Timeless is a new film in fragments by poetic research unit Shanzhai Lyric, filmmaker Solveig Qu Suess, and artist Yi Xin Tong. It explores “shanzhai,” the Chinese term for counterfeit, which also means “mountain hamlet.” Timeless’ exploration of “mountain hamlet” references an enclave on the outskirts of empire where bandits steal goods and redistribute them among those living on the edges. Considering the double entendre of the word “hamlet,” as both an outlaw stronghold and William Shakespeare's iconic “prince of privilege,” the film traces insurrectionary movements, considering places from the scholar-recluses of China's Mount Lu to the bootleg markets of New York City’s Canal Street.

Appearing in conjunction with the exhibition Meander, Shanzhai Lyric presents a lecture-performance alongside the film, which screens for the first time in the U.S. in the mountain hamlet of Williamstown.

Free. A Q&A with the filmmakers follows the screening.

Image: Shanzhai Lyric