China New Wave
Cinedans 2026: China New Wave
From the disrupted relationship between humans and nature to family mise-en-scènes, grannies and aliens, and a coming-of-age story told through ballroom dancing: a new generation of Chinese makers tackles familiar themes from unique perspectives, with unexpected twists and turns, while maintaining their artistic independence.
Together with NOWNESS China and co-curators Meng-ke Wu and Yin Fang, Cinedans presents a dance film programme from China to reflect on strategies for supporting new talent and preserving artistic independence.
Over the past four years, Cinedans has partnered with the NOWNESS Short Film Talents initiative, supported by NOWNESS China, to select and screen dance films in China. In collaboration with Wu and Fang, this initiative has since evolved into the full-fledged programme Move a Movie. In addition, a new annual talent development strategy, combining mentoring and production support, has been established to identify emerging filmmakers and strengthen the local dance film scene.
The screening will be followed by an after-talk with Meng‑Ke Wu and Cleo Xiong from NOWNESS China.
Programme
Undercurrent (Dir: Dan Zhao | Chor: Lee-Yuan Tu | CN | 2025 | 8' | Dutch Premiere)
A solitary figure moves through a landscape shaped by transforming bodies, revealing a cycle of change and a return to a primal rhythm.
Back to the Future in Disco (Dir/Chor: Er Gao | CN | 2024 | 13' | Dutch Premiere)
A grandmother has a “disco dream,” gathering her past self, her family, and her present and future selves.
Combing (Dir/Chor: Rongfei Guo | CN | 2025 | 14')
Backstage at a competition, a girl’s solitary hair-combing rehearsal spirals into an imagined physical confrontation with her absent mother.
Entropy (Dir: Dan Zhao | Chor: Fang Yin | CN | 2023 | 6' | Dutch Premiere)
Through physical movement and resistance, Entropy transforms disorder and order into an exploration of how humans confront chaos and rebuild their inner systems.
The Apple Doesn’t Fall... (Dir: Dean Wei | Chor: Shiyu Liu | CN | 2025 | 18' | World Premiere)
A delicate and humorous portrait of an ordinary Chinese one-child family in their everyday habitat, a modest apartment.
This is part of
Details
Length
75 min.
Event language
English
Part of
Cinedans 2026
Cinedans FEST returns to Eye with a rich and international film programme that brings together the beauty of dance and the power of film!
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