Past Event

Blue Oyster is proud to present 'Life Imitation' (2016) the first feature film by Chinese artist Chen Zhou who recently travelled to Dunedin from Shanghai to undertake the Blue Oyster Caselberg Trust 2017 Summer Residency. Presented at Rialto Cinema, free of charge, this one-off screening celebrates the conclusion of the residency and is a rare opportunity to view an internationally renowned work right here in Dunedin.

'Life Imitation' is a feature-length, non-fiction film and expanded documentary that parallels game imagery with images from daily life. 'Life Imitation' blurs virtual and real world exploring reality, dream and virtuality and a group portrait of contemporary Chinese urban youth. Bringing the viewer in and out of the fragmented daily lives of young people with its own rhythm, the film reveals their confusion and pain, fantasy and struggle. In viewing this work you will feel both the texture of their city and the daily life that encircles them. Ultimately, the film encourages you enter your own inner world, finding some relief, gaining some comfort, or generating some doubt. 

Recently premiered at the 2017 Copenhagen International Documentary Film Festival, 'Life Imitation' won the NEW:VISION Award. According to the jury, 'Life Imitation' “creates an intimate portrait of the performance of the self in a hypermediated world, calmly casting an insistent gaze on shifting experiences of sociality, gender, and technology.”

Note to those attending: Rialto’s small Cinema 5 holds only 44 seats so to guarantee a seat please arrive as early as poosible, doors open from 6pm.

This residency was supported by an arts grant from the Asia New Zealand Foundation that enabled Chen Zhou to travel to Dunedin, and residency accommodation was provided by residency partners the Caselberg Trust.