If you love bikes, and you love film, prepare to be in your element. For the very first time, the international Bicycle Film Festival will be stopping in China for a celebration of cycling through film, art and music.
The festival has visited more than 60 cities through its 15-year history, and is being supported by a host of Shanghai brands including Factory Five and Becycle. This inaugural Shanghai festival will include a photo exhibition launching on Thursday 5 November together with an opening party, plus a series of outdoor film screenings at Anken Air on Zhenning Lu. These will be the first events there, at what is a brand new outdoor cinema complex (complete with inflatable dome in case of that unpredictable Shanghai precipitation). And, just because you can never have too many parties, there will also be an after-party as the festival draws to a close, on Saturday 7 November.
If you thought the only film about bikes was the neorealist classic (but highly depressing) Bicycle Thief, prepare to be contradicted. The festival will show a range of screenings of international films from the last thirty years, including Frédéric Favre’s Cyclique, which follows three Lausanne bicycle messengers at turning points in their lives.
Most screenings are short films rather than feature length, with plenty worth checking out, including; Bikelordz, about the self-invented bicycle BMX culture in Ghana; My Ride, about Britain’s only female Muslim bicycle group; the 2012 Estonian film Sister Session, about the growing women’s BMX community; and the 1985 comedy On Time, following a bicycle messenger through the perilous New York streets.
The 37-minute Lucas Brunelle Goes to Chernobyl also promises to be a must-see; the film follows a group of friends returning to explore by bicycle the exclusion zone at the Chernobyl power plant in Ukraine.
And let’s not forget the bizarre-sounding Belle Epoch (3 minutes), where Italian cyclist Giuliano Calore rides some of Europe’s steepest mountain roads – while playing different musical instruments. And why not?
All in all, there’s plenty to be excited about and we suggest you snap up a ticket, available at Factory Five's store or through their WeChat, Taobao or online shops.
The Bicycle Film Festival is at Anken Air from Thursday 5-Monday 9 November.
Click 'Read more' for the complete schedule.