Presented by Shanghai Grand Cinema, and co-presented by TheDissidents and Reaching Project, Hearts in the Dust: Films from Germany takes place from September 4–6 and September 11–13, 2026, at the LUXE Hall of Grand Cinema (216 Nanjing West Road, Shanghai). Tickets have gone on sale at 12:00 noon on Wednesday, September 2. All screenings are priced at RMB 75, excluding online service fees. Tickets will be available through Taopiaopiao and Maoyan.
The program brings together classic works by nine filmmakers, including Fritz Lang, Jean-Luc Godard, Helma Sanders-Brahms, Helke Sander, Maren Ade, Danièle Huillet and Jean-Marie Straub, Peter Nestler, and Harun Farocki. Spanning eight features and one short film, the selection traces a long historical arc extending from antiquity to the present day.
All films are provided with English and Chinese subtitles with the exception of The All-Around Reduced Personality and Antigone, which are planned to be screened from 35mm film prints with Chinese-only closed captions. The prints arrived in Shanghai in mid-August, but subsequent customs clearance, transportation, and screening tests may result in unforeseen delays. Given that the program runs across two consecutive weekends, if the film prints are unable to be ready in time for the first weekend, the screenings will be switched to digitally restored DCP versions. Any such changes will be announced in advance. Please follow our updates for the latest information.
To further expand on the program, we have also invited the renowned scholar and poet Hu Sang to give a special lecture, “The Gesture of Antigone.” The lecture will be held from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. on Thursday, September 10, at Baixin Bookstore on East Nanjing Road. Further details will be announced in a forthcoming post.
