\"The Bund\" opened MIDA 2010

"The Bund," the latest offering from acclaimed documentary film maker Zhou Bing yesterday opened the Magnolia International Documentary Awards (MIDA), a special independent section of the ongoing 16th Shanghai Television Festival.

 

The documentary film\'s premiere at UME International Cineplex received rave reviews from both critics and audience.

 

Famous for "The Forbidden City" and "The Palace Museum in Taipei," Zhou has rich experience in making historical documentaries. This one-hour flick took him more than one year to produce.

 

It tells the story of the making of the Bund: from its beginnings as a muddy foreshore to its cosmopolitan reinvention.

 

Displaying the unique buildings in Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance and Art Deco styles, Zhou also explores the historical and social context of the area and profiles its many key figures and organizations from a unique angle.

 

The film\'s international version will be aired on National Geographic Channel later this year and its five-episode documentary series version will soon complete production.

 

"The Bund is actually a living giant and a witness to the huge development of the city over the past decades," said director Zhou.

 

During the festival, 50 award-winning documentary works - both domestic and foreign, will be shown at four local theaters, including Broadband International Cineplex, Studio City Cinema, Metropol Cinema and UME International Cineplex.

 

A special tribute will be paid to Ogawa Shinsuke, during which his "Summer in Narita" and "Nippon-koku Furuyashiki-mura" will be shown. Many documentary directors will also join the MIDA Panorama and take Q and A session with audience.

 

As a MIDA summit, the EAA (European, American and Asian) Documentary Forum invites representatives from major international documentary festivals and outstanding documentary directors, producers, critics and industry leaders to exchange the latest ideas and technologies of making documentaries, discuss the current situation of documentaries and documentary producers in different continents and explore the possibilities of transnational co-productions.

 

In addition to documentary exhibition and forum, the MIDA section also features the "DocuChina" selection of promising documentary proposals by young talented documentary directors.

 

This year\'s theme for their outlines and pitches is "Asia in the Next Second." The winning proposals will receive funding for production from the festival.

 

The coveted MIDA Award will be held Thursday night. The awards have four competitive categories, including Social Documentary, History and Biography Documentary, Nature Documentary and Asian Documentary.