This is a film still from THREE YEARS IN WUHAN.

NOW BOOKING: Chinese Visual Festival presents THREE YEARS IN WUHAN + Intro/Q&A

To mark the Lunar New Year, Chinese Visual Festival presents an online screening of Peng Wenlan’s three-part doc + Zoom Intro/Q&A with the director (18 FEB 18:00 – FREE!).

By RADIANT CIRCUS // Twitter @radiantcircus | Instagram @radiantcircus

We would normally be listing the Chinese Visual Festival’s annual screenings at BFI Southbank to celebrate the Lunar New Year round about now. So, it’s great to see them online with a live event to mark this global occasion.

THREE YEARS IN WUHAN is a three-part documentary series charting the struggle of two small and medium size enterprises to keep afloat in Optics Valley, Wuhan’s new hi-tech zone. The two company heads could not be further apart in character or purpose. One, Xu Jishui, CEO of Fenjin Robotics, grew up during the turbulent years of the Cultural Revolution and remains a staunch patriot and idealist. The other, Huang Tiesen, a fresh graduate, sets up a software business with the sole purpose of becoming “rich and free”.

Made over the course of three years, the film observes how the two entrepreneurs tackle each problem and how they are personally tested along the way. The series was a collaborative effort between Beijing Sanduotang Media Co Ltd and director Peng Wenlan’s company, Sinoscope. It was first broadcast on the BBC’s global channel in May 2020.

Peng Wenlan is an independent documentary filmmaker based in London. She began her TV career at China Central Television, first presenting and producing educational programmes and, subsequently, launching the national broadcaster’s first ever current affairs series Focus – the precursor of its flagship programme Jiaodian Fangtan. Since returning to the UK, she has worked for the BBC and the independent sector and now runs her own company, specialising in documentary films on China.

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This is a film still from THREE YEARS IN WUHAN.

THREE NIGHTS IN WUHAN

d. Peng Wenlan, 2020 (3 x 26 min)

This event will take place across two formats. Register via the eventbrite booking page. You’ll then get a link to stream the three episodes of the film (available online for slightly longer to give you the chance to see them at your leisure, 17 to 21 FEB). The Live event will start at 18 FEB 18:00 on Zoom with an intro by director Peng Wenlan and Dr Victor Fan (King’s College London). That will be followed by the Q&A between the two at 19:30 on the same Zoom link.

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*THE SMALL PRINT: Opinions author’s own. // As accurate as we could make it. Apologies for any errors. Updates & corrections will be made to the online version only. // Event dates/times/formats are subject to change by the venue/organiser. Events may already be sold out at the time of posting, so please click quickly. // We try to list as many original format screenings as we can (8 to 70MM), but sometimes formats change due to age of the print, availability, logistics etc, so please check ahead with your venue if the format is your thing. // All images are used in the spirit of fair use for reporting & review – no ownership is implied or intended / unless otherwise credited to RADIANT CIRCUS as the original rights holder. We will remove any images immediately upon request – just get in touch. // We don’t filter our listings by age/certification: all readers & subscribers should therefore be 18+. // Finally, we always try to follow The Carny Code by “not screwing up anyone else’s game”, but everyone can make mistakes… If something does go wrong, we will always do our best to put it right. //.