Set in 1994 at the fictional Chinese Southern Academy of Arts, Art College 1994 is a story of friendship and love between a group of art and music students who are torn between their creative ambitions and the realities of the modern world. Living in an era when Chinese contemporary art is just starting to flourish, coupled with rapid economic reforms and the growing popularity of Western culture, all traditional values are under attack.

Liu Jian is a one-of-a-kind independent feature-length animators in China known for his hand-drawn and realist style. His first two films, Piercing I (2010) and Have a Nice Day (2017), are particularly candid about the harsh realities of life in contemporary Chinese society and a far cry from most commercial animated films that focus on stunts and special effects. In Art College 1994, Liu works with a team of teachers and students at the China Academy of Art to recreate his student days in the early 1990s. Like his previous films, he does not shy away from the vulgarity of everyday life. There is no shortage of humour and irony – not to mention the realistic, intricately detailed animations. The star-studded line-up includes voice acting from Dong Zijian, Zhou Dongyu, Huang Bo, Dong Chengpeng, Jia Zhangke, Xu Zhiyuan, and the Chinese comedian Papi Jiang.

The screening on 27 July will be followed by a post-screening talk in which Liu Jian will share his experiences with the audience via video call. Moderated by Polly Yeung, Hong Kong veteran producer and screenwriter, and Li Cheuk To, Curator-at-large of Hong Kong Film and Media at M+, the talk will be held in Mandarin.

Liu Jian (b. 1969, Jiangsu) is an animation director, writer, and producer. He is currently the dean and professor at the School of Animation and Games at the China Academy of Art in Hangzhou. He graduated from Nanjing University of the Arts with a bachelor's degree in Chinese painting in 1993. In 1995, he began his career in animation and created a series of short films. In 2007, he founded the Nanjing Le-joy Animation Studio. In 2010, his first feature film Piercing I won the Best Animated Feature Film Award at the 4th Asia Pacific Screen Awards and awards at multiple European animation film festivals. His next film Have a Nice Day (2017) was shortlisted in the main competition at the 67th Berlin International Film Festival and won Best Animated Feature at the 54th Golden Horse Awards. His third film Art College 1994 (2023) was shortlisted in the main competition at the 73rd Berlin International Film Festival.