43-year-old Maleonn is one of China's most influential conceptual artists today. His father, Ma Ke, was the artistic director of the Shanghai Chinese Opera Theater. When Ma Ke is diagnosed with Alzheimer's, Maleonn devises an ambitious theater project to preserve their history. "Papa's Time Machine" is a visually stunning time-travel adventure told with human-sized puppets. At the play's heart are autobiographical scenes inspired by Maleonn's memories with his father. 

Through this family lens, the film explores what it meant to be an artist in China in the 20th century and what it means today. From the trauma of the Cultural Revolution to the modern challenges of mounting an original art performance, the directors probe the artistic impulse across generations. Using evocative imagery and with haunting, yet universal, moments, Our Time Machine is about the power of art to combat and console against the ravages of time.  D: S. Leo Chiang & Yang Sun, China, subtitled, 2019, 1h26m

An initiative of the Coolidge Corner Theatre, with major support from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

In partnership with Science on Screen®

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A Conversation around the film Our Time Machine

Mary Lou Aleskie, Howard L. Gilman '44 Director of the Hop, talks with the visual artist Maleonn and his producer/wife Shane about "Papa's Time Machine" — the project he created to preserve his father's legacy and the basis for the film Our Time Machine.

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