Zhang Lü (; ; born May 30, 1962) is a

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...

filmmaker Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, castin ...

. Zhang was originally a novelist before embarking on a career in cinema. His

arthouse film An art film (or arthouse film) is typically an independent film, aimed at a niche market rather than a mass market audience. It is "intended to be a serious, artistic work, often experimental and not designed for mass appeal", "made primarily f ...

s have mostly focused on the disenfranchised, particularly ethnic Koreans living in China; these include ''

Grain in Ear ''Grain in Ear'' (; ) is a 2005 in film, 2005 People's Republic of China, Chinese film written and directed by Koreans in China, Korean Chinese filmmaker Zhang Lu (director), Zhang Lu. The Mangzhong, title refers to the solar term in the tradition ...

'' (2006), ''Desert Dream'' (2007), ''

Dooman River Eugene Hoffman Dooman (March 25, 1890 – February 2, 1969) was a counselor at the United States Embassy in Tokyo during the critical negotiations between the two countries before World War II. Background Born in Osaka to Grace and Isaac Dooman, t ...

'' (2011), ''Scenery'' (2013), and ''

Gyeongju Gyeongju ( ko, 경주, ), historically known as ''Seorabeol'' ( ko, 서라벌, ), is a coastal city in the far southeastern corner of North Gyeongsang Province in South Korea. It is the second largest city by area in the province after Andong, ...

'' (2014).

Career

Zhang Lü is a third-generation

ethnic Korean Koreans ( South Korean: , , North Korean: , ; see names of Korea) are an East Asian ethnic group native to the Korean Peninsula. Koreans mainly live in the two Korean nation states: North Korea and South Korea (collectively and simply refer ...

born in

Yanbian Yanbian (; Chosŏn'gŭl: , ''Yeonbyeon''), officially known as the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture, is an autonomous prefecture in the east of Jilin Province, China. Yanbian is bordered to the north by Heilongjiang Province, on the west by ...

Jilin Jilin (; alternately romanized as Kirin or Chilin) is one of the three provinces of Northeast China. Its capital and largest city is Changchun. Jilin borders North Korea (Rasŏn, North Hamgyong, Ryanggang and Chagang) and Russia (Prim ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

in 1962. He first became known in his native land China as a respected author of novels and short stories, such as ''Cicada Chirping Afternoon'' (1986). Zhang was then a 38-year-old professor of Chinese Literature at

Yanbian University Yanbian University is one of the key universities of the People's Republic of China, located at Yanji, Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture, Jilin Province. It is a Chinese state Double First Class University, included in the Double First Cla ...

when an argument with a film director friend led him to take a bet that "anyone can make a film." With no technical training but with the support of film industry friends such as Lee Chang-dong, he set out to direct his first

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

''Eleven'' (2001), a fourteen-minute nearly silent vignette of an eleven-year-old boy's encounter with a group of soccer players his own age set in a post-industrial wasteland. ''Eleven'' was invited to compete at the 58th Venice International Film Festival and several other international film festivals, and this unexpected success made Zhang decide to become a full-time filmmaker. He later said, "Conveying emotion through text and through images are two very different things. If I were able to convey my views fully through text, I wouldn't have to bother with making films, right? I don't like it when I smell some sort of literature-based narrative in films." .."I tell people that I got divorced from literature and married the cinema." ''Eleven'' paved the way for Zhang's first

feature film A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...

''Tang Poetry'', financed with Korean capital. Shot in 2003 during the

SARS epidemic Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a viral respiratory disease of zoonotic origin caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV or SARS-CoV-1), the first identified strain of the SARS coronavirus species, ''sever ...

in only three interior locations to convey the feelings of loneliness and

claustrophobia Claustrophobia is the fear of confined spaces. It can be triggered by many situations or stimuli, including elevators, especially when crowded to capacity, windowless rooms, and hotel rooms with closed doors and sealed windows. Even bedrooms with ...

