| Floating Melon | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Floating Melon (Fu Guo) English Poster | |
| Directed by | Roberto F. Canuto Xu Xiaoxi |
| Written by | Roberto F. Canuto Xu Xiaoxi |
| Produced by | Leng Zhiwen |
| Starring | Vincent Chen Xi Celia Yu Yinmeng Wen Sirui Xu Xu Ariel Pei Zimu Li Wen Maggie Xue Zhu |
| Cinematography | Guo Yong |
| Edited by | Roberto F. Canuto Xu Xiaoxi |
| Music by | Andrea Centazzo |
Production company | Almost Red Productions |
Release date |
|
Running time | 19 minutes |
| Countries | China Spain |
| Languages | Mandarin Sichuanese Dialect |
Floating Melon (Original Chinese: 浮果; pinyin: Fu Guo; lit. 'floating fruit'; Spanish title Sandía amarga) is a 2015 Spanish and Chinese co-production drama film written and directed by Roberto F. Canuto and Xu Xiaoxi. It is a low budget independent short movie produced by Almost Red Productions (China) in association with Arkadín Ediciones (Spain). It was shot in Chengdu, using the local dialect of the region, the Sichuanese Mandarin.
The film has a strong film noir influences and represents the second part of the work Invisible Chengdu, a trilogy that focuses on characters that usually are kept underground and discriminated in the Chinese society and often not well represented in the silver screen. The first part is the film Ni Jing: Thou Shalt Not Steal (2013) and the last part Sunken Plum (to be released in 2017).[1]
Floating Melon is performed by non professional actors and it includes themes very delicate, often censured in China, specially the representation of the homosexuality in young people, a community that need to protect themselves due to the lack of protective laws in the country. The story is partially based in true events, but the atmosphere is close to the Film Noir genre, to reflect the only situation where queer people can express themselves, community that needs to live in the shadows of the night in the Chinese society.[2] It tells the story of Xiao Cheng, a young Chinese guy that ask for help to a friend to resolve a big trouble, the guy with whom he spend the afternoon is dead on his bed from the effect of a drug, not something the Chinese authorities look kindly on.
The film premiered in Spain at the 53rd FICXIXON, Gijón International Film Festival in November 2015 and in China at the Art Gallery Shujingtang Alley Art Space in Chengdu (Sichuan) in June 2016. It received an Audience Award at the 15th Aviles Acción Film Festival (Spain)[3] and the Audience Choice Award and Best Cinematography Award (Guo Yong) at the III Asturian Film Festival of Proaza 2016 (Spain). In the first 12 months after the release it has been presented in over 40 international film festivals in Europe, America, Asia and Africa.
- ^ "Roberto F. Canuto finaliza un nuevo rodaje en China con el director Xu Xiaoxi (Roberto F. Canuto finishes a new shoot in China with the director Xu Xiaoxi)" (in Spanish). La Nueva España (newspaper), Spain. 11 October 2016. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
- ^ Alderiques d'asturies (9 December 2016). 53 FICX – Nacho Carballo y Día d'Asturies (asturian) [53 FICX - Nacho Carballo y Dia de Asturias] (Video interview) (in Spanish). Event occurs at minutes:10. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
- ^ "Premios 2016 (awards 2016)". Avilés Acción Film Festival Website (in Spanish). Avilés Acción Film Festival. Archived from the original on 1 January 2017. Retrieved 10 December 2016.