Xi Xiang Ji 西厢记 + live score

We’re delighted to be collaborating with the Mint Chinese Film Festival and Aya Films to present Women Hold Up Half the Sky “妇女能顶半边天”, a programme of contemporary and classic Chinese films by and about women this September. 

This screening will include an opening talk from guest speaker Dr Julian Ward, Senior Lecturer in Chinese at the University of Edinburgh.

This 1927 classic silent film is one of the many classical renditions of the play Romance of the Western Chamber that exemplified a Chinese classic genre of storytelling written by the Yuan dynasty playwright Wang Shifu. A Romeo and Juliet narrative, the film demonstrates love’s ability to transcend social restrictions. 

This screening will be accompanied by a live music score composed by Edinburgh musician Aurora Engine. Aurora Engine is a composer, harpist and pianist based in Edinburgh. Fusing real instruments, voice and progressive electronica, her work encapsulates a singular and striking sonic landscape. Using collected sounds and inspiration drawn from the natural world such as birdsong, the tides and community voices, she sets out to create beguiling songs and compelling soundscapes. 

Mint Chinese Film Festival (MINT CFF) is an award-winning social enterprise and festival founded by Chinese film curator Yixiang Shirley Lin and Keswick Alhambra Cinema’s co-owner Dr Carol Rennie. They are the first women-organised Chinese film festival in the UK focussed on cross-cultural communication and the representation of women. For further information on MINT CFF’s previous editions, please visit their official website. 

Aya films is a UK distribution and media education company founded in 2011, which champions stories and projects that allow audiences to reimagine through cinema.