Film series: A Silk Road adventure 9 October – 30 October 2013

For thousands of years, between the western Chinese border and the Mediterranean coast, the ancient Silk Road formed a group of interconnected trade routes linking China to the West. This network played a significant role in the exchange of goods, culture and technology between the two great civilisations of the time: China and Rome. Beginning in Xi’an, caravans transporting silk, china, paper, spices and precious stones would cross Turkestan, Iran and Iraq before finally arriving at the Syrian coast. Numerous passages through Nepal also linked the Silk Roads. To reach their ultimate destinations in Europe, the goods would either continue on their way across the Mediterranean or be carried through Anatolia, a major crossroad, to reach Constantinople and beyond.

This film series screened in conjunction with the exhibition, A Silk Road saga: Yu Hong’s sarcophagus. The exhibition explored the nature of life along the famous Silk Road during the sixth century. The film series navigated a more recent journey through countries which historically played host to the network of interconnected trade routes known as the Silk Road: China, Nepal, Iran and Anatolia.

Films

• 9, 13 October – Ju Dou (director Zhang Yimou & Yang Fengilang, China, 1990, 35mm)

• 16, 20 October – Himalaya – l’enfance d’un chef (director Eric Valli, Nepal, 1999, 35mm)

• 23, 27 October – The song of sparrows (director Majid Majidi, Iran, 2008, 35mm)

• 30 October, 3 November – Once upon a time in Anatolia (director Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Turkey, 2011, 35mm)