, it depicts the life of a middle-aged male pickpocket with a hand tremor. The film's style was influenced by the metrics of

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...

poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...

that prescribe verses of only seven or five characters. Zhang then won a grant from the Pusan Promotion Plan to direct his second feature. Like ''Tang Poetry'', ''

'' (2005) was filmed in China while the post-production process was done in Korea. The film is centered on a Sino-Korean single mother who makes her living by selling

kimchi ''Kimchi'' (; ko, 김치, gimchi, ), is a traditional Korean side dish of salted and fermented vegetables, such as napa cabbage and Korean radish. A wide selection of seasonings are used, including ''gochugaru'' (Korean chili powder), sprin ...

on the streets of a small town in Northern China. ''Grain in Ear'' gained acclaim in the international film festival circuit. It screened at the 44th

International Critics' Week The International Critics' Week (french: Semaine de la Critique) was founded in 1962 and is organized by the French Syndicate of Cinema Critics. It was created following the showing of '' The Connection'' directed by Shirley Clarke which had been ...

section of the

2005 Cannes Film Festival The 58th Cannes Film Festival started on 11 May and ran until 22 May 2005. Twenty movies from 13 countries were selected to compete. The awards were announced on 21 May. The Palme d'Or went to the Belgium, Belgian film ''L'Enfant (film), L'Enfant ...

where it won the ACID prize. It also won the Grand Prize at the 41st Pesaro Film Festival in Italy, the New Currents Award at the 10th

Busan International Film Festival The Busan International Film Festival (BIFF, previously Pusan International Film Festival, PIFF), held annually in Haeundae-gu, Busan (''also'' Pusan), South Korea, is one of the most significant film festivals in Asia. The first festi ...

, the Karibu Award at the 23rd Cinema Novo Film Festival in Belgium, Best Direction for Zhang and Best Actress for Liu Lianji at the 27th

Durban International Film Festival The Durban International Film Festival (DIFF) is an annual film festival that takes place in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal province, South Africa. Founded in 1979 by Teddy Sarkin and Ros Sarkin, it is the oldest and largest film festival in Africa an ...

, Special Jury Prize at the 32nd

Seattle International Film Festival The Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF), held annually in Seattle, Washington since 1976, is among the top film festivals in North America. Audiences have grown steadily; the 2006 festival had 160,000 attendees. The SIFF runs for more th ...

, the Province of Tyrol Award at the International Film Festival Innsbruck, and the Golden Cyclo Award at the 12th

Vesoul International Film Festival of Asian Cinema The Vesoul International Film Festival of Asian Cinema (French: Festival international des cinémas d'Asie) is an annual special-interest film festival focusing on the cinemas of Asia. The festival is held annually in Vesoul, France. It was create ...

. For his third feature, Zhang set '' Desert Dream'' (2007) in a small, drought-threatened village on the Chinese-

Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...

n border where the lives of a farmer obsessed with

tree planting Tree-planting is the process of transplanting tree seedlings, generally for forestry, land reclamation, or landscaping purpose. It differs from the transplantation of larger trees in arboriculture, and from the lower cost but slower and less re ...

to stave off

desertification Desertification is a type of land degradation in drylands in which biological productivity is lost due to natural processes or induced by human activities whereby fertile areas become increasingly arid. It is the spread of arid areas caused by ...

, a woman

North Korean defector Since the division of Korea after the end of World War II, North Koreans have fled from the country in spite of legal punishment for political, ideological, religious, economic, moral, personal, or nutritional reasons. Such North Koreans are re ...

and her child, and a wandering soldier cross paths (the film's original title ''Hyazgar'' means "boundary" in Mongolian). Co-produced by Korea, Mongolia and France, it was invited to compete at the

57th Berlin International Film Festival The 57th Berlin International Film Festival was held from 8 to 18 February 2007. The opening film of this year's festival was Olivier Dahan’s '' La Vie En Rose''. ''Angel'' by François Ozon served as the closing night film. American director ...

. ''Desert Dream'' won Best Picture at the 9th

Osian's Cinefan Festival of Asian and Arab Cinema Osian's-Cinefan is one of Asia's leading film-festival devoted to Asian and Arab cinema, and is part of ''Osian's Film House Division''. The festival celebrated its 10th anniversary in July 2008. After a two-year break, the 12th staging of the fe ...

