Lucky Cat S8 E4 Podcast - Tribute to Sir Run Run Shaw

RIP Sir Run Run Shaw

Here's last Saturday's show which was a tribute to Uncle Six, Sir Run Run Shaw.

There were a few points that I forgot to include:
Every year Run Run held an open audition for new Shaw stars.
Run Run was a keen spotter of talent, except when it came to Bruce Lee.  Run Run did not feel it was necessary to offer Lee more than the standard contract which resulted in Lee making films for another HK studio.
Run Run Shaw's favourite food?  Well he and wife Mona Fong loved to have high tea at the Hong Kong Peninsula Hotel.  However the breakfast regime he adhered too was a little more austere: noodles followed by callisthenics exercise.


Useful Shaw Links:
The Hong Kong Film Archive's Shaw Chronology
The Official Shaw Web Site - section on History
Hong Kong Cinema Web Site's Shaw History
Harvard Film Archive on Shaw History
Hong Kong Cinemagic

Playlist:

• Shaolin Temple - Barrington Levi (Kung Fu: Reggae Vs The Martial Arts Trojan compilation CD)
• Love Without End - Carrie Koo Mei (7" vinyl)
• The Love Eterne OST - Ivy Ling Po and Betty Loh Ti (Shaw Bros 10" vinyl LP)
• Shaolin Temple - Masta Killer (Wu Tang)
• Farewell - Carrie Koo Mei (7" vinyl)
• Butterfly - Carrie Koo Mei (7" vinyl)
• Siboney - Connie Francis (2046 soundtrack CD)

The Top 17 Best Run Run Shaw Movies
as voted for by listeners and selected by me

17. Platinum Dragon, 1933 (the first Cantonese sound film starring Cantonese opera star Sit Kok-Sin)


16. Country Bumpkin Visits His In-Laws, 1937  (the only film that Run Run Shaw directed, starring Lam Kwan-San)

Lam Kwan-San

15. Enchanting Shadow, 1959 (Betty Loh Ti movie, Chinese Ghost Story was based on the story in this film)

14. The Vengeful Beauty, 1978(Siu Yam Yam aka Susan Shaw)

Siu Yam Yam

13. Love Without End, 1963 (Starring sweetheart of cinema Linda Lin Dai)


12. Heroes of the East aka Shaolin Challenges Ninja (Gordon Liu, directed bu Lau Kar Leung)

Gatecrashing Ninjas!  Watch Out!

11. The Love Eterne, 1963 (Huangmei opera film starring Betty Loh Ti and Ivy Ling Po). 

10. Have Sword Will Travel, (wu xia film, Chang Cheh directed, Ti Lung and David Chiang (known as The Iron Triangle!))

 

9. Dirty Ho, 1979 (directed by Lau Kar Leung starring Gordon Liu)

Gordon Liu being downright dirty with superb tache

8. Diagram Pole Fighters, 1983 (directed by Lau Kar Leung starring Gordon Li, actually produced by Mona Fong aka Mrs Run Run Shaw)


7. The Human Goddess, 1972 (Starring Li Ching)


6. The Kid With The Golden Arm, 1979 (dir. Chang Cheh)


5. Come Drink With Me, 1966 (stars Cheng Pei Pei as Golden Swallow.  Considered to be one of the best Hong Kong films ever made.  Beautifully directed by King Hu)


4. Hong Kong Nocturne, 1967 (Musical starring Chen, Lily Ho and Chin Ping.  Directed by Umetsugu Inoue)

3. The Five Fingers of Death aka King Boxer, 1973 (directed by Chang-hwa Chung (鄭昌和 정창화) and starring Lo Lieh. Released by Warner Bros in the US, along with Enter The Dragon, the film was responsible for beginning the American kung fu film craze.)

2. The One Armed Swordsman, (Iron Triangle In Full Effect!)


1. The 36th Chamber of Shaolin, 1978 (dir. Lau Kar Leung, starring Gordon Liu.  Fun fact: The script was co-written by Infernal Affairs star and HK comedy actor Eric Tsang!)

Gordon Liu and Lau Kar Leung are Number One!

Thanks to everyone who contributed to the list.  Special mention to the members of the Asian Action Cinema Association Facebook Group.

