Cinema East Film 'Only the River Flows'

The next film of the Cinema East film series at Pickford Film Center (1318 Bay Street) is Wei Shujun’s, Only the River Flows, which screens on Thursday, January 16, 2025, at 7:45 p.m., with a matinee showing earlier that day at 11:00 a.m.    

The film, starring Zhu Yilong, is based on Yu Hua’s popular short novel, Mistakes by the River, and begins with a murder investigation in a 1990s small town in China.   

Described on the Pickford’s website as a “Equal parts atmospheric tour-de-force and beguiling puzzler,” it is said to be “a masterfully styled ode to a bygone cinematic era and a sharp-edged portrait of provincial paranoia.” 

The Cinema East film series is co-presented by Western Libraries and Pickford Film Center, with film selections curated by WWU librarian Jeff Purdue, who will also provide the introduction for this film.  

For more information about the Cinema East series, please see the PFC website, or contact Jeff Purdue at: purduej@wwu.edu, (360)-650-7750.  

All PFC theaters are ADA accessible with wheelchair seating, and closed captioning and assistive listening devices are available at the box office. For questions about or to request disability accommodation, please contact Meghan Schilling, meghan@pickfordfilmcenter.org.  

[Image Description: Still photo from the film Only the River Flows; a man in a darkened outdoor setting standing behind some twig-like branches looks over his shoulder towards where he is shining a flashlight.]