The fourth CMEFF International Biennial of Audiovisual Ethnomusicology, hosted by the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, coincides with the 120th anniversary of Chinese cinema this year.
An immersive journey of film and music was unveiled with the fourth CMEFF International Biennial of Audiovisual Ethnomusicology in Shanghai on Wednesday.
The five-day event, hosted by the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, coincides with the 120th anniversary of Chinese cinema this year. The CMEFF refers to the Chinese Musics Ethnographic Film Festival, which was launched in the city in 2019.
This year, the CMEFF received 93 film submissions from home and abroad. A record 55 films were selected for the final program, covering contemporary musical life, instrumental traditions, folk songs, narrative singing, opera, festivals, and ritual practices across multiple domains.
Through July 20, an array of films will be exhibited, including the 1940 historical documentary "Minzu Wansui" (Long Live the Nations), directed by famed filmmaker Zheng Junli. This film serves as a visual testament to the multi-ethnic support during Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931-1945) and remains a rare and invaluable ethnographic resource within the National Film Archive.
The historical documentary "Long Live the Nations," directed by famed filmmaker Zheng Junli is being exhibited.
Directed by Justin Scholar and Bai Mengwei, "String Wave: Tian Jinqin and the String-Controlled Instrument" focuses on the development of a new electric musical instrument that is inspired by traditional Chinese instruments like guzheng (Chinese zither) and erhu (a Chinese two-stringed fiddle).
"Mannoi" is directed by Irene Coni from Italy, adopting a deep participatory filming technique. It faithfully records the knowledge system, performance skills, and ritual practices of the older generation of bell-striking people in an old Italian town, while presenting the efforts made by young inheritors to continue this tradition.
In addition to the film exhibition, the event also invites international film professionals to give keynote lectures. Georgetown University's Benjamin Harbert will talk about city soundscapes and experimental urban film language, drawing on examples like Berlin and New York city symphonies.
Harvard University's Richard Wolf will share his views on the artistic, scientific, and socially engaged nature of ethnomusicological filmmaking based on his long-term fieldwork along the Tajik-Afghan border and in the Nilgiri Hills of South India.