Zhang Jianya (, ) (born 1951) is a Chinese

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, pr ...

. As a graduate of the 1982 class of the

Beijing Film Academy Beijing Film Academy (BFA; ) is a coeducational state-run higher education institution in Beijing, China. The film school is the largest institution specializing in the tertiary education for film and television production in Asia. The academy ...

, Zhang is a founding member of the so-called Fifth Generation, a group that also includes in its numbers directors such as

Zhang Yimou Zhang Yimou (; born 2 April 1950) is a Chinese film director, producer, writer, actor and former cinematographer.Tasker, Yvonne (2002). "Zhang Yimou" i''Fifty Contemporary Filmmakers'' Routledge Publishing, p. 412. . Google Book Search. Retriev ...

Chen Kaige Chen Kaige (; born 12 August 1952) is a Chinese film director and a leading figure of the fifth generation of Chinese cinema.Berry, Michael (2002). "Chen Kaige: Historical Revolution and Cinematic Rebellion" in Speaking in Images: Interviews wi ...

, and

Tian Zhuangzhuang Tian Zhuangzhuang (; born April 1952 in Beijing) is a Chinese film director, producer and actor. Tian was born to an influential actor and actress in China. Following a short stint in the military, Tian began his artistic career first as an a ...

.Zhang, Yingjin & Xiao, Zhiwei (1998). "Zhang Jianya" in ''Encyclopedia of Chinese Film''. Taylor & Francis, p. 387. .

Directorial career

Trained as a carpenter, Zhang's cinematic career began when he joined the

Shanghai Film Studio The Shanghai Film Studio (), one of the three biggest film studios in China, is the film division of the Shanghai Film Group Corporation in Shanghai, China. It is responsible for the production of Chinese films and TV programs. History Shang ...

in the mid-1970s as an actor. Upon his graduation in 1982, Zhang directed the children's film, '' Red Elephant'', with his classmates, Tian, and Xie Xiaojing, and helped the studio head

Wu Yigong Wu Yigong (; 1 December 1938 – 14 September 2019) was a Chinese film director and producer. Biography Born in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, Wu Yigong enrolled in the directing department of the Beijing Film Academy in 1956. After graduation in ...

direct the 1987 West German co-production, '' The Tribulations of Young Master''.Clark, Paul (2005). "Zhang Jianya" i
''Encyclopedia of Contemporary Chinese Culture''
edited by Edward Lawrence Davis. Routledge, p. 997. . Beginning with 1988's '' Kidnapping Karajan'', Zhang has carved himself a niche with urban comedies, often based in the city of

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Chinese, Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four Direct-administered municipalities of China, direct-administered municipalities of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the ...

. Zhang Jianya has also expanded his interests into producing in his role as the head of the 3rd Creative Group at the

, as well as into other genres, including action-thrillers such as 1999's ''

Crash Landing An emergency landing is a premature landing made by an aircraft in response to an emergency involving an imminent or ongoing threat to the safety and operation of the aircraft, or involving a sudden need for a passenger or crew on board to term ...

'' and 2002's ''

Red Snow Red Snow was a British thermonuclear weapon, based on the US W28 (then called Mark 28) design used in the B28 thermonuclear bomb and AGM-28 Hound Dog missile. The US W28 had yields of and while Red Snow yields are still classified, declassifie ...

''.

Selected filmography

As director

References

External links

*
Zhang Jianya
at the Chinese Film Database Chinese film producers Film directors from Shanghai Beijing Film Academy alumni 1951 births Living people Asian film producers {{China-film-director-stub