Where do we begin to tell this story of two cinemas?

Chinese cinema enjoyed tremendous development during the 1920s and 30s, helping put Shanghai on the map as a modern, prosperous city.  Yet it was also plagued by political and social upheavals, especially in the 1930s and 40s.  Shanghai residents fled in drove to Hong Kong, among them filmmakers who brought with them not only capital, resources and talents but also a more developed cinematic culture, established production modes and proven distribution systems, occasioning a great boon to the Hong Kong film industry.

To celebrate the long and rich cultural ties between the two cities, the Hong Kong Film Archive is teaming up with the Shanghai Film Museum and the Shanghai Film Archive to organise an exhibition.  Artifacts that exemplify the wondrous connections between the cities will be showcased at the Shanghai Film Museum, including posters of Hong Kong films set in Shanghai and a number of qipaos that had been worn by glorious stars on the screen in the 1950s to 90s.  A series of screenings and seminars will also be presented, kicked off by the screening of Struggle (1933), the only surviving work of the important Shanghai studio Unique as well as one of the earliest sound films in Chinese history.  Considered lost for more than half a century, Struggle, now digitally restored, will return to the screen in Shanghai for the first time.

Screenings:

Date	Time	Shanghai Film Museum	Shanghai Film Archive
2/11 Sat	2:30pm	Struggle (Restored Version) (1933)	Struggle (Restored Version) (1933)
	7:00pm	Eighteen Springs (1997)	Song of China (1935)
3/11 Sun	1:30pm	Song of China (1935)	Sable Cicada (1938)
	7:00pm	Center Stage (Director’s Version) (1992)	Orioles Banished from the Flowers (1948)
9/11 Sat	1:30pm	Sable Cicada (1938)	Shanghai Blues (1984)
	7:00pm	The Soong Sisters (1997)	Center Stage (Director’s Version) (1992)
10/11 Sun	1:30pm	Orioles Banished from the Flowers (1948)	The Soong Sisters (1997)
	7:00pm	Shanghai Blues (1984)	Eighteen Springs (1997)