Zhang Lu: Last News

Jessica Kiang The unusual design of the White Pagoda, a 13th-century Buddhist temple in the Xicheng district of Beijing, makes it hard to see its shadow. This has given rise to the local legend that its shade can actually be found some two thousand miles away in Tibet, the temple’s spiritual home. The landmark is a constant presence in Chinese director Zhang Lu’s tender, brimming “The Shadowless Tower,” which fixes its setting in the very heart of the Chinese capital, a city rarely portrayed as fondly as it is here. But the pagoda can also be seen as an evocatively imperfect metaphor for a lifestage: that tipping point in the middle of one’s time when, with the past and future weighing equally on either side, you can feel disoriented and suddenly directionless, as when the sun is directly overhead and you cast no shadow. 

Rebecca Davis editorSmall but growing production firm Midnight Blur Films has had a strong fall.Its soft sci-fi feature “Journey to the West” just won top accolades at China’s Pingyao Intl. Film Festival, including the Fei Mu prize for best film, the Cinephilia Critics’ Award, and the youth jury award.Its rights arm Parallax International Sales is at Tokyo this year looking for buyers for a selection of strong titles including “Journey to the West,” Asian Future Competition selection “The Coffin Painter,” director Zhang Lu’s Japan-set “Yanagawa,” stylish drama about the life of a Sichuan opera actor in the 80s “A New Old Play,” and “Annular Eclipse,” a dark sci-fi second feature from writer-director Zhang Chi.