the military. As power shifts, the troupe is cast loose to wander rootlessly through a broken world. Despite this unsettled destiny, shaped by war, famine and political turmoil, Qiu Fu becomes one of the finest clown-role performers in Sichuan opera. And yet, one day he finds himself clapped in a pigsty as a political revolution rages outside.
Outside the Ghost City, sitting among familiar faces, Qiu Fu drinks the mandatory bowl of Forgetfulness Soup to erase his memory. A lifetime of hardship, pain and sorrow, all vanish as if they had never been.
Director
QIU Jiongjiong (b. 1977, Leshan, Sichuan Province) is a Chinese contemporary artist and filmmaker. Since 2006, he has developed a distinctive cinematic language marked by vivid dialect dialogue, theatrical mise-en-scène, and stylized characterizations. The local history of Leshan and the history of his family, which has deep roots in traditional Sichuan opera, recur throughout his work.
His filmography includes two documentary shorts, Ode to Joy (2008) and Portrait of Mr. Huang (2009); four documentary features, The Moon Palace (2007), Madame (2010), My Mother’s Rhapsody (2011), and Mr. Zhang Believes (2015); and his first fiction feature, A New Old Play (2021). Several of his earlier works were selected among the “Best Ten Documentaries of the Year” at the China Independent Film Festival. Mr. Zhang Believes premiered at the Locarno International Film Festival and has since screened internationally, including at the 15th MoMA Documentary Fortnight. A New Old Play won the Special Jury Prize at Locarno, the Firebird Award for Best Film and the FIPRESCI Prize at the Hong Kong International Film Festival, and the Young Jury Award at the Festival des 3 Continents, among other honours.
Credits
- DirectorQIU Jiongjiong
- Principal CastYI Sicheng, GUAN Nan, QIU Zhimin, XUE Xuchun, GU Tao
- ProducerDING Ningyuan, YANG Jin
- ScreenplayQIU Jiongjiong
- CinematographerFENG Yuchao “Robbin”
- Production DesignerQIU Jiongjiong
- Costume Designer & Make-Up And Hair ArtistBAI Yun
- EditorQIU Jiongjiong
- SoundWANG Ran
- MusicDIAO Lili