GU Changwei’s directorial debut Peacock (Kong Que, China 2004 ) won the audience award at “Far East Film Festival 7” which closed on April 29th. Gu was cinematographer on several critically acclaimed films such as Kaige Chen’s Farewell My Concubine and Zhang Yimou’s Red Sorghum. Peacock is the story of three siblings growing up in China after the Cultural Revolution. The sister (Zhang Jingchu) works in various domestic capacities such as a glass washer, or in childcare. She fails mise...

The Udine Far East Film Festival kicked off on April 22 by FENG Xiaogang's with A World Without Thieves a highly entertaining film from China mixing Western style action with martial arts and cunning physical feats. As with many new films from China, mainland and Hong Kong, the central theme concerns the poverty of migrants from the north and their vulnerability to thieves in the larger cities. In Feng’s new film, Roob (Baoqiang Wang) a Buddhist temple painter has saved up enough money to ret...