9th Spring Film Festival at Shangri-La Plaza Mall Feb 13-22, 2015 (Free Admission)

Love to watch films? Head over to Shangri-la Plaza Mall for the 9th Spring Film Festival, featuring colorful Chinese flicks from Feb 13-22, 2015. The event is organized by the Ateneo de Manila University’s Ricardo Leong Center for Chinese Studies, together with the Cultural Division of the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China, Confucius Institute at the Ateneo de Manila University and the Film Development Council of the Philippines, in cooperation with the Ateneo Celadon and Shangri-La Plaza.

The 9th Spring Film Festival features a line-up composed of works from great Chinese directors along with other exciting flicks from across genres. It aims to promote Chinese language and culture in mainstream Filipino society especially among the youth. 

Check out the list of films below:

Caught in the Web (121mins.) Genre: Comedy-drama

A story that weaves the lives of an employee and an intern. The story takes off when white-collar worker Ye refuses to give up her seat to a senior citizen. Her defiance is videotaped by a journalist intern and gets aired on a news show. The video sparks intense debate on and off the Internet, and soon brings tremendous changes in the lives of both characters.

The Grandmaster (125mins.) Genre: Action

Directed by acclaimed filmmaker Wong KarWai, The Grandmaster, is an epic action feature inspired by the life and times of the legendary kung fu master, Ip Man. The story follows the master, who is also famed for teaching martial artist Bruce Lee, on his adventures during the golden age of Chinese martial arts. The story spans the tumultuous Republican era that followed the fall of China’s last dynasty, a time of chaos, division and war that was also the golden age of Chinese martial arts.

Legend of Kung Fu Rabbit (90mins.) Genre: Animation

China’s first internationally-released animated feature Legend of Kung Fu Rabbit brings in the fun and laughter in this year’s festival. An ordinary rabbit named Tu, who makes pancakes for a living, telepathically gets the ultimate kung fu power after rescuing a dying kung fu master from an attack.   Now, he must harness his newfound gift to save the Kung Fu Academy from the hands of an evil panda. 

Love Deposit (95mins.) Genre: Romance

Romance rules in the movie, Love Deposit. He Muyang opens a cafe named “Bank of Love”, where lovers can come over to video-tape what they want to say to each other, with their lovers not knowing what the message is.  If the lovers break up after a year and do not come back to pick up the tapes, the tapes will then be discarded. The story takes a sweet turn as a girl named Yu Xiaoyu sets out to retrieve her boyfriend’s video from Muyang’s café. In the process of dealing with the cafe owner, He Muyang, she encounters challenges from him and twist in the story happens.

Sunlight on Fingertips (89 mins.) Genre: Family drama

Prepare to be touched with Sunlight on Fingertips which is about the lives of parents who work in the urban city, while their children are left in the county. Shi Xiaohe and Shi Xiaoyu are siblings living in the countryside with their grandfather, while their parents work in the city of Shenzhen. In order to be reunited with their parents again, they need to compete to be selected to join the "See Your Family" trip organized by the county. The heartwarming family drama explores the dynamics of parents who work in the city and their children who are left in the county. 

Beijing Blues (118mins.) Genre: Drama 

Veteran detective Huiling leads a team specializing in catching pickpockets and scammers. The detective has built a name for himself for catching over 1,600 thousand criminals in the streets using his minicam technique to record evidence as he follows his suspects. An ordinary arrest leads to something more explosive as Huiling discovers a scam in which children are used to extract money in fake car accidents. Huiling sets out to hunt his most difficult task, which boils down to a battle of wits.

Feb. 13 (Friday)

12:30 PM Sunlight on Fingertips 

2:30 PM Legend of Rabbit

4:30 PM Love Deposit

8:00 PM The Grandmaster

*by invitation only

Feb. 14 (Saturday)

12:30 PM Legend of Rabbit

3:00 PM Beijing Blues

5:30 PM The Grandmaster

8:00 PM Caught in the Web

Feb. 15 (Sunday)

1:00 PM The Grandmaster

3:30 PM Sunlight on Fingertips

5:30 PM Beijing Blues

8:00 PM Love Deposit

Feb. 16 (Monday)

1:00 PM Beijing Blues

3:30 PM Legend of Rabbit

5:30 PM Caught in the Web

8:00 PM The Grandmaster

Feb. 17 (Tuesday)

1:00 PM Caught in the Web

3:30 PM Love Deposit

6:00 PM Legend of Rabbit

8:00 PM Sunlight on Fingertips

Feb. 18 (Wednesday)

1:00 PM Love Deposit

3:00 PM The Grandmaster

5:30 PM Beijing Blues

8:00 PM Legend of Rabbit

Feb. 19 (Thursday)

1:00 PM Beijing Blues

3:30 PM The Grandmaster

6:00 PM Sunlight on Fingertips

8:00 PM Caught in the Web

Feb. 20 (Friday)

1:00 PM Caught in the Web

3:30 PM Sunlight on Fingertips 

5:30 PM Love Deposit

8:00 PM The Grandmaster

Feb. 21 (Saturday)

1:00 PM Love Deposit

3:30 PM Legend of Rabbit

5:30 PM Beijing Blues

8:00 on Sunlight on Fingertips

Feb. 22 (Sunday)

1:00 PM Caught in the Web

3:30 PM The Grandmaster

6:00 PM Sunlight on Fingertips

8:00 PM Beijing Blues

Explore Chinese culture through colorful flicks in the 9th Spring Film Festival at the Shang. 

Admission is free on a first-come, first-served basis. 

For film schedule and synopses, visit www.facebook.com/shangrilaplazaofficialfanpage. 

Follow Shang on Instagram: @shangrilaplazaofficial