Chinese Visual Festival 2012

2012 is not just the year of the London Olympics: it's also the Year of the Dragon and the 2nd Chinese Visual Festival, which runs from 22nd June to 6th July across four central London venues with the theme ‘Run, China, Run’, tying in with the Olympics Games. Hosting the 2008 Beijing Olympics has affected Chinese society profoundly, far more than envisaged, and this year’s festival looks at the ‘aftershock’ of the games through a variety of Chinese films, art and music. The festival will hold its Opening Gala on June 22nd, the eve of the Dragon Boat Festival, and over the following two weeks will feature 17 independent documentary films from China, director Q&A sessions, an art exhibition and artist talk by Wu Xiaohai, Chinese pipa playing from musician Wang Ting and performances in Mandarin of the musical ‘Sweet Charity’ by Boulevard Productions.