On 10 February, China celebrates the entry into the year of the Dragon, one of the most imposing and noble animals of the Chinese zodiac, which represents discovery and a great willingness to achieve the impossible.
To celebrate this new Chinese year, the AspirE/ CIES-Iscte research project is setting out to discover this Asian giant and invites all researchers and interested parties to watch the "Ways of seeing China" film series during the month of February. The films chosen reveal many of the complexities and contradictions of today's China and explore the experiences of its migrants in Portugal. The filmmakers will be present to talk to the audience at the end of the screening. It will be a unique opportunity to delve into Chinese culture not only within academia but also outside it.
The research project AspirE-Decision making os Aspiring (re) migrants to/within the EU: the case of labour market-leading migrations from Asia, funded by the European Commission, developed in Portugal by CIES-Iscte and coordinated locally by researcher Sofia Gaspar, analyses the decision-making of aspiring (re)migrants from Southeast and East Asian countries (China, Japan, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam) to and within EU member countries (Belgium, Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Finland).
Venue
Iscte - University Institute of Lisbon, Building 2, Aud. B203
Free entry
15 FEBRUARY
17h00 | Aud. B203
WE THE CHINESE, IN SEARCH OF FORTUNE
Carlos Fraga | 58’ | Portugal | 2013
With the presence of the filmmaker Carlos Fraga, and the researcher and screenwriting Irene Rodrigues (ISCSP-UL)
This film is an approach to the Chinese community living in Portugal. It shows the experience of being Chinese in this country, their difficulties, frustrations and expectations. Although we are very close and share the same territorial space, the same society, we don't know each other.
It is a documentary that seeks to understand their reality demystifying and breaking prejudices, contributing to the rapprochement and dialogue between Portuguese and Chinese. It is a call for tolerance.
22 FEBRUARY
17h00 | Aud. B203
CHINA OUT OF THE BOX
With the presence of sociologist and researcher Sandra Palma Saleiro (CIES-Iscte)
Eyes | Naixin Xu | 5 ´| China | 2018
Tang Long | Jiangtian Zon | 14 ´ | China | 2019
I love you mama | Maya Peters | 9´ | China | 2018
Ruins | He Yi | 5´ | China | 2018
We outlaws | Kaixuan Wang | 34´ | China | 2018
China is also what you don't see in the news. It is a place where 1.4 billion people intersect, and where diversity endures. “China Outside the Box” is an invitation to grow outside of a cultural and social box, showing different sides of Chinese society, with a special focus on issues of sexuality and gender. “China Outside the Box” tells us four stories from the LGBTQI+ community, and a story about the social and psychological challenges of a survivor of sexual abuse in a rural area. The protagonists of the shorts take us through universal places, while sharing individual experiences, and challenging us to recognize similarities and understand differences.
29 FEBRUARY
17h00 | Aud. B203
With the presence of directors Joana Maria Sousa and Javier Martinez
LIKE A TREE
Joana Maria Sousa| 10'45" | China | 2015
Like a Tree is a short documentary that takes the traditional family culture of China as the theme, which chooses kids and elders as the entry point. This film illustrates profoundly the inheritance of family culture in China.
THE SOUND OF BAMBOO
Javier Martínez | 47' | Portugal | 2018
Bamboo has long been the symbol of Chinese character. Bamboo is flexible, curves in the wind but never breaks, and its roots are extremely strong. The millenary Chinese culture is, like the roots of bamboo, the basis for the Chinese diaspora to keep the essence of their identity. Even here in Lisbon, thousands of miles away from their place of origin the Chinese people can withstand the wind without breaking.
