We are pleased to announce the first RAS film screening of the autumn: on 11 September we will watch Beijing Bicycle (2001), which is the work of the Shanghai-born director Wang Xiaoshuai (王小帅).

In the days when the affluent in Beijing switch to driving cars, there are still many who cannot afford such a luxury. Country boy Guei relies on his bicycle to keep his job as a delivery man on the teeming streets of Beijing. When his bike is stolen, he is determined to find it and get it back.

Deep in the lanes of city centre lives a boy named Jian who longs for a bicycle so that he can look cool in front of his friends and ride along with his girlfriend. When the two boys find they need the same bike for livelihood and identity, they clash. Family dynamics, friendship, love, money and betrayal, along with the stark distinctions between rich and poor, old and new, city and countryside, are all reflected in this story of a stolen bicycle.

The film won the Silver Bear award of the 51st Berlin International Film Festival. When it was re-released in 2011, it won six categories including Best Drama, Best Photography and Best Director at the 38th Taiwan Golden Horse Awards.