Art Attack: 48 Hour Film Project Postponed, Future Shorts, Oklahoma! and More

This week, catch Bad Panda as it opens the Nanluogu Xiang Theater Festival, watch great short films from all over the world at another installment of the Future Shorts Film Festival at UCCA Art Cinema, gear up for Oklahoma!’s premiere, and enjoy plenty of other film screenings and art exhibits.

You may have read our interview with playwright Megan Gogerty, who wrote the independent play Bad Panda. In it, a pair of pandas tries to procreate to keep the species going, but one of them is distracted by the advances of a rebellious yet needy crocodile. It’ll open this year’s Nanluogu Xiang Theater Festival, which will include workshops and other shows.

The Future Shorts Film Festival is back in town again. The global short film circuit came to Beijing for the first time last year (courtesy of Electric Shadows) and are screening a new set of films at the UCCA Art Cinema, including the strangely romantic "Man Without a Head" (see photo, top). Details below.

Oklahoma! opens at Mako Livehouse next week, and we’ll be giving away tickets to their preview night on May 16, so stay tuned to the blog. If you can’t bear to miss the show, reserve your tickets soon, as Beijing Playhouse's last show sold out, and this one likely will, too (even if it doesn’t have the word “sex” in the title).

The 48 Hour Film Project, which was set to kick off next Friday, has been postponed due to “unforeseen circumstances.” We can speculate all we want on the reasons (smog? weather?), but that still won’t bring the competition back. They tell us they’ll be back in October, so filmmakers will have to sit tight until then.

If you like both food and contemporary art, here’s where your worlds will collide. Starting May 12, Capital M will be offering a very peculiar item on their menu. You can order “Bring Me the Head of Ozkaya,” and a pâté will arrive at your table shaped into a head. To complete the "artwork," you’ll pick up your knife and fork and dig in. If this sorta thing is your bag, you'll have the chance to eat your art until June 12, when it'll be removed from the menu.

As always, details for more things to see and do around town this week are below.

Bon appétit …

EVENTS

Until May 13
Drama: Bad Panda
A panda suffers an identity crisis when he develops feelings for a crocodile. RMB 80, RMB 60 (advance), RMB 50 (students). 7.30pm. Penghao Theater (6400 6452/72)

May 13
Film Festival: Future Shorts
Another hit of this popular global festival includes animations about headless men, swingers (not the dancing kind) and book covers that come to life. RMB 15, RMB 10 (students), free (UCCA members). 2-3.30pm. UCCA Art Cinema (8459 9269)

May 16
Film: The History Boys
Sure, the gaokao with its ivy drips is bad. But what did kids trying to get into Oxbridge in the 1980s go through? Find out in this film based on the play by Alan Bennett. RMB 40. 7.30pm. Riverbank Bar & Café (6506 8277)

May 18-Jun 3 (Thurs-Sun only)
Musical: Oklahoma!
Yeehaw! Beijing Playhouse is charging out of the gate with this charming classic from the American frontier. To reserve, email performance@beijingplayhouse.com. RMB 300 (adults at the door), RMB 260 (adults, advance), RMB 150 (students/childen at the door), RMB 130 (students/children, advance). Thurs-Sat 7.30pm, Sun 2pm. Mako Live House (5205 1112/3)

ART EXHIBITS:

Opening:

Bring Me the Head Of …
May 12-Jun 12. Artist Serkan Ozkaya creates a pate shaped like a little bear’s head. You order it off Capital M’s menu, then consume the “artwork” you’ve just purchased. Available at lunch and dinner only. Capital M (6702 2727; see Dining directory)

Last call:

Andrew Wyeth in China
Until May 12. The American master of rural paintings gets his first show in China, where his influence echoed through the early contemporary art movement. Viewings by appointment. Free. YUAN Space (6561 8442)

Ongoing:

Illusive Moments
May 5-May 18. Janek Zdzarski has been capturing this city in black-and-white through all its changes. View her videos and time-lapse photography as part of this year’s Caochangdi PhotoSpring. Free. Chaoyang Culture Center (8599 6011)

Guest: Standing on the Shoulders of Little Clowns
Until May 27. Curated by well-established art co-op MadeIn Company, this show by artist group Guest is an installation in the form of an interactive circus. Could an art exhibit be any more fun? RMB 15. UCCA (5780 0200)

Jennifer Wen Ma: Hanging Garden in Ink
Until May 27. A lush canopy of live plants with their leaves painted in traditional Chinese ink makes you feel you’ve walked onto a scroll. RMB 15. UCCA (5780 0200)

Gu Dexin: The Important Thing Is Not the Meat
Until May 27. Rotting fruit, a sea of plastic and fantastic paintings make up this retrospective
of one of China’s most important avant-garde artists (see Feature, p48). RMB 15, free (students with ID, members). UCCA (8459 9269)

FRAC Collection: 30th Anniversary
Until May 31. France’s Regional Fund for Contemporary Art celebrates 30 years of crucial art funding with a special exhibit of rare photos and videos from its collection. Part of Caochangdi PhotoSpring. Free. China Art Archives and Warehouse (8456 5152)

Jean-Christian Bourcart: Camden
Until May 31. A closer look at Camden, New Jersey – the most dangerous city in America. Part of Caochangdi PhotoSpring. Free. C-Space (5127 3248)

Stefen Chow and Lin Hui-Yi: The Poverty Line
Until May 31. Photographs of what a day’s wages can buy in different parts of the world in an exploration of global poverty. Part of Caochangdi PhotoSpring. Free. Three Shadows Photography Art Centre (6432 2663)

Le Chambre Claire
Until Jun 2. Five Chinese artists explore the role photography plays in art with new experimental works and installations. Free. Taikang Space (5127 3173)

Chen Ke’s Red Road
Until Jun 3. The painter known for her “cute” aesthetic grows up with this first solo show. Free. Red Gate Gallery (6525 1005)

Photo: Akamai.net