Scenes from the city
Talking about returning to the city where Beijing was produced, the artist says: "I like the fact there's been a delay of 10 years. I like the number 10. It's a good number." She explains that the pause will help raise the audiences' expectations and give a new perspective of the city they live in. This follows the pattern of her 2016 film Abu Dhabi, which was also first screened outside of the city.
With a running time of about 85 minutes, Beijing is a fusion of fragmented scenes condensed into one work, showing a broad range of scenes from people on the street watching the fireworks during the opening ceremony of 2008 Beijing Olympics, to movie star Jackie Chan giving a speech at an Olympic forum, to women rehearsing ribbon-spinning in a public square.
It shows Beijing and the Olympics from a variety of perspectives, as well as in more detailed ways, during the exceptional summer of 2008.
"Most people look at my film and think it must have taken me several months to shoot. When I told them it only took one hour, they think I'm crazy," Morris says.
