Come on down to Chinatown

China may be lacking in the democracy department but they’ve got fine film directors coming out their ears. Don’t believe me? Well, then I suggest you judge their excellence for yourself at the Gallery of Modern Art (GoMA) in Brisvegas. As soon as they wrap up the Be Afraid north-American horror cinema screenings at the Australian Cinematheque, to coincide with The China Project exhibition at GoMA the next program is called Three Chinese Directors: Xie Jin, Zhang Yimou, Jia Zhang-ke. The screenings go for a month from March 28 to June 28 and profile the work of three extremely influential and hugely successful contemporary Chinese directors. Personally I think the highlight of the program will be 24 City from 2008 which is the latest from internationally acclaimed sixth-generation director Jia Zhang-ke. Some of the other films being shown are the epic tales Hero, Raise the Red Lantern and 1965 classic Strange Sisters.

In complete contrast there’s a more mainstream program on from May 31 to September 20 called The Age of Innocence: Hollywood on the Hudson. It’s a two-part film program reflecting life on the American East Coast over the turn of the twentieth century. For the gangsta’s out there a special event screening of The Godfather and The Godfather II (restored by director Francis Ford Coppola) is sure to tickle your fancy. Now, as great as these programs sound, I can’t help but ask the question why aren’t there more Aussie programs? After all, it’s the `Australian Cinematheque' so perhaps they should try looking and supporting Australian cinema, instead of featuring China, America and north-American horror. Don’t get me wrong, it’s awesome to learn about different facets of international cinema but there are fascinating elements and genres throughout the history of Aussie cinema which could be tied together perfectly for a program. How about examining Ozploitation cinema of the 70s and 80s? Or Australian horror films? Australian comedies? Three Australian directors? Great Australian actors? For fark sake, you could even whip up an excellent program showing off the talents of Australian special-effects artists like John Cox. Get it together GoMA.
You can find out ticket prices and more info on both of these programs at the Australian Cinematheque website here.