*I was unable to include the much loved The Five Deadly Venoms as it was produced by Run Run's brother Runme.  Fun fact: that film was heavily sampled by RZA.
I was also unable to list The Crippled Avengers for that same reason.

Chinese Visual Festival 2014

Still from Zhen Kuo's film Burned Wings

The Chinese Visual Festival is back for its third year!  The festival comprises of short and feature film screenings from mainland China, Tibet and Taiwan.
Art-house auteur Jia Zhangke comes to the festival this year for a series of screenings and a Q&A.  Jia Zhangke's A Touch of Sin feature film is showing - an oblique homage to the legendary wuxia kung fu film A Touch of Zen directed by King Hu.  See trailer below.


I am pleased to announce that I will be joined by Taiwanese director Chen Yin Yen on this Saturday's Lucky Cat radio show.  Chen's film The Way We Are is a documentary which focuses on the relationship of two visually impaired people, a woman named Ningyu and a nearly-blind man called Shufeng.

Still from Chen Yin Yen's The Way We Are

This year British Chinese filmmakers are encouraged to get involved as there is a Local Chinese Language Filmmaker Workshop.

A full schedule of the Festival can be found here:
http://chinesevisualfestival.org/schedule/
Venues: King's College London & The British Film Institute

As well as film screenings there are some great talks, including one by writer and East Asian cinema connoisseur Tony Rayns.

ART

7 – 17 May 2014 Anatomy Museum King’s College London

Partnership with China Culture Connect + King’s College Cultural Institute

Painting, Installation, Video, Photography, Performance, Multimedia and so on

Total 23 projects.

Today's Lucky Cat - A Tribute to Sir Run Run Shaw

A Young and Handsome Run Run Shaw

Today's show pays respects to the philanthropist film mogul Sir Run Run Shaw (1907 - 2014).  As well as a biography of Run Run I include the top 17 Run Run Shaw Shaw Brothers films, as voted for by you, the listeners.  I will publish the list on this blog when the show is podcasted in a couple of days

Run Run and stars posing with a Rolls Royce at the Clear Water Bay Studios in Hong Kong.  Not a great resolution but I think I can make out Peter Ho Chen, Cheng Pei Pei and she of the enviable hair Lily Ho!

Here is Sir Run Run Shaw with some of the studios starlets.  I think that is Betty Loh Ti in the middle.

You can tune in to Resonance 104.4FM at 3.30pm (UK) to hear the show.  I will podcast it in a couple of days.

I researched to find out what Run Run's favourite food was and it seems that one of his favourite things was to go to the Hong Kong Peninsula Hotel for afternoon tea.  I'll now add that to the endless list of places to go in Hong Kong if I ever get to return....Run Run apparently always had a simple breakfast of noodles followed by exercise, perhaps the secret to such a long life.

Sir Run Run Shaw we salute you and your wonderful contribution to cinema!  RIP.

Lucky Cat S8 E3 Podcast - Cantonese YMCA!

• Rivers of Babylon - The Melodians (King of Kong compilation LP of Chinese Jamaican producer Leslie Kong's tunes on the Beverleys label) Apologies for skipping!
  
• Monkey theme - Godiego (BBC Monkey Soundtrack LP)
• YMCA - George Lam (Lin Zi Xiang /林子祥)(EMI LP)
• Harlem Shuffle - Bob & Earl (Oldies 7")
• Genghis Khan - George Lam (Lin Zi Xiang /林子祥)(EMI LP)
• Freedom Street - Ken Boothe (King of Kong compilation LP)
• Pal Pal Dil Ke Paas - Kishore Kumar (Blackmail soundtrack EP)
• Track from The Stylers LP
• Aasha Oh Aasha - Lata Mangeshkar (Blackmail soundtrack EP)
• And I Love Him - Esther Phillips (7")
• Gandhara - Godiego (BBC Monkey Soundtrack LP)
• Night Flight (Sentimental Journey) - Ansell Collins  (King of Kong compilation LP) 

Cha Cha's Faded Ghost DJ Set

Here is the wonderful Cha Cha outta Shanghai DJing as Faded Ghost.  A mix of Hip Hop, Breaks, Beats, Sampling, Vocals and Loops.  Cha Cha is currently on tour with AM444 and about to touch down in France.
Check out the AM444 Facebook for gig details: facebook.com/am444

Lucky Cat S8 E2 Podcast - A Journey to Shangri-La

All aboard for Shangri-La:

A Journey to Shangri-La

On today's Lucky Cat we embark on a journey to the mythical Tibetan idyll of Shangri-La.

