Between December 30th and January 1st, 2023, the 5th edition of the UCCA 2022 "Summer Breeze" festival took place in Beijing's 798 Art District. This avant-garde film workshop has been dedicated to women in cinema this year, featuring distinguished guests from the film industry, the arts, academia, as well as the participation of several embassies and cultural institutes (Romania, Mexico, Finland, Norway, Australia, Hungary, Netherlands, Canada, Uruguay, Peru, Colombia, etc.). The event encompassed film screenings, live discussion sessions, seminars, and presentations from both China and its partner countries.
ICR Beijing supported the participation of director Carina-Gabriela Dașoveanu with her short film "Love Stories On the Move," which was awarded in Cannes in 2021. The film was screened in the UCCA Auditorium during the three days of the festival and was live-streamed at midnight on New Year's Eve on the Youku platform (link: https://vku.youku.com/live/ilproom?id=8146532&sharekey=63ea65bbb7150817d413aca480e574e33).
The film received very positive reviews on Youku, being highly regarded by the Chinese audience as one of the best in the festival. "Love Stories on the Move" portrays the story of a couple - Lili, a 36-year-old taxi driver, and Dani, an amateur fisherman - who are trying to save their marriage. Lili's taxi rides expose her to various love stories, vastly different from her own.
The film won the third prize in the Cinefondation section at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival, as well as the Best Film award at CinemaIubit Festival, Denver International Film Festival, Gopo Awards, and Sundance Film Festival. The cast includes Ilinca Hărnuţ, Andi Vasluianu, Ion Arcudeanu, Cătălina Mihai, Andrei Ivan, and Alina Florescu.
Director Carina-Gabriela Dașoveanu is a student at the Film Directing Department of the "I.L. Caragiale" National University of Theatre and Film in Bucharest.
During the opening ceremony, Andreea-Ema Stoian, project coordinator at ICR Beijing, delivered a presentation titled "18 Most Famous Romanian Women in Culture and Art," showcasing the contributions of prominent Romanian women to global culture and civilization (Martha Bibescu - author of 40 books, one of the smartest and most charming women of the early 20th century in Europe; Cecilia Cuțescu Storck - the first Romanian female professor at a European art university; Maria Tănase, Elena Văcărescu, Hortensia Papadat-Bengescu, Virginia Andreescu-Haret, Ana Aslan, Nadia Comăneci, Haricleea Darclee, and Queen Maria - important pillars of Romanian political and cultural life in the early decades of the 20th century).
At the closing ceremony, Romanian national folklore fragment songs were performed: "Ciocârlia," George Enescu's "Romanian Rhapsody," Ciprian Porumbescu's "Ballad," "Cântă cucul bată-l vina, de răsună Bucovina," and Maria Tănase's "Mărioară from Gorj."
The UCCA Center for Contemporary Art, also known as 尤伦当代艺ੑੑ心, is one of China's most important independent centers for contemporary art in Beijing. It was founded in 2007 as the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art by collectors Guy and Myriam Ullens. Situated in the heart of Beijing's 798 Art District, UCCA attracts over a million visitors annually and ranks 55th on the list of the world's most visited art galleries.
