Film research · criticism · cultural work
I write across Chinese, English, and German on cinema, gender, violence, and the politics of looking.
02 / Research
Dissertationsprojekt · in Arbeit
Mein Dissertationsprojekt untersucht die Konstruktion und Subjektivität von Frauen, die in Kriminalfilmen der sogenannten Sechsten Generation Chinas töten.
Anstatt Gewalthandeln vorschnell mit Handlungsmacht gleichzusetzen, fragt die Arbeit, wie Narration, Bildgestaltung, Genre und Festivalrezeption darüber entscheiden, ob eine Frau als Subjekt erscheint – oder als neues Objekt der Faszination.
03 / Writing
Original-language film criticism
The site’s interface is English. Each text remains in the language in which it was written: Chinese for Chinese-language films, German for German-language films, and English for other cinema.
Promotionsprojekt · In Arbeit
Zur Konstruktion und Subjektivität von Frauen, die in zeitgenössischen chinesischen Kriminalfilmen töten – und zu den Blickordnungen, durch die ihre Gewalt lesbar wird.
Zum PromotionsprojektFilm review · Full text
On deception, victory, and the long return home in Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey—beginning where the triumphal story usually ends.
Read reviewFilmkritik · Volltext
Über Seenotrettung, den räumlichen Kontrast zwischen Hamburg und dem Mittelmeer und die Restwellen einer Krisenerfahrung im Alltag.
Filmkritik lesen04 / Projects
Film culture in practice
Alongside writing, I work on film festivals, workshops, and community programmes—spaces where films can be encountered and discussed collectively.
Festival work
Programming, film selection, screening coordination, and audience-facing communication for Chinese independent cinema in Hamburg.
Ongoing · Hamburg
Workshop · 08–11 Oct 2026
Co-organising a four-day, practice-based workshop on observation, ethics, chance, and the encounter with reality.
Concept · Coordination · Communications
Community cultural work
Collaborative screenings, reading groups, and conversations that create room for sustained exchange beyond formal institutions.
Screenings · Reading · Discussion
05 / About
Based in Hamburg
I am a film researcher, writer, and cultural project organiser based in Hamburg, with a focus on Chinese and East Asian cinema.
I hold an MA in Literature and Media from the University of Bamberg. My doctoral project is supervised by Prof. Dr. Jörn Glasenapp and is affiliated with the Bamberg Graduate School of Literary, Cultural and Media Studies (BaGraLCM). I am currently returning to research in East Asian film studies.
Alongside my research and writing, I organise and contribute to film-cultural projects in Hamburg, including the Chinese Film Festival Hamburg, 706 Hamburg, and the Observational Cinema workshop with Kazuhiro Soda.
06 / Contact
Research exchange · editorial work · collaboration
I welcome conversations with researchers, editors, film and cultural organisations, and collaborators across disciplines.
zjw.connie@gmail.comCV available on request.