On Saturday, March 19 I am excited to present a long term project I’ve been working on with journalist Kit Gilllet. This project, co-produced with the Asia Society will be published shortly at their site at which time I will go into more detail on the subject and filming; however, for those in Beijing there will be a live screening next week.
The screening will include three videos which document China’s fight to preserve cultural heritage in the face of rapid modernization. This project started a long, long time ago — in fact, if you’ve followed this blog you’ve seen some posts concerning the hutong issue in Beijing. While the screening will happen on the 19th, the Asia Society’s release will include an interactive platform from film maker and producer Michael Zhao and David Barreda as well as two slideshows, three videos and a a digital hutong tour.
This project was a large collaboration and the community really got behind it — including music by the unfathomably talented composer and guzheng player Wu Fei, historic imagery from Beijing Postcards, audio post production work by Jules Ambroisine and countless hours of translation work by Ami Li and Xiaoming Wei. Beyond this tremendous support from the Beijing Cultural Heritage Protection Center (CHP) and Beijingers of all kinds, sizes and sorts made this possible.
While I hope all who are available in Beijing can come and support this cause and see the films, I also help those in cyberspace, realspace or outerspace can help share these videos and project to help create greater awareness and education of an issue that touches so many hearts in not just in Beijing, but in all of the developing world. When the Asia Society releases the films I’ll go into further detail about how you can help. Mostly, its by pressing a ’share’ button.
Below is the press release from CHP today:
The Fate of Old Beijing: A Vanishing World Documentary Screening & Dialog
CHP is thrilled to present The Fate of Old Beijing: A Vanishing World Documentary Screening & Dialog as the first event of our 2011 documentary screening series. This three-part, 30-minute documentary depicts China’s challenge in preserving its rich heritage while maintaining the rapid pace of modernization. Following the documentary will be a short dialog by CHP Founder He Shuzhong and one of the award-winning filmmakers, Jonah Kessel, on Beijing’s preservation challenge and the fate of Old Beijing.
About A Vanishing World by Jonah Kessel & Kit Gillet:
In the face of China’s rapid modernization, the world’s most populous country is struggling to preserve its cultural heritage, and nowhere is this more visible than in the ancient alleyways and courtyards of Beijing.
In a three-part series, filmmakers Jonah Kessel and Kit Gillet explore the vanishing world of Beijing’s hutongs, the realities of life within the narrow streets, and the future for these culturally-irreplaceable areas of China’s capital.
Jonah Kessel (www.jonahkessel.com), is an award-winning visual journalist based in Beijing. Between 2007-2010, Kessel took home over 40 awards for photo, video, design and Web projects. He has previously worked as the Creative Director of China Daily.
Kit Gillet previously worked for the South China Morning Post as a features writer. His work regularly appears in the likes of Forbes, Foreign Policy, and CNN, among others.
Language: Chinese and English with subtitle
Date & Time: Saturday, March 19, 2011 | 2-5pm
Venue: Studio-X Beijing, Room 103, Building A, No. 46 Fangjia Hutong, Andingmennei Dajie, Dongcheng District
Ticket: RMB20 for non-members; free entry for CHP members
Register: Via chpnews@163.com or 6403 6532, including your name, number of attendance, and contact information. Registration accepted until Friday, March 18 at 6pm.
All proceeds to benefit CHP’s Cultural Heritage Trail program.
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The Beijing Cultural Heritage Protection Center (CHP)
Supporting communities to protect their cultural heritage
www.bjchp.org
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