Art College 1994
dir. Liu Jian · 2025
Navigating the tension between tradition and modernity is essential for personal growth and self-discovery.
A group of art students at the Southern Academy of Arts navigates the complexities of love, ambition, and friendship in a rapidly changing China. Watching this film feels like flipping through a nostalgic scrapbook, where each frame captures the bittersweet essence of youth and the struggle to find one's place in a world caught between tradition and modernity.
In the 1990s, a group of students on the campus of the Chinese Southern Academy of Arts are pursuing their studies and preparing to face the world. China is opening up to the West and the students’ lives are a tangle of love stories and friendships, artistic research, ideals and ambitions brought about by new influences. Caught between tradition and modernity, they have to decide who they want to become.
Talking points
- the impact of globalization on identity
- the role of art in self-discovery
- navigating friendships in transitional periods
- the tension between tradition and modernity
