A MADAM, A gigolo, a former barefoot doctor who specialises in hymen restorations for prostitutes, her homosexual husband and their son with violent tendencies: this is the cast of characters that fill Shanghai-born director Andrew Cheng Yu-su's movie Welcome to Destination Shanghai, a personal look at how the city is changing, and one of the movies recently chosen for screening at Shanghai's emerging art space ddm Warehouse.
Cheng's screenings marked the sixth time that ddm, a non-profit art space opened in 2000 in a converted factory on the banks of the Huang Pu River with 3 million yuan of sponsorship, has shown the works of an independent film director. According to Lulu Liu, director of ddm, they look for young directors who are making interesting statements.
Audience members are often surprised to find that these statements include everything from prostitution to homosexuality, and even romantic relationships with aliens. Harbin-born director and professor at the Beijing Film Academy Cui Zi'en - whose movie depicts just such an extraterrestrial courtship - screened some of his films last winter at ddm. He says that Shanghai, in general, and ddm, in particular, embody an 'exciting and fashionable energy'.
And it's this energy that ddm is striving to harness. The 450 square metre art space, which includes an exhibition room, a 50-seat screening room and library, is run by a staff of six as somewhere people can not just see art, but discuss it freely. Liu says directors of independent films need a place to communicate their ideas. 'We want to provide a place for independent film directors to get their films shown and where people interested in non-mainstream films can view them.'
The few degrees that separate filmmakers featured at ddm highlights the small size of the mainland independent film world. For example, directors Cheng and Cui are both collaborators and friends. Cui plays the gay father in Cheng's Destination Shanghai. 'His personality is key for the mood of the film,' Cheng says. 'When you see Zi'en, you wonder if he's a lady or man, gay or not gay. To me Shanghai is like that. Very confused and seductive.'
By inviting Shanghai directors such as Cheng, who portray the city in various and sometimes unflattering lights, ddm allows Shanghai natives to reflect on themselves and their city. Cheng says that in filming his other movie, Shanghai Panic, based on the book We are Panic by banned author Mian Mian, he wanted to capture the Shanghai zeitgeist. 'Shanghai Panic uses local slang and the Shanghai dialect. The story is real, the acting is real. I think people living in Shanghai will understand the roots of this story.'