In late September 2023, dGenerate Films was invited to attend of the long-awaited launch of the Chinese Independent Film Archive (CIFA) which is dedicated to the preservation of and access to Chinese independent film culture. The archive is the culmination of 5 years of research work funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council in the UK. The launch event included a film series of 19 new and older works, multiple exhibitions, a day-long symposium and multiple roundtable discussions. Over 40 guests attended from over a dozen countries. Program notes and photos below: Launch Exhibition: Ch ..read more

A consideration of the films and cultural legacy of Tibetan filmmaker and writer Pema Tseden. Pema Tseden is arguably in the history of cinema the first Tibetan director to film in Tibet, in Tibetan language, with Tibetan cast & crew to tell Tibetan stories. He widened his impact by working as a producer to elevate Tibetan artists when they sought to direct their own films - engendering what many refer to as a Tibetan New Wave. Pema mastered the art of storytelling in a repressive regime. He walked a line of allegory and metaphor, without losing genuine human emotion in his stories. His l ..read more

Premiere virtual engagements at Film at Lincoln Center, Laemmle Theatres, and BAMPFA "Engrossing, revealing and bittersweet; sweeps the viewer into the center of a bold, fledgling grassroots democratic movement in the surprising setting of rural China." —Deborah Young The Hollywood Reporter When corrupt officials illegally sell villagers’ land in China, the villagers rise up in an unprecedented experiment in democracy in first-time documentarian Jill Li’s LOST COURSE -- Winner, Best Documentary Golden Horse Awards 2020, and Official Selections of International Documentary Festival Amsterdam a ..read more

This piece is part of a series. As a small means of solidarity with curators, critics and creators, during this extraordinary moment of crisis and confinement, dGenerate Films is opening our doors to those interested in writing and engaging with our collection. Sunil Chauhan is the programmer of t,he Wavelength program, at Deptford Cinema in London by Sunil Chauhan The effects of redevelopment as seen in China’s independent film output is one of the most commented-on. From Wang Bing to Jia Zhangke, this swift and total modernisation has given filmmakers plenty to work with, as well as a ready ..read more

Writer / curator Shelly Kraicer interviews director and artist Qiu Jiongjiong for Cinema Scope Magazine. About Jiongjiong's newest work A NEW OLD PLAY, Shelly writes: The brightest light in the Chinese independent cinema world at this moment is Beijing-based filmmaker and artist Qiu Jiongjiong. In an atmosphere in China of increasing surveillance and control of non-official, unauthorized artistic activity in China, Qiu, now 44, stands out as an artist with a powerful, complex, engaging vision who has found a way to continue to work without compromise. His new film, A New Old Play, premiered a ..read more

This piece is part of a series. As a small means of solidarity with curators, critics and creators, during this extraordinary moment of crisis and confinement, dGenerate Films is opening our doors to those interested in writing and engaging with our collection. Documentary filmmaker Miasarah Lai is also the co-founder of Ethnocine Collecive, a podcaster for Bad Feminists Making FIlms, and a community coordinator for Brown Girls Doc Mafia. by Miasarah Lai Yi Cui is a Chinese-Canadian filmmaker and educator, (,,Late Summer, ,,Of Shadows) who embraces a process-driven filmmaking methodology that ..read more

Opening March 5 at Film at Lincoln Center BAMPFA Laemmle Theaters More info on virtual theatrical release - click here. Learn more about LOST COURSE here. NEW YORK TIMES CRITICS PICK! Lost Course Review: When A Village Fights Back By ,Ben Kenigsberg Broadly adhering to a vérité style, Li builds a case that active civic engagement in China inevitably leads to trouble — or else further corruption. ,Lost Course Puts Us On The Inside Of A Small Chinese Village's Big Protest by Robert Abele, The Los Angeles Times A village in southern China becomes a hotbed of democratic reform — with complicated a ..read more

On December 2, 2022, dGenerate Films was recognized by the New York Film Critics Circle with a special award, citing "their invaluable work bringing independent films from China to a wider audience." Full list of winners here: https://www.nyfcc.com/awards ..read more

English translation by John Pao-chuan Wang Ding Ningyuan: This film is based on your grandfather's life experience, what motivated you to make this film? Qiu Jiongjiong: My grandfather was a well-known Sichuan opera clown actor. He gained fame during the 1930s and performed until his death in the 1980s. I had a very close relationship with him during the first ten years of my life, and he was a crucial figure in my artistic inspirations which included painting, literature, choreography, music, and acting. It was in him that I first became fascinated with humor, creativity, and formed my initi ..read more

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