Dance Craze of the West

In 1994, the oil-rich city of Karamay in Northwest China was the site of a horrible fire that killed nearly 300 schoolchildren. The students were performing for state officials and were told to stand by while the officials exited first. After the fire, the story was heavily censored in the Chinese state media. To this day, the families of Karamay have not been allowed to publicly mourn their children.

Fass Black, an accomplished black man in Los Angeles, is bullied to play another record labels music at his disco club, but continually refuses because it ain't groovy enough.

In 2002, Ju Anqi made a film about a tour by the poet Shu through Xinjiang, the most western-lying, autonomous Uyghur province of China. All that we know about Shu is that he plays a poet who sends himself on a business trip - an absurd, satirical starting point that sets the tone for the film. For a variety of reasons, it was not until 2013 that Ju started editing the rough, lyrical material that he had shot in what is now a very restless Xinjiang: it's like an excellent wine that has had time to mature. Structured around 16 poems which he wrote on the road, Shu’s physically exhausting journey takes him along endless rocky roads, passing shabby inns and through impressive landscapes from one prostitute to the next. In its documentary authenticity, Poet on a Business Trip is also an historic document that exudes an atmosphere of loss, providing an unsentimental yet melancholy glimpse of a country in transition and a mirror for the existential irreversibility of time. (c) iffr.com

Set in the late 70s, this gritty and twisted film taps the physical and mental underpinnings of the meaning of the word "brother" in a way reminiscent of the best of late 70s grindhouse and early 80s slashers.

A remote village in southwest China is haunted by traces of its cultural past while its residents piece together their existence. Zhiziluo is a town barely clinging to life. Tucked away in a rugged corner of Yunnan Province, Lisu and Nu minority villagers squat in the abandoned halls of this remote former Community county seat. Divided into three parts, this epic documentary takes an intimate look at its varied cast of characters, bringing audiences face to face with people left behind by China's new economy. A father-son duo of elderly preachers argue over the future of their village church. Two young lovers face a break-up over harsh financial realities. A twelve year-old boy, abandoned by his family, scavenges the hillside to feed himself.

In World War II, an American Air Force pilot of the Flying Tigers was flying over Yunnan province of southern China on a special mission, carrying vital information. He was shot down and captured by Japanese invasion forces. A small rescue party of American GIs teamed up with resistance guerrilla fighters in the minority tribes of the south. The GIs and local guerrilla together conducted an International Rescue of the pilot and his information vital to the war effort.

Documentary series made in China in the early 90s. Agland was an anthropologist and he’d already made a wonderful series in the 80s about the Baka tribe in Cameroon. For Beyond the Clouds, he spent several years in a small town in Yunnan province telling the stories of various characters he met. He focuses on normal people but in doing so tells us about China’s past as well as its present and the monumental change that was coming.

Rock legend and tour bus aficionado Rick Wakeman takes us on a time-travelling trip through the decades in this first-hand account of rockers on the road from the late 1950s to the 80s and beyond. It's a secret history of transport cafes, transit vans, B&Bs, sleepless roadies and of loved ones left at home or, on one occasion, by the roadside. Also audiences both good and bad, and the gigs themselves - from the early variety package to the head clubs, the stadiums, and the pubs.

Have you ever wondered how you will age? Four 60-year-olds, two twilight loves, their love is kind and pure, romantic and intense. In this limited journey of life, before it is too late, one wants to say "I love you!

Sex Drugs and Aids... This controversial musical follows the lives of recovering addicts and people dying of aids in 80s new York in-between two Christmases after Collins is Involved in a race attack and left on the street to die he is saved by angel a trans woman and drag queen as their relationship builds the scary reality creeps in. In the lot Mark and Roger struggling artists can't afford to make RENT as relentless landlord and former friend Benny makes life hell for them all the while Marks ex girlfriend Maureen is protesting the eviction of the homeless on that same lot and her new girlfriend Joanne handles the law side of things. Finally Mimi is a 19 year old in love with Roger but she is addicted to cocaine and the former heroine addict wants nothing to do with her after his last girlfriend committed suicide.

Inspired by historical facts, this film is a story of love and survival against the background of the 1951 Communist ordered deportation of 40,000 landowners and people of non-Romanian origins to the Baragan Plain, the "Romanian Siberia".

The film 'Seven Intellectuals In Bamboo Forest' is based on the history of seven talented intellectuals from the ancient Chinese Wei and Jin Dynasties. Ruan Ji, Ji Kang, Shan Tao, Liu Ling, Ruan Yan, Xiang Xiu and Wang Rong were famous poets and artists at that time. Open and unruly, they used to gather and drink in the bamboo forest, singing songs and playing traditional Chinese musical instruments, in the hope of escaping from earthly life. They pursued individuality, freedom, and liberty. Their remarkable talent and passion made them a notable group in Chinese history. Part 5 is about the return to the city and to reality. We live in the city and belong to it. If any problem arises, we are able to solve it.

Liu Sanjie is a story that originates from the Zhuang minority people; the largest of the minority groups in China. It’s based on the legend of a woman called Liu Sanjie (literally meaning “third sister of Liu family”). Across generations, the story has become an oral tradition amongst these people and similar characters have even been found to exist in other minority cultures. According to legend, Liu Sanjie had the gift of a beautiful singing voice from a very early age. So beautiful was her voice, she could quell anger and raise the spirits of the people around her. The story became famous around China when the movie Liu Sanjie was released in 1960 – a rare musical production in Chinese cinema.