I remember being swept away by the Frank Capra film Lost Horizon when I watched it in my childhood.  The novel of the same name, on which the film is based, by James Hilton is available to read online at the Gutenberg Press site.

I had great fun researching the topic of Shangri-La and found that the myth of a utopia is common to many cultures.  This BBC article was indispensable: www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/cultures/shangri_la_01.shtml

I also found this wonderful blog post from Shooting Down Pictures all about the 1937 film Lost Horizon.

Shangri-La is still very much in our consciousness today - most recently when the Malaysian airlines plane went missing newspaper and magazine articles referenced the paradise, wondering wistfully if that's where the plane crash landed by.  The Hong Kong hotel chain Shangri-La is in fact opening a luxury hotel in Tibet!  

I hope you enjoy today's show which features Tibetan buttermilk tea to refresh you weary travellers on the road to Shangri-La.

Playlist:

• Theme to Lost Horizon - Composed by Dimitri Zinovievich Tiomkin
• Buddhist Chanting - Chinese Cultural Theatre Group 
• Over The Rainbow - Wizard of Oz soundtrack LP
• Over The Rainbow - Little Anthony and the Imperials
• Blue Skies - Mel Torme
• Shangri-La - Esther Phillips
• Tibetan Mountain Song - Dolkar Lhamo
• Satta Amasagana - Third World (from the Rockers OST LP)
•  Tibetan Celebration Song - Dolkar Lhamo
• Over The Rainbow - Dorothy Donegan
• Extract from the film Lost Horizon 1937
• Over The Rainbow - Billy Ward and his Dominoes
• Father and Son Vocal with Erhu from the Streets of Lhasa CD
• Shangri-La - Ou Yang Fei Ying
• Nature Boy - Nat Cole
• Theme to Lost Horizon - Composed by Dimitri Zinovievich Tiomkin
• Past, Present, Future - The Shangri-Las

Lucky Cat S8 E1 Podcast

Lucky Cat is BACK!
Originally broadcast on Resonance FM on Saturday 5th April @3.30pm.

This show celebrates the Chinese Buddhist Qing Ming Festival and there is a review of the Vietnamese kung-fu film Lady Assassin.
The Dim Sum Lunch Box contains cold left over ma pao do fu.
I need your help - please email me with any recipes or restaurant reviews or recommendations!  I would love to share your food knowledge with listeners! luckycatzoe   at  gmail.com
Thank you.

Playlist:

Constant Sorrow - Beverly White (Realm 7" EP)

Resting Place - Burning Spear (Marcus Garvey LP)

Blossoming Lotus - Zhou Xuan (Pathe 100 CD)

Were You There - Paul Robeson (7" EP Paul Robeson Sings Negro Spirituals)

For All We Know - Billie Holiday (Lady in Satin LP)

Can't No Grave Hold My Body Down - Sister Rosetta Tharpe (Gospel Train LP)

I Love You Chinese - Rebecca Pan from the Diamond Records Compilation CD

Spring Breeze Blows Through Yi Village - female solo from the LP May Our Song Take Wings and Fly over the Bridge

Talking About Fighting Skill - Siao Fong Fong & Chan Pao Chu (7" OST EP Red Thread Steals a Precious Box)

Devil Woman - Zhuang Xue Fang (Ruby Records)

Love Bandit - The Cadets (20 Great R n'B Hits of the 1950s)

Honour Your Mother & Father - Desmond Dekker (Rudy Got Soul CD)

Tune in live to Series 8 of Lucky Cat on Resonance 104.4FM in London or via www.resonancefm.com anywhere!
The series will run for 7 weeks.

The Raid 2

The Raid 2 opens in UK cinemas on 11th April.  Here's the rather spectacular trailer.



Looks like an edge of the seat, wincing and peeping out from behind fingers type of movie! Let the bone crunching commence....

Lucky Cat Series 8 Starts This Saturday!

I am extremely happy to announce that I will be back on air for series 8 of Lucky Cat this Saturday 5th April @3.30pm.