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...

, and Zhang was nominated for

Best Director Best Director is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards. It may refer to: Film awards * AACTA Award for Best Direction * Academy Award for Best Director * BA ...

at the

2nd Asian Film Awards The 2nd Asian Film Awards were given in a ceremony on 17 March 2008 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre as part of the Hong Kong International Film Festival. The top winner was ''Secret Sunshine'' from South Korea, which won Best F ...

. ''Iri'' was filmed in the industrial city of

Iksan Iksan ( ko, 익산; ) is a city and major railway junction in North Jeolla Province, (commonly transliterated as Jeollabuk-do or Chollabuk-do) South Korea. The city center and railway junction was formerly called "Iri" (), but merged with Iksan C ...

, making it Zhang's first movie set in South Korea. It starred

Uhm Tae-woong Uhm Tae-woong (born April 5, 1974) is a South Korean actor. He made his acting debut in 1998, but initially struggled to emerge from under the shadow of his older sister, popular singer-actress Uhm Jung-hwa. After several years of small roles an ...

and

Yoon Jin-seo Yoon Jin-seo (born Yoon Soo-kyung, August 5, 1983) is a South Korean actress. She rose to prominence for her performance as Lee Soo-ah in the 2003 thriller film '' Oldboy'' which earned her the Best New Actress Award at the 40th Baeksang Arts ...

as a taxi driver and his mentally challenged sister who are still struggling thirty years later with the aftermath of the Iri Station Explosion in 1977. ''Iri'' competed at the 3rd

Rome Film Festival International Rome Film Fest is a film festival that takes place in Rome during the month of October. The name in Italian is Festa del Cinema di Roma. Sections The Rome Film Festival official program is divided into several sections: Cinema d'Og ...

, and was released in South Korean theaters in 2008 together with its companion piece ''Chongqing'', about a young woman who barely scrapes by as a language teacher and lives with her unemployed father in populous

Chongqing Chongqing ( or ; ; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), Postal Romanization, alternately romanized as Chungking (), is a Direct-administered municipalities of China, municipality in Southwes ...

. In 2011, France's Arizona Films and South Korea-based Lu Films co-produced ''

'', Zhang's

coming-of-age film Coming of age is a young person's transition from being a child to being an adult. The specific age at which this transition takes place varies between societies, as does the nature of the change. It can be a simple legal convention or can b ...

about two teenage boys, one a Chinese-born Korean and the other a North Korean defector, who live on opposite sites of the

Tumen River The Tumen River, also known as the Tuman River or Duman River (), is a long river that serves as part of the boundary between China, North Korea and Russia, rising on the slopes of Mount Paektu and flowing into the Sea of Japan. The river has ...

, the border between China and North Korea where human trafficking and illegal border crossing are common. Aside from a Special Mention from the Generation 14Plus Youth Jury at the

60th Berlin International Film Festival The 60th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 11 to 21 February 2010, with Werner Herzog as President of the Jury. The opening film of the festival was Chinese director Wang Quan'an's romantic drama ''Apart Together'', in comp ...

, ''Dooman River'' won the Jury Prize at the 8th

Festival Paris Cinéma The Festival Paris Cinéma is one of the most recent French movie festivals, started in 2003 in film, 2003. It is held annually in July. It was launched in 2003 after the municipal government withdrew funding for Festival du Film de Paris.Staff repo ...

, the

NETPAC Award The Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema (NETPAC) is a worldwide organization of 29 member countries. It was created as the result of a conference on Asian cinema organized by Cinemaya, the Asian Film Quarterly, in New Delhi in 1990 at the inst ...

at the

15th Busan International Film Festival The 15th Busan International Film Festival was held from October 7 to October 15, 2010, at the Busan Stadium Yachting Center Outdoor Stage, hosted by actors Jung Joon-ho and Han Ji-hye. A total of 308 films from 67 countries were screened in 6 th ...

