Presented by Marianne & Sheldon Lubar

The Milwaukee Film Festival is proud to announce the line-up for its second annual Passport program. After a successful first year showcasing India (both Bollywood and beyond), the 2012 Passport program will focus on the most populous nation in the world, China.

Passport: China will spotlight a selection of films—both documentary and fiction—made by both Chinese and foreign filmmakers. All are set in mainland China, and explore historical and contemporary themes, as well as the issues the country faces as a global power still working to modernize many of its regions.

Passport: China line-up:

11 Flowers – Set in 1975, in the final days of China’s Cultural Revolution, this moving film tells the story of an 11-year-old boy in the countryside and his strange encounter with a fugitive from the law. Acclaimed director Wang Xiaoshuai’s (Shanghai Dreams, Beijing Bicycle) film 11 Flowers is based upon his personal experiences during that era.

China Heavyweight – In central China, a Master coach recruits poor rural teenagers and turns them into Western-style boxing champions. The top students face dramatic choices as they graduate—should they fight for the collective good, or for themselves? Celebrated director Yung Chang (Up the Yangtze) brings us this riveting sports documentary filled with astute social commentary.

High Tech, Low Life – An award-winning documentary following the journey of two of China’s first citizen reporters as they travel the country, chronicling under-reported news and social issues stories. Armed with laptops, cell phones, and digital cameras, they develop skills as independent one-man news stations while learning to navigate China’s evolving censorship regulations and avoiding the risk of political persecution.

Let the Bullets Fly – A masterful action-filled comedy (and China’s highest-grossing domestic film of all time) set in 1920's China as corrupt government officials and marauding gangs of bandits run rampant. Hyper-intelligent Pocky Zhang and his much feared Mah-jongg Gang execute a routine train robbery, but instead of finding material riches, Zhang finds a con-man who promises something much more valuable. This leads to an escalating series of ultra-violent (and often hilarious) mind-games, with the stakes quickly rising to ludicrous proportions as Hong Kong action legend Chow Yun-fat enters the fray as a conniving crime lord.

Old Dog – This poetic story about contemporary Tibet’s changing society combines equal parts melancholy and humor to tell the tale of a family on the Himalayan plains who face a series of personal challenges amidst a few unfortunate separations from their very valuable dog. Director Pema Tseden is considered the leading filmmaker of the recently-emerging New Tibetan Cinema.
 

Romancing in Thin Air – After a public break-up and humiliation, a famous actor ends up in the middle of Yunnan province at a small inn and begins to fall for the inn’s proprietor, who herself is recovering from a loss. Milwaukee Film Festival favorite Johnnie To (Vengeance, 2010; Don’t Go Breaking My Heart, 2011) returns with this high concept romantic comedy starring two of Hong Kong cinema’s biggest stars Louis Koo and Sammi Cheng.

Sacrifice – Written and directed by master filmmaker Chen Kaige (Farewell My Concubine), Sacrifice is a tale of Shakespearean proportions focusing on a newborn prince whose entire family is wiped out by a rival general who ruthlessly seizes the throne. The doctor who delivers the young prince does everything he can to save this last young survivor of the bloodline, and secretly raises him until he’s old enough to participate in a plot for revenge.

The complete 2012 Milwaukee Film Fesival program line-up will be released on September 8 at the WMSE Backyard BBQ in Catherdral Square. Tickets for all films will go on sale September 12 for Milwaukee Film members and September 13 for the general public.