Series 8 will include:

• exclusive mixes from Chinese musicians
• a look at the Philippino film industry
• an exploration of Chinese Buddhist festivals such as Qing Ming
• a discussion of the concept of Shangri-La in relation to Tibet

The Dim Sum Lunch Box returns but I need your help - please email me with any recipes or restaurant reviews or recommendations!  I would love to share your food knowledge with listeners!  luckycatzoe   at  gmail.com
Thank you.

A massive thank you to the talented and kind Josue at Fresh Brewed Illustration for another fabulous artwork for series 8 (above).

Tune in on 104.4FM in London or via www.resonancefm.com anywhere!
The series will run for 7 weeks.

Kung Fu Hip Hop from The Arsonists

Heard this on BBC 6Music this week. Tuuuuuuuuuune!  Lovely gu zheng / koto sample.  Wonder if it is Michio Miyagi?  From the Brooklyn based The Arsonists from 2010:

Beef Ma Pao Dofu

Beef Ma Pao Dofu

I love the dish Ma Pao Dofu (Pock Marked Old Mother's Tofu) but have never attempted to cook it myself.  I've read many recipes over the years, including Fuschia Dunlop's great version.  However I wanted to try something from one of the many recipe books on my shelf at home that was a little different and perhaps more Western-based (i.e. emphasis not on authenticity of ingredients but on the ease cooking and more readily available ingredients).  I was given the Exploring China cookbook for a Christmas gift 2 years ago and thought I'd see if there was a recipe in there.  The book is written by Ken Hom and Ching-He Huang and accompanied the fantastic BBC TV series of the same name.  The recipe featured is a beef version (the dish is normally made with pork) with an addition of soya beans and is devised by Ching-He Huang.  As per usual all the work is in the mis-en-place and the freshness of ingredients make the dish sing out.  I had to improvise a couple of things but I was pleased to find we had facing heaven chillies in our store cupboard that gave a lovely warming and citrus flavour heat to the dish.

Here is my amended version of Ching-He Huang's recipe:

2 tablespoons ground nut / veg oil

2 garlic cloves, peeled, crushed and finely chopped

1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger

1 facing heaven chilli (dried), de-seeded and cut into strips

2 small chillies, de-seeded and chopped finely

(recipe called for 1 medium fresh red chilli, de-seeded and chopped)

2 teaspoons of toasted Sichuan pepper corns, ground up in a pestle and mortar

2 tablespoons Shaxing rice wine (recipe says 1 but I like it boozy!)

2 teaspoons of chilli oil with shrimp paste in (recipe says chilli bean paste but I had run out)

300g minced beef (I used steak mince)

300g fresh tofu (pref. firm - recipe said 400g but I thought that was too much), cut into 1" cubes

3-4 handfuls of fresh soya bean sprouts (recipe says 75g frozen edamame beans but I didn't have any)

250ml hot beef stock (recipe says 200ml)

1 tablespoon light soya sauce

1 tablespoon cornflour mixed with 2 tablespoons of cold water

Sea salt and white pepper

2 smallish leeks cut into quarters then cut diagonally, discard tougher outer bits.  (Recipe says Sian Miao - Chinese leeks - or spring onions but the leeks were on offer at my local shop)

1. Prepare all the ingredients (see mis-en-place picture)

2. Heat wok over high heat and add oil, then garlic, ginger and fresh chilli and fry for a few seconds

Add ground Sichuan pepper corns and minced beef and mix well

3. Add the Shaoxing then chilli oil

4. Add tofu and 3/4 of the soya bean sprouts (hold some back to toss in at the end for a crunchy texture) 

5. Pour in the hot beef stock (I used a very authentic Bisto!).  Stir but be careful not to damage the tofu cubes, they are delicate little things.

6. Bring to the boil then mix in the leeks (use judgement, leave some out if needed, you don't want them to overpower). 

7. Season with the soya sauce (taste it to make sure you have enough in there)

8. Stir in the cornflour mixture to thicken and season with salt and white pepper

9. Garnish with the remaining soya bean sprouts and serve (I chose to serve with fresh noodles and choi sum greens).

I would recommend the recipe book Exploring China by Ken Hom and Ching-He Huang as it is easy to follow and has beautiful photography.  This is the third recipe I've tried from the book (the others being quite simply, but very tasty, salads).

