In 2025, we launched the first IndieChina Film Festival in New York, hoping to create a lasting and open platform for the screening and discussion of Chinese independent cinema. After nearly a year of preparation, we selected more than forty films from different generations and backgrounds and invited filmmakers, curators, and scholars to join us. However, just before the festival was scheduled to open, several participants and people connected to the festival faced pressure and harassment. We ultimately made the difficult decision to suspend the public screenings.
The first edition therefore ended in a way we had never expected. At the same time, the experience made us even more aware of why independent cinema still needs to be seen, discussed, and preserved—and why spaces for different voices to meet remain necessary.
In 2026, we return to New York for the second IndieChina Film Festival. While continuing our commitment to Chinese independent cinema, we are also expanding our perspective through IndieAsia, a new parallel section that will introduce independent films from other parts of Asia and create new connections among filmmakers and audiences across the region.
After everything we experienced last year, the second edition represents both a new beginning and a continuation of our commitment to cinema, independent expression, and exchange across borders.
2025年，我们在纽约发起了第一届IndieChina电影节，希望为中国独立电影建立一个持续、开放的海外放映与交流平台。经过近一年的筹备，我们选择了四十多部来自不同年代和不同创作背景的作品，也邀请了导演、策展人和研究者参与交流。然而，就在电影节即将开幕之际，由于多位参与者及相关人士受到压力和骚扰，我们最终做出了停止公开放映活动的艰难决定。
第一届电影节因此以一种完全出乎意料的方式结束，但它也让我们更加清楚地认识到：独立电影仍然需要被观看、讨论和保存，也需要一个能够让不同声音彼此相遇的空间。
2026年，我们将继续在纽约举办第二届IndieChina电影节。除了继续关注中国独立电影，我们也希望通过新的平行单元 IndieAsia，逐步将视野扩展到亚洲其他地区，与更多独立电影人建立联系。经历第一届之后，第二届对我们而言不仅是一次重新出发，也是对电影、独立表达和跨地域交流的一次继续坚持。
Leave a Reply