CASA ASIA within the framework of the CHINESE NEW YEAR
February 20th and 21th, 2026
Cinema joins the Chinese New Year activities through Casa Asia, considering it the communication medium par excellence for introducing cultures that are otherwise only accessible through the media. In this case, the focus is on Chinese cinema, whose presence on the international stage has not only continued to grow but has also become one of the country’s major assets. China’s film production stands out as one of the most important in all of Asia, as demonstrated by its presence at international film festivals and in commercial circuits. The market has taken note of a domestic cinema that crosses borders and competes with other film industries, both Eastern and Western. The two films A WOMAN, directed by Wang Chao, and GONE WITH THE BOAT, directed by Xiaoyu Chen, which we are including in the CHINESE NEW YEAR 2026 programme, are two major productions not to be missed.
PROGRAMME within the framework of the Chinese New Year
Friday, 20 February 2026, at 6:30 pm in Centro Casa Asia Madrid
A Woman | China | Dir: Wang Chao | 2023 | 110’ | VOSE | Drama
Based on the autobiographical novel Dream by writer Zhang Xiu Zhen, the protagonist of this film works in a factory and, in her spare time, devotes herself to her family, but whenever she can she tries to write. The story is set during the Cultural Revolution, between the 1960s and the early 1980s. In her personal and family life, she is subjected to daily abuse by her partner, whom she supports and with whom she has already had more children than she could manage. Nevertheless, she ultimately overcomes these circumstances thanks to writing, which becomes her means of liberation.
After graduating from university, Wang Chao worked for five years in the steel industry, although he was always interested in cinema and literature. In 1991, he entered the Beijing Film Academy, where he graduated in 1994 and began working as a film critic. This is how he met Chen Kaige after the filming of Yellow Earth, who hired him as an assistant director between 1995 and 1998 for the shoots of Farewell My Concubine and The Emperor and the Assassin. During that time, he wrote several short stories that inspired scripts for some films. With Orphan of Anyang, which he shot without authorization, he made his debut as a film director. This film was selected in 2001 to participate in the Directors’ Fortnight section at the Cannes Film Festival.In 2004, he made his second feature film, Day and Night, and with Luxury Car he completed in 2006 the trilogy about China he had been working on for more than five years. His fourth and fifth films, Memory of Love (2009) and Fantasy (2014), which was presented in the Un Certain Regard selection at the Cannes Film Festival that same year, despite their discretion, demonstrate the director’s narrative maturity. Looking for Rohmer (2018) reveals Wang Chao’s interest in critic and filmmaker Éric Rohmer and the Nouvelle Vague, to the point of making a film about him, though not necessarily a biographical one. A Woman (2022), his most recent film to date, was screened at the latest edition of the Asian Film Festival Barcelona | AFFBCN with great public success, after its screening in San Sebastián, where it was nominated for the Concha de oro.
Saturday, 21 February 2026, at 12:00 pm MK2 Cine Paz, Madrid
Gone With the Boat | China | Dir: Xiaoyu Chen | 2023 | 99’ | VOSE | Drama
When Jin, a retired mother living in a village, is diagnosed with a brain tumour, her two children adopt divergent positions. Her daughter Jenny, director of an English-language training centre in Shanghai and struggling to hold together her second marriage, insists on seeking the best possible treatment for her mother. However, Qing, Jenny’s younger brother, who works as a tour guide, believes the tragic outcome is inevitable. Jin spends the last months of her life surrounded by her family, while Jenny and Qing rediscover their hometown. Gone With the Boat (2023) champions rural life beyond its consideration as an idealised tourist enclave or as a palliative to family instability and dispersal.
Xiaoyu Chen is a Chinese screenwriter and director who studied at the Toronto Film School. He made his feature debut with Let’s Go in 2012. His second project, Gone With the Boat, was presented at AFFBCN 2024. The film explores themes related to identity and belonging, establishing a bridge between cultures. It received an interesting international response following its release.
Casa Àsia | Seu Social 
