London Chinese Independent Film Festival

A rare chance to catch nine documentaries and feature-length films banned in mainland China, all of which deal with the seamier or alternative sides of contemporary life in the country. Ai Xiaming's 'Why the Flower is so Red' for example documents the story of a lawyer sentenced to five years in prison for daring to sue the state over building unsafe schools, Xu Tong's moving 'Fortune Teller' offers a candid look at the lives of people living on the fringes of society, and Wu Wenguan's 'Bumming in Beijing', eleven years on from its release, still says reams about the difficulty of being an artist in China. See the website for full details.