"Walker series" screening & conversation: Tsai Ming-Liang + Lee Kang-Sheng

40 Arts Circle Drive,Evanston IL 60208

30 September, 2022

Description

Screening & Conversation with:Tsai Ming-Liang & Lee Kang-ShengJOURNEY TO THE WEST (西遊, XĪYÓU) and NO NO SLEEP (無無眠, WU WU MIAN) (2014-2015, Taiwan, France, Hong Kong, approx. 90 min, no dialogue, DCP) Please note early start time: 6:30 PM Beginning in 2012, Tsai and collaborator Lee Kang-Sheng embarked on what has come to be known as the “Walker series”: a suite of meditative performance films that capture Lee, dressed as a Buddhist monk, deliberately traversing public and private spaces across a range of world cities. This screening pairs two essential works from the series, JOURNEY TO THE WEST (2014, 54 min) and NO NO SLEEP (2015, 34 min), in which the filmmaker explores his trademark themes of dislocation, temporal dilation, and queer desire far beyond the limits of narrative cinema. JOURNEY finds red-robed Lee languidly moving through Marseille’s crowded streets, shadowed by iconic French performer Denis Lavant. In NO NO SLEEP, Tsai’s lingering camera takes in the nocturnal landscapes of Tokyo with ravishing results. Following the screening, Tsai and Lee will appear for a discussion moderated by Dr. Jean Ma, professor of Film and Media Studies at Stanford University and author of At the Edges of Sleep: Moving Images and Somnolent Spectators, forthcoming from University of California Press. Presented in partnership with the Ministry of Culture-Taiwan Cultural Center in New York, the Center for East Asian Studies at the University of Chicago, Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Chicago, and Doc Films. Programmed with support from J. Michael Eugenio. Presented as part of Tsai Ming-Liang’s US tour to Cambridge, Chicago, Washington DC, and NYC. Visit tsai2020.com for more information. Image credit: Main still from "No No Sleep" NOTES ON ATTENDANCE: This event is free for all audiences. Please RSVP and arrive early to guarantee seating. Open seating will become available for walk-in guests at 6:30 PM. Image credit: Still from "Journey to the West"