Film Friday is temporarily suspended — no film this Friday or next week — but Movie Monday is still on. Our Chinese Documentary Film Series concludes this Monday, August 31 with Zhao Liang’s Paper Airplane, a candid look at Beijing’s disenfranchised youth, including a group of heroin addicts who waste their lives and talent.

As Zhao explained in an interview:

From 1997 I was shooting rock ‘n’ roll bands. Punk was just starting to get popular in China at that time. They were very new and strange, and attracted me. I shot quite a lot of footage but at that time it was hard for me to structure everything, so I picked out the drug use.

…You shouldn’t get too close. In fact in Paper Airplane I was too involved. I needed to work together with them to solve some problems and overcome difficulties. The relationship was like between brothers. Although you live with them you shouldn’t forget that you are the one shooting. In terms of documentary ethics, every director needs to think about this.

(If the name Zhao Liang sounds familiar, it’s because we showed one of his documentaries, Petition, in June.)

Monday, August 31, 8 pm

20 RMB