The Mulan International Film Festival (MulanIFF) is Canada's largest film festival that celebrates Chinese-language films and Chinese filmmakers all around the world. The second year of the festival will be held from August 9 to August 17, 2019, in downtown Toronto. The festival will open with THE LITTLE SHRIMP, the debut feature of the newly-graduated director CHEN Zhilin (Chilam), who will be attending the festival. It will close with the Canadian Premiere of Stanley KWAN's latest film, FIRST NIGHT NERVES.
Founded in 2018, MulanIFF is 100% run by volunteers. In hoping to present the real, unfiltered, and complete picture of China, a small group of recent graduates from the University of Toronto decided to use films as the seeing glass. Mulan International Film Festival was founded with one grand mission: Seeing China, one film at a time.
Film- Rail
The festival itself aims at facilitating the appreciation of Chinese cinema across Canadian communities and inspiring the audience to discuss contemporary conflicts, challenges, and opportunities from a global perspective. During the festival, there will be screenings, panel discussions, seminars, and conferences on topics related to cinematic arts and artists. Some of the guests for MulanIFF 2019 include the producer of Spring Fever, NAI An; the principal cast of The Pickpocket, WANG Hongwei, as well as many emerging directors like ZHOU Shengwei and YANG Pingdao.
Ticket Information Time: Aug 9th to 17th Location: Scotiabank Theatre (259 Richmond St W) Innis Town Hall (2 Sussex Ave) Admit One: $18 CAD Student and Senior Admit One: $15 CAD Get a 3-, 6- or 10-Ticket Festival Pack and enjoy up to 25%-off
For more information and tickets, please visit https://mulanfestival.com/programmes/
The 2019 festival consists of four programmes: Fountainhead, Lili vs. Leviathan, Ying and Yang, and China Retrospective
● The Fountainhead programme celebrates and promotes emerging talents and their works with creative originality.
● The Lili vs. Leviathan programme serves to advance the appreciation of female filmmakers' and actresses' endeavours, as well as to recognize the identity and power of female protagonists in films.
● The Yin and Yang programme is dedicated to films that reflect on social issues related to gender inequality, gender identity, gender expression and sexual orientation, thereby advocating equality and solidarity.
● The China Retrospective programme features award-nominated or -winning films that reveal the zeitgeist and enormous changes in China and Chinese society since the early 20th century
Opening Night August 9, 2018 THE LITTLE SHRIMP, World Premiere Director: CHEN Zhilin “Chilam”
Cheng (Andy CHOI), who goes to college in Boston, returns to the muggy Guangzhou on his final summer break. To his dismay, his maternal grandfather has died but no one in the family, including his mother (Crystal LEE), is willing to talk about it or their feelings. His elder sister Yam (Isabelle CHAN), locks herself every day in her room and smokes. His father (James AU) is always busy on the phone to take bets from sports gamblers. The family of four will soon move to a new place, but a shadow of estrangement looms above them. Getting drenched in sweat, sometimes by rain, Cheng discovers a melancholy reality, both old and new, in a city he calls home.
Closing Night August 17, 2018 FIRST NIGHT NERVES, Canadian Premiere Director: Stanley KWAN
Two Sisters is a new play, written and directed by the trans woman Ouyang An, which will have its first night in Hong Kong's venerable City Hall soon. In the last seven days of rehearsals, many hidden tensions rise to the surface, sparked by the longstanding rivalry between the two lead actresses Yuan Xiuling (a stage veteran making her comeback a year after the death of her faithless husband) and He Yuwen (a smart movie actress making her stage debut).
Opening Night Guests*
Spring Fever | Producer, NAI An Xiao Wu (The Pickpocket) | Principal Cast, WANG Hongwei Red Flowers, Green Leaves | Director, LIU Miaomiao The Little Shrimp | Director, CHEN Zhilin “Chilam” My Dear Friend | Director, YANG Pingdao SHe | Director, ZHOU Shengwei The Fall | Director, ZHOU Lidong Warm House | Director, WEI Dan Where Dreams Rest | Director, Elaine WONG Stray Cat Ah Q | Director, FU Mulan
About Mulan International Film Festival
The Mulan International Film Festival is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to showcasing the best of Chinese-language films and historically significant films about China. During the festival, we organize screenings, panel discussions, seminars and conferences on topics related to cinematic arts and artists. We aim at facilitating an appreciation of Chinese cinema across Canadian communities and inspiring our audience to discuss contemporary conflicts, challenges and opportunities from a global perspective.
