Avant-Garde Decade

Highlights the rebellious young generation of artists in China fighting for political emancipation, artistic freedom and creating a cultural golden age during the 1980s - a significant decade of transformational change. Interweaving six main characters' memories with the director's personal narration, the film embarks on an emotional journey and tells a story of being passionate and idealistic before dreams are dashed to pieces.

In 1989, a group of avant-garde artists who had collaborated in private for years received permission to organize their own exhibition at the National Art Museum of China. However, one of the terms was to exclude performance artists from participating. The seven artists who were left out took action. At the opening ceremony, their lives changed as the sounds of gunfire rang out.

This documentary follows the whole process of a celestial burial ceremony in Tibet. It shows Tibetan religious customs, arts, and many vanishing life styles.

Independent documentary by Jiang Yue.

A documentary on the XVII Karmapa of Tibet. The film also presents the spiritual life of Tibetan Buddhists in the 1990s through interviews.

The Wen brothers, Wen Pulin and Wen Puqing -- as director and cinematographer, respectively -- document the social conditions, customs, and spiritual life of Buddhist nuns in Minqiong mountain near Lhasa, China in the 1990s.

Third short film on Tibet, 'Murals and Stone Carvings of Lama Temple,' from Wen Pulin's Archive of Chinese Avant-Garde Art.

On Tomb Sweeping Day, in 1988, a film crew set out for the monument of the Tangshan earthquake to shoot a memorial ceremony for the victims. This marked the beginning of shooting for a documentary called "The Great Earthquake." The crew continued to shoot through the rest of 1988, even staging a large-scale rock 'n' roll concert and performance art event on the Great Wall, and into 1989, including footage shot at the famous 1989 Avant-Garde Art Exhibition, where one artist fired two gun shots at her exhibit. More footage was shot during the Tiananmen protests, up until the events of June 4th shut down production for good. Shortly before, a two-hour "rough cut" was assembled by main director Wen Pulin and Assistant Director Hao Zhiqiang, which screened only once (and is preserved at University libraries in the U.S.). The footage has been recycled in some of Wen's later films, notably "China Action," but "The Great Earthquake" itself was never finished.

A documentary film showing the oldest street in Lhasa, Bajiao St., also called Bakhor or Baghor), located in the town center. In the past, Bajiao was only used as a ritual circumambulation route, "a saint road" in the eyes of the Tibetans. Now it's developed into an old shopping district with colorful Tibetan houses lining the street, and the ground paved with man-made flagstones, preserving its ancient look. The film also shows the social conditions, customs, and spirtual lives of the Tibetan inhabitants.

Qingpu is a famous sacred mountain in Tibet, where countless monks have practiced for thousands of years. In 1989, Wen Pulin and Duan Jinchuan followed several monks up the mountain and took video of them. After three years, they revisited the same people and got a little closer to understanding their lives. As an in-depth dialogue with down-to-earth, rural people in Tibet, the film strives to understand Buddhism both as a philosophy, but also as a personal choice of lifestyle, as a transcendence of the chaos of life.

Short film on Tibet #1, 'Tibetan Artist Visit,' from Wen Pulin's Archive of Chinese Avant-Garde Art.

The Wen brothers, as director and photographer of the film, documented their 10 years of journey in Tibet, from 1989 to 1999. Their film investigates the social conditions, customs, and the spiritual life of Tibetans.

The Dege Printing House, founded in the early 18th century, is one of Tibet’s most important cultural and religious centers. It preserves scriptures from many Tibetan Buddhist traditions and continues the traditional craft of hand-carved woodblock printing. Its texts are distributed worldwide, while its architecture, frescoes, sculptures, and thangka art preserve important aspects of Tibetan cultural heritage.

A documentary about politically-charged Chinese performance art -- contains footage of the most significant performance art activities that took place in Mainland China during the 1980s and 1990s.

In 1993, on the 100th anniversary of Mao Zedong’s birth, Wen Pulin mobilized the “Sun 100” series of artistic activities, staging programs at official institutions featuring avant-garde artists in Mao’s hometown, Shaoshan. The film "Sun 100" was intended to be a document of that work, representing the country and the nation thinking about a specific quandary: What is the spiritual heritage that's been left behind by Mao Zedong, if there is any at all? Wen planned for the film to show at the 1994 Hong Kong Film Festival, but withdrew it, and has never finished it, stating that his own views on Mao have shifted. 17 discs worth of footage (roughly 28 hours) from the unfinished film are included in the Wen Pulin Avant-Garde Art Archive held at Cornell University in the U.S.

The Wen brothers lived and traveled together with the living lama, Bajia, in Beijing and to his homeland in Ganzi Zangzu Zizhizhou in 1990s. This film documents that period. With the Wen brothers' help, Bajia made his dream come true -- building a Buddhist temple in his homeland.