The World 2004

Acclaimed director Jia Zhangke casts a compassionate eye on the daily loves, friendships and desperate dreams of the twenty-somethings from China’s remote provinces who come to live and work at Beijing’s World Park. A bizarre cross-cultural pollination of Las Vegas and Epcot Center, World Park features lavish shows performed amid scaled-down replicas of the Taj Mahal, the Eiffel Tower, St. Mark’s Square, the Pyramids and even the Twin Towers. From the sensational opening tracking shot of a young dancer’s backstage quest for a Band-Aid to poetic flourishes of animation and clever use of text-messaging, Jia pushes past the kitsch potential of this surreal setting—a real-life Beijing tourist destination. The Village Voice called Jia Zhangke “the world’s greatest filmmaker under forty,” and THE WORLD is his funniest, most inventive and touching work to date.

Your Mind is Bigger than all the Supermarkets in the World – Some guidance for a Lost Westerner
In 2004 Swedish film-maker Cecilia Neant Falk went to the Nilambe Buddhist Meditation Centre in Sri Lanka. During the retreat she met meditation teacher Upul Nishanta Gamage. Since then Neant Falk has returned to Nilambe, always bringing her camera and microphone. The continuous conversations at 4 p.m. in the afternoons between Cecilia and Upul takes us on an existential journey where a Westerner´s questions on time, memory, art, happiness, work and meaning are answered from a down-to-earth practical Buddhist perspective.

From the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of "The Hours" comes a story that chronicles a dozen years in the lives of two best friends who couldn't be more different. From suburban Cleveland in the 60s, to New York City in the 80s, where they meet an older woman, the film charts a journey of trials, triumphs, loves and losses. Now the question is: can they navigate the unusual triangle they've created and hold their friendship together?

"The World" is a theme park on the outskirts of Beijing, sixteen kilometers from the Chinese capital, designed around scaled representations of the world's famous landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower or the Leaning Tower of Pisa.The site is seen here not from the visitors' point of view but through the eyes of a few of its staff, lonely people, communicating poorly, a bit disillusioned with life, glittering for the tourists but dull and restricted as far as they are concerned. We meet, among others, pretty young dancer Tao and Taisheng, a security guard who is fond of her but not of personal commitment…

In 1980s Kyushu, two teenagers fell in love, and exchanged their secrets and thoughts by way of sending tape recordings to each other. More than a decade later, the boy (now grown-up and bittered) rediscovers the last recording of his long-dead lover's voice. Her words trigger a series of flashbacks illustrating the joyful beginning and tragic end of their relationship.

Everyone carries something, some burden that weighs him down. Some are crushed, others are freed, others just carry on. Eleven characters cross each others paths, unveiling their fears and desires, during the world weightlifting championship.

From the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of "The Hours" comes a story that chronicles a dozen years in the lives of two best friends who couldn't be more different. From suburban Cleveland in the 60s, to New York City in the 80s, where they meet an older woman, the film charts a journey of trials, triumphs, loves and losses. Now the question is: can they navigate the unusual triangle they've created and hold their friendship together?