Mosquito Cinema: Journey to the West

By on

Rating: 

Average: 5 (1 vote)

“The cinema itself is like coffin with bodies, sitting still, as if under a spell. The moving images on the screen are camera records of events that have already taken place; they are remains of the past, strung together and called a film. In this hall of darkness, ghosts are watching ghosts” - Apichatpong Weerasethakul

In his essay “Ghosts in the Darkness”, Apichatpong Weerasethakul, describes his childhood cinematic experiences. Before the invention of VHS, people would go to theatres as if visiting temples to pay homage, they would wear their best outfits and attend with reverence. Going to the theatre and buying tickets for a movie was almost like attending a sacred ritual; the directors and stars of the movie were like gods in temples. Eventually when VHS was introduced in his town the number of people going to theatres declined. Whereas Apichatpong found other movie gods in other cities, gods like Federico Fellini, Michelangelo Antonioni and Jean-Luc Godard, the former moviegoes disappeared, leading Apichatpong to call them “ghosts“. The term came from a true story that happened in Udon Thani in the north east of Thailand. An outdoor film projectionist was invited to project a movie in front of a temple. The employment came from a mysterious man. The projectionist arrived on time and set up the projector and screen in front of the temple. At dusk, the audiences came and took their seats, their faces stern with indifference and they sat quietly throughout the film. As the film ended and one by one the audience members left, the morning light broke through the clouds, the projectionists could clearly see that he had in fact been showing the film in the middle of a cemetery. Those who pass on still maintain their lifetime habits, illusion is desired by both the living and the dead.

In Taiwan we are not unfamiliar with the outdoor film projectionists and tradition of 'mosquito cinema'. Before television and VHS arrived on this island, the outdoor projectionists were the busiest men on the street. In the 1980s illegal gambling “Da Jia Le” (which literally means “everybody is happy”) overwhelmed the island and was so popular that people went to temples to ask for luck and even went to the cemetery to seek help from ghosts. When the gamblers won they would hire the projectionist to screen a film to thank the gods and the ghosts.

While researching this cinematic tradition we visited the studio and personal archive of Mr. Hsu in Pingtung, one of the few outdoor projectionists still active in Taiwan. He maintains a diverse collection of traditional celluloid film projectors and has been in this business for over 50 years, witnessing the rise and fall of mosquito cinema. For this special event we have invited Hsu to screen a 35mm film that he used to play in the temple ceremony and share his experience as a witness to the history of the mosquito cinema.

The event draws on the ongoing research for upcoming exhibition “Every Film is an Enigma: Moving Images in Black Box and White Cube” curated by The Other Cinema Collective in May 2017 at Soulangh Cultural Park and the conclusion of George Clark’s period as artist in residence in Tainan.

Organiser: The Other Cinema Collective & George Clark
Co-organiser: Soulangh Cultural Park, Tsung-yeh Arts and Cultrual Centre, National Culture and Arts Foundation.

For more Info: https://www.facebook.com/cinemaundead/

Image Gallery: 

Venue: 

Dates: 

Saturday, May 14, 2016 - 18:00 to Sunday, May 15, 2016 - 17:55

Category: 

Dates: 

Saturday, May 14, 2016 - 18:00 to Sunday, May 15, 2016 - 17:55
  • 5 TsungYeh, Nanshi Village, Madou District
    721   Tainan
    Taiwan
    Phone: +886 06-5718123
    23° 11' 5.2044" N, 120° 15' 58.104" E