Past screening

Up the Mountain

Directed by: Yang Zhang
Runtime: 2hr 6min Year: 2018
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Details

Directed by: Yang Zhang
Runtime: 2hr 6min Year: 2018
Country: China
Last Screened: Tue 2nd Jul 2019

Shen Jianhua is an artist and teacher who has left Shanghai for a remote mountain settlement in rural China.

The pace of life is worlds away from the bustling city of Shanghai, which Shen left behind for the ancient rituals and traditions of Shuanglang village in Yunnan.

A group of grandmothers from the Bai ethnic minority gossip as they paint beautiful folklorist paintings of the events in their village, in mesmerising colours echoing their vivid clothing.

As time passes, we witness New Year’s Celebrations, dragon dances and seasonal ceremonies. Shen’s apprentice proposes to his girlfriend, and Shen’s pregnant partner gives birth.

Up the Mountain unfolds like a painting and is a masterful insight into the social fabric of this village in remote China, where the inhabitants are preserving a rich culture.