Year of the Horse mix for BBC Radio 'On The Wire'

恭禧发财!  Year of the Horse mix BBC Radio 'On The Wire' Feb 2014 by Luckycatzoe on Mixcloud

Here's the Year of the Horse I made for the brilliant BBC Radio Lancashire show On The Wire. Wishing you all a galloping year full of happiness! Giddyup...

Stray Cat Rock: Delinquent Girl Boss

Terracotta Film Club are showing a super cool movie this month @ The Prince Charles cinema London:

Starring singer Akiko Wada and icon Meiko Kaji (last seen at the Film Club in the fantastic Lady Snowblood), this is a Pinky Violence classic!

Here's Akiko Wada Singing Unchain My Heart and why not:

Gong Xi Fa Cai! Happy Year of The Horse!

I'm very pleased to announce that I have contributed a Year of the Horse mix to this Saturday's BBC Radio Lancashire show On The Wire.  My mix will air this Saturday 1st February at midnight and you can listen via the iPlayer live or for a week after. I had great fun compiling the mix, there are plenty of horse songs, one pony, a couple of donkeys and a cowboy!  I recently found this wonderful song about a horse by Memphis Minnie, I couldn't fit it into the mix but here it is for you.

(Picture shown above is from this great blog post about the Chinese American menu collection at the National Museum of American History.)

I would like to wish you all a very Happy New Year of the Horse!  恭禧发财!

Wishing you a year filled with happiness and good health!

Lucy Sheen: There Are Two Perfectly Good Me's... Showing 1st & 8th Feb 2014

Following on from her successful fundraising campaign actor and writer Lucy Sheen presents ‘There are Two Perfectly Good Me’s: One dead, the other unborn’  at the King’s Head Theatre, Islington, London.

Lucy wrote the play , which is about trans-racial adoption and is largely autobiographical.  Listeners of Lucky Cat may remember Lucy came on the show and discussed her experiences of being adopted from a  Hong Kong orphanage and being brought to the UK and raised by a white family in the suburbs.  To read more about this please see the interview with Lucy on My Asian Planet.

The show at the King's Head is a double bill with Lucy's play ICU also showing.  To book tickets and for more info see: kingsheadtheatre.com/main.html

Also check out Lucy's web site: www.lucysheen.com

zaijian 2013

Lucky Cat NYE 2013 by Luckycatzoe on Mixcloud

Santé and Ganbei to 2013 my friends, here's to more music in 2014 x

Online Movie Streaming - Review of Providers for East Asian cinema

I've been doing a little research on who has the best selection of east Asian films available for streaming online and after having signed up to:

• Netflix
• Love Film
• Mubi

I can reveal that I no longer subscribe to Netflix or Love Film.  Netflix is like a crummy video shop from the late 1980s that only has a very limited selection of films and a lot of B-movies you have never heard of.  It does carry some Cine Asia titles as well as Shaolin Soccer but I found it lacking for my East Asian movie fix needs.  Worth signing up for a free trial month and watching all the good stuff then cancelling though.  If you do that please watch the TV series 15 Storeys High with Sean Lock and Benedict Wong as it is extremely funny and many was sadly slept on when it aired on BBC.  Also it is shot just round the corner from where I grew up in South London (although maybe that's just cool to me!).

Love Film appears to have a lot of titles but when you get down to the nitty gritty most of the East Asian films are DVD rental only and not available for online streaming.  Disappointing.

Mubi has a different approach - only 30 films are available to watch at any time and they add a new title every day and remove one.  Therefore if you see a movie you are interested in has been added you have 30 days to watch it.  OK so the choice is limited but the selection is excellent.  It's like having a world cinema / art house / old movie geek select films for you (like a proper video shop used to be).  The East Asian selection has been pretty great with Johnny To movies like PTA, Sparrow and Mad Detective (currently available) being on the Mubi rotating movie shelf.  Mubi is the only site I've kept a subscription to (and you get a bloody good deal if you sign up for a year, about £30 I think).  I've watched obscure Thai art house film Hi-So as well as Hong Kong classic The Internal Affairs Trilogy and Park Chan Wook's I'm a Cyborg But That's OK (currently available).  It also shows old Amercian noir movies from time to time which you cannot seem to get anywhere else (crazy, I'd love to see more old movies available and not just on youtube - by the way all the old Basil Rathbone Sherlock Holmes movies are on youtube, fantastic watching!)

