Richard Bolisay from the Philippines, who took part in this year’s Critics Academy of the Locarno Festival, provides his insights into some of the Chinese entries at this year's edition of the event, which ended at the weekend. Locarno Festival has always been known for featuring a diverse range of films from all over the world, and this year has been exceptionally strong for Chinese-language films and works with strong ties with Chinese culture and people. What these films offer is not just a look into their nuanced lives but also a criticism of living in society filled with dread, anxiety, and longing, critical but also with occasional glimmers of hope and humour. The winner of the Pardo d'Oro this year is the Chinese-speaking Singaporean film A Land Imagined, whose central character, Wang, is a construction worker from China. Directed by Yeo Siew Hua, the film has a curious structure: It begins with two policemen looking for Wang and proceeds to show Wang before he goes ...
