From China to Chennai

Watch six award-winning Chinese films

An Eternal Lamb

The Indo Cine Appreciation Foundation, in association with Embassy of the People’s Republic of China, New Delhi, presents a Chinese Film Festival from September 14 to 18 at the Russian Centre of Science & Culture, 74, Kasthuri Ranga Road. For details, contact 2821 2652.

The line-up

September 14, 6.45 p.m. Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame : Set in 689 A.D., Wu Zetian is building a 66m high statue of Buddha for her inauguration as the first Empress of China, despite objections and conspiracy of the other clans. When the engineer responsible for the construction mysteriously dies, the superstitious workers are afraid…. A fascinating story unravels.

September 15, 3.30 p.m., An Eternal Lamb: Ninety-year-old shepherd Hali recollects the nomadic lifestyle he lived in the Kazakh region of China. As a youth, an old man gives Hali an abandoned lamb to look after. That summer, Hali sets up camp in the steppe with his family, his herd of sheep and Saerbasi. His wealthy neighbour Sudan arranges for his daughter Wukubula to marry her cousin. However, Wukubula does not like her husband-to-be. Hali's uncle Castel is attracted to the young woman… What happens to Wukubala?

September 15, 5.30 p.m. If You Are the One 2: Qin Fen (Ge You) enters a relationship with Liang Xiaoxiao (Shu Qi), despite the fact that she is some 20 years his junior. Two years later, he proposes to her. However, all is not smooth sailing…

September 15, 7.30 p.m., Reign of Assassins: Rewind to the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 AD). Zeng Jing is a skilled assassin who finds herself in possession of a mystical Buddhist monk's remains. She begins a quest to return the remains to its rightful resting place, and thus places herself in mortal danger because a team of assassins is in pursuit to possess the remains which hold an ancient power-wielding secret.

September 17, 6.15 p.m. Aftershock: In Tangshan, truck driver Da Qiang, his wife Yuan Ni and their twin Fang Da and Fang Deng are a happy family. On 27 July 1976, an earthquake destroys Tangshan, and Da Qiang dies. When a collapsed beam traps Fang Da and Fang Deng, Yuan Ni is forced to decide between saving her son or daughter and she chooses her son, Fang Da. However, her daughter Fang Deng overhears her mother's choice and miraculously survives. Thirty-two years later, Fang Deng, married to a Canadian lawyer and living in Vancouver, travels to China as a volunteer in a rescue team. She meets by chance Fang Da and she learns of Yuan Ni all those years. The family is reunited at Yuan Ni's home.

September 18, 6.15p.m. Sacrifice: For generations, the Zhao family has wielded power. In a well-planned coup, their mortal enemy Tu'an Gu slaughters the entire clan, determined to wipe out their influence forever. However, a solitary Zhao baby survives the massacre. A gripping tale unfolds…