Markus Nornes, who documented the Chinese independent film festival scene for Film Quarterly in 2009, returns with a report on the changes this sector has experienced in the intervening decade. Borrowing a metaphor from Beijing Film Academy professor Zhang Xianmin, he offers an “update from the ruins,” as government censorship and an absence of institutional support has taken a toll on what had been a thriving festival scene. Nornes reviews the challenges faced by the Beijing International Film Festival, and its innovative responses to them, and finds hope for the future at the Shanghai International Film Festival, the Pingyao Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon International Film Festival, and the West Lake International Documentary Film Festival.


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