In the early twentieth century, Thomas Edison’s monopolistic control over the movie industry led many early filmmakers to migrate from the then center of cinema, the East Coast of the United States, to sunny, scenic Los Angeles, where they helped established the Hollywood film empire. As the heart of film production for nearly a century, Los Angeles has been depicted countless times on the silver screen, earning a reputation for being one of the most “photogenic” cities in cinematic history.

Stars of the silent film era such as Harold Lloyd, Buster Keaton, and Charlie Chaplin chose Los Angeles as the backdrop to their urban adventures. Many early East Coast transplants wrote stories based in New York as a way of relieving their homesickness. In other cases, they would simply have Los Angeles play the role of another city. It wasn’t until novelist and scriptwriter Raymond Chandler depicted the city as a malevolent co-conspirator in his crime thrillers that Los Angeles’s gritty urban character was unearthed. Later, the life and death of Los Angeles was a motif in Roman Polanski’s film Chinatown.

In conjunction with UCCA’s fall exhibition “The Los Angeles Project,” UCCA Art Cinema presents the screening series “Los Angeles: A City on Film.” The series examines this culturally complex city in all its splendor through thirteen films, including Hollywood classics (Sunset Boulevard, Chinatown); contemporary productions (Pulp Fiction, Magnolia); independent films (The Exiles, Killer of Sheep); and artistic experiments (Meshes of the Afternoon, Fireworks).

The essay film Los Angeles Plays Itself will serve as a prelude to the screening series. The film comprises scenes from more than a hundred movies, exploring the love-hate relationship between American cinema and the center of its production. Thom Anderson, the film’s director and a professor at the California Institute of the Arts, will attend the screening.

The Los Angeles Project related public programs are supported by U.S. Embassy Beijing.

Ticketing & Participation: Free, ticket required.

*You can collect your ticket from the ticket desk 30 minutes before the event begins.

*Doors close 30 minutes after event begins.

*No late entry.