Apr 23, 2024

Chinese Indie Feature Film "Art College 1994" to Debut in U.S. on Friday

The Chinese independent animation "Art College 1994" will open theatrically this Friday (April 26) at the Metrograph in Manhattan. The film is the third feature-length work by Liu Zhen, who has proven himself to be one of the boldest and most accomplished independent voices on the Chinese animation scene.

In conjunction with the premiere of this new film, Metrograph will also present a revival of Liu's earlier film, Have A Nice Day, which the Annecy Animation Festival was forced to exclude from competition in 2017 due to Chinese government pressure.Have A Nice Day" will also be available for streaming this Friday via the Metrograph At Home app.

Beginning May 3, Art College 1994's U.S. distributor Dekanalog will screen the film at Laemmle Noho in LA and Cinestudio in Hartford, CT. Other cities have yet to be determined.

"Art College 1994" premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival last year and was also screened at the Animation Is Film Festival in Annecy and Los Angeles. Liu drew inspiration from his experience attending the China Southern Academy of Fine Arts in the mid-90s, which, according to the Metrograph, "was set against the backdrop of reforms opening China to the Western world, struggling to find a balance between tradition and modernity, and passionate conversations about grunge and Van Gogh. When they're not doing so, it's an affectionate, bittersweet ensemble piece about students preparing to revolutionize the arts."

The 118-minute 2D hand-drawn film was five years in the making and, uniquely, was produced by teachers and students at the art school of the China Academy of Art, where Liu is a professor. The voice cast includes Chinese director Bee Gan, director Jia Zhang-ke, and actor Wang Hongwei.