Now if only there was a site that streamed high quality Shaw Brothers movies! Mubi does lack a good martial arts selection but on the whole it is the best provider for streaming East Asian cinema.  A Lucky Cat recommendation.

(Picture show here is fan art created by Jerry Johnson, see: http://mubi.com/topics/mubi-fan-art-logo-competition)

Anna Chen on Resonance FM

The fabulous Anna Chen has a new radio programme on Resonance FM; Madam Miaow's Culture Lounge.
The show airs live every Tuesday at 5.30pm on Resonance 104.4FM in London or via the web site resonancefm.com worldwide.
Each week Anna is joined by guests and musicians for lively discussion, music and poetry.  If you missed the first episode then you can listen online here:
https://soundcloud.com/resonance-fm/17-30-00-madam-miaow-says

For more info see: http://www.annachen.co.uk/resonance-launch/

I should be back on the radio for Lucky Cat Series 8 sometime in 2014 on Resonance FM.  Details to follow as soon as possible.

SEA Arts Fest 2013

SEA Arts Fest is a brand new festival celebrating the work of the artists of South East Asia and those inspired by South East Asia. 

The festival presents a range of work including film, theatre, music, traditional dance, outdoor performances, participatory workshops more.

SEA Arts Fest takes place for the first time in London across multiple sites from 1st October – 10th November 2013.

For all the details see: http://seaartsfest.org/

Check out this FREE Indonesian arts event at SOAS on 19th October: 

INDONESIA KONTEMPORER

Lucky Cat Podcast - Aowen Jin Interview Sept 2013

If you missed last Friday's special edition here's the podcast.  I had a wonderful time talking to the passionate and knowledgeable artists Aowen Jin.  I do hope you enjoy listening.

Factory Girls opens next week at the Brick Lane Gallery.

Teaser Trailer for Aowen Jin's Factory Girls documentary

Lucky Cat Special Edition: Zoë Meets Artist Aowen Kitaika Jin

I am pleased to announce that I will return to the ariwaves for a special edition of Lucky Cat on Friday 6th September 8-9pm on Resonance 104.4FM.

I will be talking to UK based Chinese artist Aowen Kitaika Jin about her upcoming art exhibition Made in China: Factory Girls, which opens at the Brick Lane gallery on 18th September.

The programme will repeated on Monday 9th September at 9am and I will podcast soon after.

Made In China: Factory Girls Exhibition
Brick Lane Gallery, Brick Lane, London, E1 6SA
18/09/2013 to 24/09/2013.
The Factory Girls exhibition uncovers the goals, dreams and ambitions of China's factory girls.

BIG thanks to Josue from Fresh Brewed Illustration for the beautiful artwork pictured here.

Indigogo Fund Raiser for Lucy Sheen's Plays

Please help raise funds for writer, director and actor Lucy Sheen to bring her plays to the London stage.
Lucy was a guest on Lucky Cat back in 2011 just before she appeared in the three woman solo show produced by True Heart Theatre, IN THE MIRROR: Three women, three stories from Chinese diaspora.I was fortunate enought to see the production and was very impressed with Lucy's autobiographical story of trying to assimilate into white suburban UK life after being adopted from Hong Kong as a baby.  Lucy is a fabulous actress and clearly a talented writer to boot.  I would love to see this story along with new work ICU, on the London stage and reaching a wide audience.  Fund raising sites seem to be the way to go these days to get interesting independent art out to the hungry audiences fed up of homogenised clap trap!  Please give a little (or a lot)...
http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/get-lucy-s-work-to-the-kings-head-theatre

Chimerica

Lucy Kirkwood's play Chimerica has transferred from the Almeida Theatre to London's West End.  The play, which tells the story of an unknown hero in 1989's Tiananmen Square, is on at the Harold Pinter Theatre until 19th October.

The unknown hero aka Tank Man, who squared up to government troops, unarmed, in Beijing's Tiananmen Square in 1989 was captured on film by American photojournalist Joe (played by Stephen Campbell Moore).  Almost 20 years later Joe sees a cryptic message in a Beijing newspaper and becomes obsessed with finding Tank Man to discover the story behind the iconic image.
Joe is helped by Zhang Lin (played by Benedict Wong, pictured left) and together they try to unravel the past.  The play has underlying themes of China’s uneasy relationship with the West and current socioeconomic issues.  