"Huayao Bride in Shangri-la" (2005) features a beautiful and wild village girl of the Hua Yao Yi minority tribe in Yunnan. Dancing with flying dragons, she has to choose between love and her passion for the colourful dances.

The upsurge of going abroad has brought a large number of "left behind". Nai Qing is a "left behind lady" whose husband is far away in San Francisco.

Michael Palin attempts to copy the exploits of fictional character Phileas Fogg, by trying to travel around the world (without flying) in 80 days.

In the high-tech gold rush of modern Silicon Valley, the people most qualified to succeed are the least capable of handling success. Partially inspired by Mike Judge’s own experiences as a Silicon Valley engineer in the late ‘80s, Silicon Valley is an American sitcom that centers around six programmers who are living together and trying to make it big in the Silicon Valley.

The Old Grey Whistle Test is an influential BBC2 television music show that ran from 1971 to 1987. It took over the BBC2 late night slot from "Disco Two", which had been running since January 1970, while continuing to feature non-chart music. It was devised by BBC producer Rowan Ayers. According to presenter Bob Harris, the programme derived its name from a Tin Pan Alley phrase from years before. When they got the first pressing of a record they would play it to people they called the old greys—doormen in grey suits. The songs they could remember and whistle, having heard it just once or twice, had passed the old grey whistle test.

Music and sketches are used to teach children lessons on subjects like nature and technology. Based on an Australian series.

Ry Russo-Young turns the camera on her own past to explore the meaning of family. In the late 70s/early 80s, when the concept of a gay family was inconceivable to most, Ry and her sister Cade were born to two lesbian mothers through sperm donors. Ry’s idyllic childhood was threatened by an unexpected lawsuit which sent shockwaves through her family’s lives and continues to reverberate today.

Set in Shanghai in the late 1910s, Qian Bao Bao is a cunning young woman who assumes the stolen identity of a female instructor at an all-male military academy in order to earn enough money to help her sick mother. During her stay at the academy, Bao Bao finds herself entangled in a complicated love triangle with the flirtatious Xiang Hao and the intelligent Shen Wen Tao, who are both instructors at the academy.

Yin Jing Wan, a young woman from a wealthy merchant family, saved a young man on a train who was escaping from a rivaling warlord manhunt. When she returned home, her parents betrothed her to a childhood friend, but her fiancee was put into prison in Chengzhou for smuggling firearms and illegal western drugs. Jing Wan decided to go to Chengzhou to rescue her fiancee. But she did not know, this trip would completely change her life.

Based on the RPG game The Legend of Sword and Fairy 5, this story is about the prince of demon kingdom Jiang Yun Fan being left in the human world. When he meets a couple of friends, he realizes the importance of friendship and love with humans and fairies, but his father, the king, is going to be killed by the fairies to release his demon power. Will he choose his father,or his lover and his friends?

It’s a story about the eras of the 70s, 80s and 90s; about the rapid development of the great era of love and how to deal with the success and failure of life, self-growth and self-transformation. It’s a drama genre of modern day city life; about singles’ rigid pursuit of love; about the lives of a group of ordinary people. It avoids dramatic negative energy. Instead, it’ll bring forth positive energy to encourage men and women to move positively forward in life and love.

An anthology series of five stories looking at the lives of a group of friends and their families in London’s West Indian community from the late 1960s to the early 80s.

A story about six young individuals with different backgrounds and different outlooks who work hard to build a life for themselves in the big city. Jin Ran gives up his high-paying position abroad for the sake of his love and his dreams. He takes up a job as the Chief Operating Officer of a tourism company and gets reunited with his first love Yuan Lai as he jumps at the chance to pursue her again. Career woman Xu Xin Yi crosses paths with professional gamer Ding Ang to start their lives as a couple but things do not turned out as planned due to an unexpected tragedy. Zhao Cheng Zhi, a lawyer making strides in establishing his own practice, butts heads with intern Shen Shuang Shuang and her bright and bubbly personality brings excitement to his otherwise monotonous life. (Source: ChineseDrama.info)

During the late Tang Dynasty, the lives of people from different social classes never intersected, despite the fact that they lived side-by-side. With his keen sense and a thriving silk trade, Li Qing Liu had worked hard to become one of the most prominent leaders of the upper elite. At the same time, Long Ao Yi was using her quick wit and tenacity to climb her way through the ranks of the Longzhu Clan. Though living entirely different lives, Qing Liu and Ao Yi had both made a name for themselves as two of the strongest leaders of their respective classes.

"Sunshine Home" is a home for the aged founded by Grandma Lin. In a small space that's full of warmth reside a group of elderly people with different personalities. As Grandma Lin suffers from the late stages of liver cancer, she entrusts the nursing home to her granddaughter Ye Xiaomei. At this time, Guo Sanshuang arranges for his grandpa to enter the facility. Being a slick salesman, he wanted to gain access in and out of the nursing home in order to sell health products to the old and earn easy money. Ye Xiaomei and Guo Sanshuang immediately take a dislike for each other. Their post-90s thinking breathes in new vitality into the lives of their elderly counterparts but also gives rise to numerous conflicts. Nonetheless, the touching stories behind each of them brings everyone closer.

Gay Life was a groundbreaking documentary series on London Weekend Television, produced by its London Minorities Unit. Broadcast in 1980, it may have then been the first series devoted to LGBT people and issues on a major television network.

An extended family and four young people are drawn into the world of ska and two-tone music, which exploded from the grass roots of Coventry and Birmingham in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, uniting black, white and Asian youths.