In the Same Boat: A China Pandemic Diary (18)

This shorts programme features a collection of films that explore the complexities of life during the pandemic in China, reflecting on both personal and collective experiences of isolation, adaptation, and memory. From everyday life in quarantine to critical examinations of the system, these films offer a multifaceted view of a fractured society during unprecedented times.

 

My Quarantine Bear

China, France, 2021, dir. Ma Weijia, 35min.

Weijia Ma is working on an animation film in Strasbourg when COVID descends on France. She very quickly flees to Lyon before returning to Shanghai. From the flight to her quarantine in a hotel on arrival, this filmed diary with its airs of romantic comedy uses humour and great formal invention to retrace the experience of this journey.

The Memo

China, 2023, dir. Badlands Film Group, 30min.

This is a video diary of the surreal lockdown made by the filmmaker couple who are trapped in a small, rented apartment in Shanghai. In the face of endless madness, the camera gradually breaks free from the window and observes a vast social isolation unprecedented in the country’s history.

 

Shanghai Reset

China, 2022, dir. Hu Qiao, 5min.

The system appears to be discussing opinions with humans about something. The film came from three days of free travel permission and was shot on the streets of Shanghai at the end of April 2022.

Bye Bye Barrier!

China, 2022, dirs. Wan Qing & Zhang Hanlu, 14min

One early morning in November 2022, Guangzhou announced the unblocking of the east and west corners of Haizhu District, and the middle blocked area was surrounded by water-filled barriers and tin walls overnight - which was called 'one district, two regulations' by citizens. Hanlu, who lived in west Haizhu District, asks her friends if they need her supplies before she leaves Guangzhou, and Wan Qing, who lives in middle Haizhu, claims some of the ingredients. The two make an appointment to meet at the water-filled barriers at the blocked border and film along the way. After the editing of their own perspectives, they combine them to form this two-screen video.

 

Spring 23

China, 2024, dir. Wang Zhiyi, 13min.

A young man who has just finished handling the funeral of his parents attempts to purchase some fireworks for the 2023 Spring Festival, where fireworks are prohibited.

Ambiguity Film is a London-based film curation team dedicated to showcasing independent Chinese films. Established in 2023, we seek to spotlight the vibrant yet underrepresented underground Chinese films which captures essential narratives that confront and document the obscured realities and histories marginalized by mainstream discourse.

Supported by Film Hub London, managed by Film London. Proud to be a partner of the BFI Film Audience Network, funded by the National Lottery.