The play has received rave reviews and I hope to catch it myself....  There are 100 £10 tickets for every performance available from the box office on the day from 10am.

Have you seen the play?  Please share your thoughts with Lucky Cat readers in the comments below.

DJing for Duchamp Festival in Herne Bay

Tonight I will be DJing in Herne Bay for the Marcel Duchamp Festival.  I will be on at 7.30pm in Wimereaux Gardens, playing after the band Coco and the Butterfields.
The festival started on 1st August and I DJ'd at the Beach Creative Private View, trying to adhere to a 1913 playlist (tricky!).  Check out the festival Facebook page or web site for more info.

Tonight expect some killah dillah tunage, all vinyl, naturally.  Sugarpie De Santo is at the front of my record box and ready to go...

Soon Come

Can't get this song out of my head!  The sound of Summer 2013.  Brilliant video that makes you want to jump on a plane to JA! Liam Bailey's lovely voice is reminiscent of Finley Quaye with lilting twang.  Shy FX takes it back to proper Big People's Music!
Sadly not currently available on vinyl...

More about Shy FX and the forthcoming Cornerstone album here.

Lucky Cat on Resonance FM - exciting news soon come!

Review of HK Cop Corruption Movie Cold War

Cold War Hair-Off between Aaron Kwok and Tony Leung Ka-Fei

 

I realise it’s been an absolute age now since the Terracotta Far East Film Festival and I have neglected to review the movies I saw – apologies.

Let me remedy that right now with a review of HK cop corruption thriller Cold War directed by Longman Leung and Sunny Luk.  The film stars Chinese Ken doll Aaron Kwok, veteran hard head Tony Leung Ka-Fei and a cameo by Andy Lau appearing as, well, Andy Lau.  I want to say Charlie Yueng features too but she doesn't really, she's just there.

The storyline is pretty weak and a little muddled at times so I won’t bore you with too many of the details, suffice to say Aaron Kwok and Tony Leung KF have different policing methods and a battle of egos ensues.  Meanwhile some master criminal maniac is kidnapping cops and blowing up Hong Kong.  Tony Leung KF provides all the screen magnetism with some superb acting; if the film had been from his POV rather than Kwok’s it would have been more watchable.  Aaron Kwok may have fluttered the hearts of many in the audience but he just isn’t my cup of tea.  I just cannot believe in a character whose hair remains perfectly coiffured after chases, fights and explosions.  When pitted against a veteran HK star such as Tony Leung KF I’m afraid Aaron’s acting just doesn’t cut the mustard.

Like Aaron’s hair the production and art direction of the film are just a little too slick.  Colours are muted and metallic, there are obligatory helicopter shots swooping over HK’s skyline and a totally gratuitous fireworks explosion atop a hotel.  At quite a few points in the film I found myself asking ‘ who is this new character’  and ‘why should I care?’  Not a good sign.

Andy Lau breezes in for a couple of scenes but even his suave charm is not enough to save this movie.  Infernal Affairs it aint.  I would suggest that if you want to see a well-crafted film about police corruption with characters you actually care about then watch the Johnny To movie PTA.  I recently saw this film and loved every moment, there is something to be said for a simple storyline, stripped back action, actors with gravitas such as Simon Yam and Lam Suet (to be fair to Tony Leung KF he is in this bracket too) and of course a brilliant auteur director like Johnny To.

After reading through I feel I have been a bit mean about Aaron Kwok.  I did enjoy him in The Detective, perhaps under different direction he can escape his heart throb Cantopop persona.  I think the blame for this overly coiffured bouffant of a movie can be laid at the doors of Longman Leung and Sunny Luk as they not only directed but wrote the screenplay too.

Terracotta Far East Film Festival 2013

This year's Terracotta Far East Film Festival will be bigger and better than ever, running from 6th - 15th June across 2 venues (The Prince Charles cinema and the ICA).

This year there are 4 sections:

1. Current Asian Cinema

This includes the Johnny To produced Drug War.

