Railroad of Hope

A dramatic history of Pu Yi, the last of the Emperors of China, from his lofty birth and brief reign in the Forbidden City, the object of worship by half a billion people; through his abdication, his decline and dissolute lifestyle; his exploitation by the invading Japanese, and finally to his obscure existence as just another peasant worker in the People's Republic.

Required to retire from his job as a utility man at a Peking Opera theater, Old Han is at loose ends, wandering the backstreets of Beijing looking for something to correct.

Take crime out of police work, and what's left is procedures. In the western sector of Beijing, we follow the tedium of police officers. A rabid dog is loose in Guoli's beat: a gang of police officers hunts it down. Then, word comes from on high to pick up all the dogs in the sector: fear of rabies combines with the dogs' being status symbols of the nouveau riche. Occasionally a criminal is picked up: someone selling porn, someone running a three-card-monte game. Cops smoke, go to meetings, and hold trainings. They patrol on bicycles and enforce edicts. Guoli works nights. He's lazy at home, his wife wants him to do more. Is there any more to do?

Hangzhou, China, the present day. Chen Congming, an associate professor at a medical college who is popular with his students, alarms his superiors with his theory that everyone has the potential to go crazy, and that the dividing line between sanity and insanity is paper-thin.

Niuniu, a wealthy middle aged woman living in Beijing, discovers that her husband is having an affair after coming upon a romantic e-mail. She knows only that it is one of her close friends but not which one. Determined to discover the truth, she invites her friends Qinqin, a ditsy actress, Lala, a successful artist, and Madam Ye, a property developer over to her lavish siheyuan home. There the four women share stories of their sexual past over food and mahjong. Niuniu, however, still has her plan to execute...

A voyage through modern day Beijing in the taxi of the womanising Dezi. His aimless drifting between destinations and women is much like Beijing's own search for identity between perishing ancient values and an uncertain future.

Novice flight attendant Sasha was looking forward to her first flight, but nervous. On the plane, she inadvertently offends a male passenger. He was a handsome and suave man - a typical diamond bachelor. Moreover, he turns out to be thoughtful and considerate. A time passes they become attracted to each other.

Chen Ping protects a young boy named "Christophe" from his kidnappers.

The film is inspired by the story of Hao Wanzhong, a policeman in Ordos, Inner Mongolia. Following his career, through the inner workings of a modern Chinese police department in Inner Mongolia. While rising through the ranks Hao Wanzhong successfully solves difficult cases. His story carries us through vicious murders, corruption, and social unrest, against a backdrop of majestic winter landscapes, opulent cities and the raw industrial districts of this remote region of China. Hao's obsession with detective work leads to his meteoric rise from beat cop to district police chief, however his maniacal dedication comes at a cost, a cost to his family and ultimately leads to his death. - Written by Sean O'Dea

The debut film by Chinese director Ning Ying, starring Shi Puyuan, Fang Zheng, Ma Xiaoqing, and others. Tells the story of a pair of friends who went to the karaoke hall as musicians but were involved in smuggling.

An exploration of the soul of a city, made for the Turin City Government in the occasion of the “European Union Inter-Government Meeting”.

The director's grandfather is a blind fortune teller and his father a real-estate owner. They have grievances against each other for dismantling the old house. Grandfather thinks it's time for him to leave and asks Father to quit his job. At the same time, an accident happens at Father's construction site. They are entangled in dealing with the hatred from the past and the kinship that has always existed.

A film by Ning Ying.

Selected for the Venice Biennale. A short documentary made on the "Commune by the Great Wall": a contemporary architectural museum of private houses designed by 12 Asian artists. (Cinematography: Andre Kawazudi.)

Documentary about China's film industry and the monumental changes in the past 40 years from beginning with propaganda films to the "5th generation" filmmakers and beyond, who embraced art and commercial films to make China the second largest box office market in the world after Hollywood.