The Chinese Independent Film Archive (CIFA) has been officially launched at Newcastle University. The launch was marked by a successful two-week programme in late September and early October, consisting of a large-scale multi-media exhibition; a poster exhibition; a film series of 19 films that were shown for the first time in the UK with post-screening Q&As with 16 filmmakers; a one-day symposium; four roundtables; and a journal issue launch.
CIFA is home to nearly 800 independent films, their associated material culture, over 140 oral history video interviews with a wide range of stakeholders, and other collections. It is the only archive of its kind in the world, established with the help of a research grant from the UK Arts and Humanities Research Council. The archive hopes to draw attention to this unique, significant, but marginalised film culture, and encourage the use of the collections at CIFA for research on, and the teaching of, modern and contemporary China, over a wide range of subject areas.
Located on the second floor in the Old Library Building at Newcastle University, CIFA is open to students, researchers, and the general public, on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, from 9:30am to 5:30pm. It provides access to a large collection of films and video interviews, intended to enhance the understanding of Chinese cinema, history, and society.
To make a reservation to visit CIFA, please click this link.
Luke Robinson <lahrobinson@icloud.com>