2.Terror Cotta Horror All-nighter

5 horror films shown from 11.30pm - 7am!  Including A classic retrospective presentation of an old Japanese Macbeth-like folk tale; The Ghost Story of Yotsuya. 

3. In Memory of Leslie Chueng and Anita Mui

I'm very pleased about this selection which includes one of my top 10 favourite films Rouge.

4. Spotlight on: Indonesia 

There's more to Indonesian cinema than The Raid!

For all the info and to buy tickets see: http://terracottafestival.com/festival-info/schedule/

The music for this year's Festival will be fantastic - as I will be programming it!  I will be selecting the songs you hear in the auditorium before each film commences.  Wonder if I can sneak in some Chinese Reggae :)

There are masterclasses, special guests, Q&As and parties too.  I will write more on my festival picks soon......

Only a few days left (closing date 20th May) but this short film competition is amazing too!:

http://terracottafestival.com/festival-info/short-film-competition-2013

Daniel York's short play Song Of Four Seasons (四季歌) is @ Rich Mix Fri 17th May

Daniel York's short play Song Of Four Seasons (四季歌) has been selected for Tamasha Theatre’s next Scratch Night at Rich Mix this Friday 17th May.  The performance is script in hand but rehearsed and stars Michelle Wen Lee, Jennifer Lim and Jess Woo.

The play concerns identity, displacement and belonging. It was inspired by the singer Chinese singer Zhou Xuan and the song Four Seasons which is a tale of separation, love and small people whose lives are destroyed by big events. 

Zhou Xuan, is one of China’s great movie stars whose life was as dramatic and tragic as any of the characters she portrayed. I discussed her fascinating life and career in my radio programme on The Seven Singing Stars of Shanghai.  Her legacy lives on today and the song Four Seasons featured in the 2007 Ang Lee film Lust, Caution.

 

Daniel York's short film, Mercutio’s Dreaming: The Killing Of A Chinese Actor, was recently nominated for four awards at the WMIFF festival.
 

Daniel's full length play, The Fu Manchu Complex, will open the autumn season at Ovalhouse Theatre this October 2013. 

I spoke with Daniel, who is also the Vice Chair, Equity Minority Ethnic Members’ Committee, earlier this year about the RSC Orphan of Zhao casting controversy.  Daniel York is now part of the group British East Asian Artists. 

I am really pleased that Zhou Xuan's life and work will be brought to a wider audience with this play.  The Pathe 100 compilation of her music is highly recommended (see below).

 

 

Chinese Visual Festival 2013

This year's Chinese Visual Festival will run from May 8th – June 12th @ King’s College London. The festival includes:

• 4 prominent directors in attendance from China, Hong Kong and Taiwan
• Art exhibition and artist talk, with Chinese artist Wang Yuyang in attendance
• 29 films screened (all UK premieres and including 1 world premiere)
• Concert performances from Chinese and British musicians
• 2 Panel Discussions, 1 round table and 1 public lecture with key industry figures and academics

The festival has expanded this year to cover art and films from Taiwan and Hong Kong as well as Mainland China.

For the full schedule please see the CVF 2013 web site.

Highlights:

• ART

Objects of Fantasy, the first solo exhibition for Chinese artist Wang Yuyang is now on at the Inigo Rooms, Somerset House East Wing from (until 12^th June).

Wang's BREATHE《呼吸》

• FILM

Taiwanese film maker Wu Wuna will be in attendance, her films Farewell 1999 about her mother and The Dream Never Sets, about her father, will be screened on 29th May.  The trailer (no subs sorry) for The Dream Never Sets is above and seems to include a Dub Reggae soundtrack - I'm excited!

This year, the festival has selected its first ever animated shorts and fiction film For more information on Film please click here.

• MUSIC

Renowned Pipa musician Wang Ting returns to play both a solo concert and a collaborative show with top London jazz pianist Chris Lee.  I was fortunate enough to attend Wang Ting's concert last year and hear her beautiful renditions of classical Chinese music on the pipa.  The collaboration with Chris Lee sounds really interesting, the pipa was used in some of the Shanghai Jazz ensembles of the 1920s-30s.  The concert will take place at 8pm on Monday 27th May, Room SWB21, King's College, Strand.

For all the info on CVF 2013 see: http://chinesevisualfestival.org/