HAINAN FILM FESTIVAL: ISLAND MENTALITY

The Hainan Island International Film Festival in China’s Sanya is back on again after a cancelation earlier this month at short notice. The festival, overseen and curated by Marco Mueller, will operate Dec. 18-25 and open with a premiere screening of “Post Truth.” The film directed by and starring Da Peng, is built on the premise that it is never easy to refute a rumor. The story follows a seller of cemetery plots who is determined to rehabilitate the reputation of one of his deceased clients. The film is set for commercial release on Dec. 31. While the details of Mueller’s competition sections have still not been revealed, components of the other sections contain many of the most accomplished international films of the past year. “Jeong Sun,” “Riceboy Sleeps” and “Tora’s Husband” appear in the Fest Best section. “Almost Love,” “In Viaggio,” “My Imaginary Country” and “Walk Up” appear in the Fest Best Masters section. The Panorama section is home to “Ajoomma,” “Arnold is a Model Student,” and “A Man,” among others.

For nearly three years China has operated one of the world’s strictest anti-COVID campaigns, whereby mass testing, instant lockdowns and other restrictions could be triggered by just a handful of confirmed infections. That was the case in Hainan Province just a few weeks ago and caused the festival to call an abrupt halt to its preparations. However, in the last week, China has ditched many of the measures, effectively allowing the festival to go ahead. Public reactions are difficult to determine. Not only will the festival compete directly against “Avatar: The Way of Water,” which releases in China on Friday, anecdotal evidence suggests that COVID infections are now on the rise in China and that in many places people are sheltering at home all over again.

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