, and Best Film in the International Feature Competition of the 47th International Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival. Zhang also won Best Director at the 3rd International Film Festival East-West in

Orenburg Orenburg (russian: Оренбу́рг, ), formerly known as Chkalov (1938–1957), is the administrative center of Orenburg Oblast, Russia. It lies on the Ural River, southeast of Moscow. Orenburg is also very close to the Kazakhstan-Russia bor ...

. Zhang moved to South Korea in 2012, and began teaching at

Yonsei University Yonsei University (; ) is a private research university in Seoul, South Korea. As a member of the "SKY" universities, Yonsei University is deemed one of the three most prestigious institutions in the country. It is particularly respected in the ...

. He then wrote the first draft of the

screenplay ''ScreenPlay'' is a television drama anthology series broadcast on BBC2 between 9 July 1986 and 27 October 1993. Background After single-play anthology series went off the air, the BBC introduced several showcases for made-for-television, fe ...

for Kim Dong-ho's directorial debut ''Jury'', a short film about the comic intrigue and infighting within a panel of film festival jurors (Kim was the founder and former festival director of the

). ''Jury'' was the opening film of the 2012 Asiana International Short Film Festival. In 2013, Zhang was chosen (along with Masahiro Kobayashi and Edwin) to take part in the 14th Jeonju Digital Project commissioned annually by the

Jeonju International Film Festival Jeonju International Film Festival (JIFF, Korean: 전주국제영화제, Hanja: 全州國際映畵祭) is an Asian film festival. It was launched in 2000 as a non-competitive film festival with partial competition. It introduces independent a ...

. In line with the theme "Strangers," Zhang directed his first non-fiction work with the 30-minute documentary short ''Over There''. He later expanded ''Over There'' into a feature-length

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional film, motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". Bill Nichols (film critic), Bil ...

titled ''Scenery'', which probes the experiences and dreams of 14

migrant worker A migrant worker is a person who Human migration, migrates within a home country or outside it to pursue work. Migrant workers usually do not have the intention to stay permanently in the country or region in which they work. Migrant worker ...

s in South Korea and the spaces they inhabit. ''Scenery'' won the Critics' Prize at the 15th Black Movie International Independent Film Festival in

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

, as well as Best Documentary at the

1st Wildflower Film Awards The 1st Wildflower Film Awards () is an awards ceremony recognizing the achievements of Korean independent and low-budget films. It was held at the Literature House in Seoul on April 1, 2014, following five days of screenings at CGV Apgujeong Movie ...

. Zhang returned to narrative filmmaking with ''

'' (2014), his most lighthearted film to date. Though tonally different from his earlier films, it continued Zhang's fascination with outsiders and his languid, introspective pacing. Zhang said he chose the quaint city of

as the setting because "just like the curves of the tomb, life and death are inextricably intertwined." He wanted to explore "what didn't happen mixed in with what happened" in a story about a

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

-based Korean professor searching for an erotic painting in a teahouse who forms a connection with the teahouse proprietress (played by

Park Hae-il Park Hae-il (born 26 January 1977) is a South Korean actor. He began his acting career in theater, but soon gained the film industry's attention in 2003 with ''Jealousy Is My Middle Name'' and ''Memories of Murder''. Park's film career took off, ...

and

Shin Min-a Shin Min-a (; born 5 April 1984) is a South Korean model and actress best known for starring in television dramas ''A Love to Kill'' (2005), ''My Girlfriend Is a Nine-Tailed Fox'' (2010), ''Arang and the Magistrate'' (2012), ''Oh My Venus'' ...

). Zhang won Best Director at the 34th

Korean Association of Film Critics Awards The Korean Association of Film Critics Awards (), also known as the Critics Choice Awards (), is an annual awards ceremony for excellence in film in South Korea. It was established in 1980 by the Korean Association of Film Critics (KAFC). The c ...

, and received several nominations. In 2015, he cast

Ahn Sung-ki Ahn Sung-ki (born January 1, 1952) is a South Korean actor. One of the country's most respected actors, he has appeared in more than 130 films during his career of over 60 years. Career A native of Seoul, Ahn was the son of a veteran filmmaker ...

