Saturday 22nd May 2021 to
Sunday 13th June 2021
Part of The Telling Image. Ten films from eight film makers, curated by Gareth Evans for Estuary 2021
Eelyn E Lee: Casting Fu Manchu
Despite being in the public eye for over 90 years, Dr Fu Manchu, the popular Chinese villain has only ever been played on screen by white men. In her film, Lee subverts the practice of ‘yellow face’ by inviting actors of east and southeast Asian heritage to audition for the role of Fu Manchu. Over 50 actors, male, female and non-binary, sent her self shot audition tapes with their re-appropriated versions of the character, a selection of which form the basis of the film.
In 1912, when Sax Rohmer dreamt up his fictional Dr Fu Manchu, the evil Chinese doctor set on world domination, Yellow Peril was rife. Often painted as a faceless existential threat to the western world, east Asians were seen as a force that needed to be suppressed. Over 100 years later, COVID-related racist attacks towards east and southeast Asians has demonstrated that Yellow Peril is still alive today.
Commissioned by Chinese Arts Now
Featuring:
Daniel York Loh, Elisabeth Gunawan, Eric Mok, Sabrina Pui Yee Chin, Luna Dai, Lilian Tsang, Joyce Veheary, Jacqui Ong, Kyoko Takenaka, Siu-see Hung, Hi Ching
A new work by filmmaker Andrea Luka Zimmerman, featuring Phlocus. Made during the summer of 2020, it will premiere at Estuary 2021.
Ten short films responding to the festival’s themes of climate, imperial legacy and rebellion curated by Gareth Evans.
Polly II imagines a future insurrection by pirates and outcasts surviving in the flooded ruins of East London. Part of The Telling Image curated by Gareth Evans
The Militant Ecologist, Bella Ciao and This Climate - three films by Jem Cohen for The Telling Image.
Part of The Telling Image curated by Gareth Evans, Gideon Mendel's film shares the music and landscape of musician Marco Frith following the fires that destroyed his home in 2020.
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