Berlin × Chengdu: Here, there, between homes
FOOD & FOOTAGE
26 AUGUST 2026 / starting 18:30
ZK/U BerlinSiemensstr. 27, 10551, Berlin, Germany
FOOD & FOOTAGE brings independent cinema and food together in one shared evening. Curators and cooks develop a programme in which the dishes respond to the themes, places, and stories on screen—sometimes through a direct reference, sometimes through a more associative connection.
For this edition, FOOD & FOOTAGE once again joins forces with Berlin × Chengdu, an independent film programme dedicated to cinematic perspectives from and around Chengdu. Under the title Here, there, between homes, four short films explore what it means to live between places, memories, and different forms of belonging. Their stories move between a wedding that refuses to follow its script, a family’s journey home with the ashes of a loved one, the coming-of-age of a young basketball player, and an animated attempt to escape grief through memory. Together, the films approach home not as a fixed location, but as something shaped by relationships, loss, imagination, and movement.
The accompanying menu by cookbook author and food writer Sissi Xi Chen translates this movement between places into a shared culinary experience. She will serve handmade Sichuan-style Liangfen—cold mung bean jelly with peanuts and cucumber—alongside fried Mantou with condensed milk. Drawing on Sichuanese food traditions while being prepared and shared in Berlin, the menu connects the evening’s questions of distance and belonging to taste, memory, and everyday cultural practice.
Love is a dog from hell / 爱是地狱冥犬
by XU Zijie
5’
China, 2026
Mandarin with English subtitles
International premiere
Terrified of marriage, the filmmaker seems like the worst possible person to document a wedding. But when his best friend asks, he agrees. Soon, bridesmaids disappear, partners become moody, rain begins to fall, and the planned dance number refuses to work. The filmmaker must find a way to capture a happy ending when nothing about the day feels perfect.
Grandma / 青山
by WENG Yujun
35’
China, 2024
Sichuan dialect with English subtitles
International premiere
Following the death of their mother, three sisters decide to return her ashes to her hometown of Qingshan for burial. The journey brings together three generations of women. As silence gradually gives way to conversation, they confront the distance, misunderstandings, memories, and affection within their family.
One by one / 一对一
by SUN Yijie
25’
China, 2026
Sichuan dialect with English subtitles
International premiere
The Yi coach Amu leads the Liangshan Black Hawk Team, a basketball team composed of left-behind teenagers. Told through a reverse narrative, the film follows the young player Owen Re between the ages of eleven and seventeen. Once a determined shooter, he now hesitates. The film is not only about winning, but about a young person learning to catch himself as he falls and challenging fate one-on-one.
False memory / 记忆管理局
by LIU Wenyu & LI Shuyu
18’
China, 2020
Mandarin with English subtitles
Unable to accept the death of his friend Shi Yan, the protagonist materialises him in his memory as a Bug Man. When the Memory Administration Bureau attempts to retrieve this imagined figure, Shi Yan realises that his continued presence cannot help his friend move forward. He uses his final opportunity to guide him out of the protected world of memory and back towards reality.
Sissi Xi Chen is a cookbook author and the creator of the food platform @eatinginberlin. Through recipes, food tours, cooking classes, and pop-up events, she explores food in relation to culture, identity, heritage, and community while making Berlin’s diverse culinary landscape visible and accessible.
手工凉粉 / Handmade Sichuan-style Liangfen
Cold mung bean jelly with peanuts and cucumber — 13,25 €
四川香辣土豆 / Sichuan-style Spicy Potatoes
Available for purchase on site only — 5 €
Food is limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis. We strongly recommend pre-ordering the Liangfen online. A very limited number of portions will also be available to purchase on site.
Please note: all food purchases on site are cash only.
Allergens: peanuts and wheat/gluten. Please ask the food team on site for further information.
This edition is curated by CiLENS e.V., a Berlin-based nonprofit curatorial collective that explores contemporary Sinophone and Asian diasporic cultures through thematic film screenings and interdisciplinary programmes. Its work fosters transcultural dialogue and community-rooted practices.
Admission to the film programme is free. Donations are welcome and can be made at the door.
Food is limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis. We strongly recommend pre-ordering the Liangfen online. A very limited number of portions will also be available to purchase on site.
Pre-order your bowl of Liangfen
Doors open: 18:30
Food, drinks and socialising: 18:30–20:30
DJ set: 19:45–20:30
Welcome and introduction: 20:40
First film programme: 20:55
Intermission: 21:30
Second film programme: 21:40
End: 22:40