Film Screening
Double Happiness – Archtober Film Night
11:30pm – 1:30am
ACFNY, 11 East 52nd Street, New York, NY 10022
Register Organized by:
Austrian Cultural Forum New York
Director Ella Raidel and curator Marlene Rutzendorfer join the audience for a discussion on the diverse and sometimes surprising links between small town Austria and China´s rapid urbanization, citing the examples of two places that -at first sight - could not be more different: Hallstatt (AT) and Shenzhen (CHN). While both towns started out as small fishing villages, they have taken a very different path over the past sixty years. Yet fate, or much rather the ingenious dream of a Chinese real estate firm, have turned them into what you might call “twin cities.” The film takes us on a dream-like journey that combines features of a documentary with those of an essay film, a musical, and even a whodunnit. Urban planners give us an insight into the history and ever changing processes of Shenzhen, while the interviews also slowly reveal the story of how it was possible to copy an entire town without the knowledge of the people living there.