Liu Jian’s playful, philosophical animated period drama Art College 1994 is graduating from the festival circuit to broader circulation. The feature-length film will make it U.S. theatrical premiere at the Metrograph in New York City for one week starting tomorrow (Friday, April 19), released through Dekanalog.
About the film: Based on its director’s own experiences on the campus of the Chinese Southern Academy of Arts in the mid-1990s, Art College 1994, which returns to the meticulous hand-drawn 2D animation style of predecessor Have a Nice Day, is Liu’s affectionate, bittersweet group portrait of a pack of would-be geniuses preparing to revolutionize the arts when not locked into impassioned conversations about grunge and Van Gogh.
Its ensemble cast of characters is voiced by a line-up of talent that includes directors Bi Gan and Jia Zhangke, as well as Metrograph retrospective subject Wang Hongwei. A shaggy, Slacker-ish tale from the pre-millennium Middle Kingdom.
Produced by Nezha Bros. Pictures, Modern Sky Ent. and the China Academy of Art’s School of Animation and Games (where Liu is a professor), the 118-minute film took five years to complete, according to producer Yang Cheng. The hand-drawn animation was created by a team of teachers and students at the Academy. Art College 1994 made its world premiere in competition at the Berlinale and went on to screen as an official selection at the New York Asian Film Festival, Annecy International Animation Film Festival and Tokyo International Film Festival. Memento International handles global sales.
Art College 1994 plays In Theater at Metrograph as part of “Liu Jian x 2,” a double bill with the director’s Berlinale breakout animated feature Have a Nice Day, which arrives on Metrograph At Home on April 26.
Visit metrograph.com for showtimes and more programming information at the theater. View the Metrograph at Home catalog and subscribe ($5 per month) at watch.metrograph.com.