Moon So-ri Moon So-ri (born July 2, 1974) is a South Korean actress, film director and screenwriter. She is best known for her acclaimed leading roles in ''Oasis'' (2002) and ''A Good Lawyer's Wife'' (2003). Career After graduating with a degree in Educa ...

and

Han Ye-ri Han Ye-ri (born Kim Ye-ri on December 23, 1984) is a South Korean actress. Career Han built her filmography by starring in short films and indies. She drew notice in the sports drama '' As One'' (2012), for which she learned the Hamgyŏng diale ...

in the 70-minute film '' Love and...'', titled in Korean ''Love in the Era of Film''. Divided into four segments "Love," "Film," "Them" and "Love Again," it premiered as the opening film of the 8th Seoul Senior Film Festival.

Filmography

*''Eleven'' (

, 2001) -

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''Di ...

*''Tang Poetry'' (2003) - director,

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

*''

'' (2005) - director, screenwriter *'' Desert Dream'' (2007) - director, screenwriter *''Life Track'' (2008) - producer *''Chongqing'' (2008) - director, screenwriter *''Iri'' (2008) - director, screenwriter *''

'' (2011) - director, screenwriter *''Jury'' (

, 2013) - screenwriter *''Over There'' ( documentary

short Short may refer to: Places * Short (crater), a lunar impact crater on the near side of the Moon * Short, Mississippi, an unincorporated community * Short, Oklahoma, a census-designated place People * Short (surname) * List of people known as ...

, 2013) - director *''Scenery'' ( documentary, 2013) - director, screenwriter,

executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights o ...

*''

'' (2014) - director, screenwriter, executive producer *'' Love and...'' (2015) - director, screenwriter *''

A Quiet Dream ''A Quiet Dream'' () is a 2016 South Korean drama film written and directed by Korean-Chinese filmmaker Zhang Lu and starring Han Ye-ri alongside several Korean directors playing her potential suitors, including Park Jung-bum, Yoon Jong-bin and Ya ...

'' (2016) - director, screenwriter *''

Ode to the Goose ''Ode to the Goose'' () is a 2018 South Korean drama film written, directed and produced by Zhang Lü. The film stars Park Hae-il, Moon So-ri, Jung Jin-young and Park So-dam. The film had its world premiere at the Busan International Film Festiv ...

'' (2018) - director, screenwriter, producer *''

Fukuoka is the sixth-largest city in Japan, the second-largest port city after Yokohama, and the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city is built along the shores of Hakata Bay, and has been a center of international commerce since ancie ...

'' (2019) - director, screenwriter *''

Yanagawa is a city located in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. As of April 30, 2011, the city has an estimated population of 71,848, with 24,507 households and a population density of 934.55 persons per km². The total area is 76.88 km². On March 21, ...

'' (2021) - director, screenwriter *''

The Shadowless Tower ''The Shadowless Tower'' () is a 2023 Chinese drama film written and directed by Korean-Chinese filmmaker Zhang Lü and stars Xin Baiqing, Tian Zhuangzhuang and Huang Yao. The film depicts the warm story of people healing and accompanying each ...

'' (2023) - director, screenwriter

Awards

*2005 Cannes Film Festival, The 44th International Critics' Week: Prix ACID du meilleur (''

'') *2005 Pusan International Film Festival: New Currents Awards (''

'') *2006 27th

: Best Direction (''

'') *2007 57th Berlin International Film Festival, Competition ('' Desert Dream'') *2010 60th Berlin International Film Festival, Special Mention from the Generation 14Plus Youth Jury (''

'') *2010 3rd International Film Festival East-West: Best Director (''

'') *2014 67th Locarno Film Festival, Competition (''

'') *2014 34th

: Best Director (''

'') *2019 69th Berlin International Film Festival, Forum Section (''

'') *2022 28th

: Golden Cyclo (''

'')

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zhang, Lu 1962 births Living people Film directors from Jilin Screenwriters from Jilin Chinese film producers Chinese male novelists Chinese people of Korean descent People from Yanbian Yanbian University alumni