Amber Zhang

    chanwenzhang@yahoo.com.cn

    IF you have had enough of seeing commercial blockbusters at movie theaters, there is an alternative. Some of the city’s book bars screen indie movies.

    Unlike theaters that focus on box office revenue and therefore strive to screen the most spectacular rather than the most edifying movies, book bars regularly show movies that are both moving and thought-provoking.

    Without a big screen, the atmosphere when watching a movie at a book bar reminds me of the good old days attending lectures in college. The audience take their seats around the screen and the organizer will introduce the movie before the beginning and hold a discussion with the audience after the end.

    Sometimes directors of indie movies will come and join the discussion. It’s a totally different experience from watching a blockbuster at a multiplex.

    Ozu Book Bar is my favorite place at which to watch such movies. The bar is named after Japanese film director Ozu Yasujiro and aims to attract movie buffs with well-selected movies. Every Wednesday, an arthouse movie by a European director is shown.

    Then, four movies by one director or on one theme are shown on consecutive Saturdays or Sundays.

    In the past two weeks, the book bar has hosted a special series with the theme “folk memories,” screening movies by directors Zhang Mengqi, Zou Xueping, Wang Hai’an, Luo Bing and Wen Hui. The movies are based on what the directors heard from the elderly in their home villages about the famine of 1959 to 1961 in China. It’s interesting to compare the movies with Feng Xiaogang’s “Back to 1942,” a blockbuster about another famine two decades earlier.

    The book bar can hold up to 40 people for one screening. Advertisements for the events are often posted on douban.com, a website devoted to music, movies and books.

    “To ensure you get a seat, come before 7:30 p.m., when the screening begins,” suggested Yang Lin, manager of Ozu. “If too many people want to watch a certain movie, we sometimes arrange for it to be played again at the request of the audience,” she told Shenzhen Daily.

    The indie movie nights have been a fixture at Ozu since the book bar opened two years ago. Order 20 yuan (US$3) worth of drink and you can sit in a comfortable sofa through a screening.

    As well as the movies themselves, the discussions and lecture have also inspired people.

    Kristin Chen, a student at Shenzhen Polytechnic, works part-time at Ozu. “Talking with movie directors has caused me to develop an interest in screenwriting,” she said. “I met director Yang Long here and participated in the making of his movie ‘Huaqiang North.’ The movie features various people who make their living in the Huaqiang North area in Futian District.”

    “I was not an indie movie fan before I met Yang. After sharing ideas with him and joining his project, I came to understand him and like indie movies,” she said.

    Nicolas Bober, a regular moviegoer, has become a frequent guest at Ozu. “I like movies, whether they are played at a theater or in a book bar. I have a fondness for French movies, and especially enjoyed the series of movies shot some 50 years ago that were featured at Ozu this summer. I also enjoy the group discussion,” said Bober, a French expat who has been in Shenzhen for three years. He gave the interview in fluent Chinese.

    With a strong interest in movies, Sunflower has been organizing movie screenings for seven years. He is the head of the 10-year-old Shenzhen Indie Movie Society (深圳独立电影社). He has screened hundreds of movies at Shenzhen Book City CBD store, Ozu and other places around the city.

    “Unlike blockbusters that feature movie stars and expensive special effects, indie movies are varied and have their unique styles. I don’t want to judge commercial movies. As a movie fan, I just want to offer a wider selection for audiences,” he said.

    Those interested can check out Shenzhen events of indie movies at http://site.douban.com/sunflower/.