Zhang Yuan (director)
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Zhang Yuan (; born October 1963) 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 ...
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, p ...
who has been described by film scholars as a pioneering member of
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 ...
's Sixth Generation of filmmakers.
Tasker, Yvonne Yvonne Tasker is a British author and professor of media and communication in the School of Media and Communication at the University of Leeds. Tasker was previously professor of film studies and dean of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities at Unive ...
(2002). "Zhang Yuan" i
''Fifty Contemporary Filmmakers''
Routledge Publishing, p. 419. . Google Book Search. Retrieved 2008-08-24.
He and his films have won ten awards out of seventeen nominations received at international film festivals.


Feature films

Born in
Nanjing Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...
, the capital of
Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, Postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an Eastern China, eastern coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China. It is o ...
Province, Zhang received a BA in
cinematography Cinematography (from ancient Greek κίνημα, ''kìnema'' "movement" and γράφειν, ''gràphein'' "to write") is the art of motion picture (and more recently, electronic video camera) photography. Cinematographers use a lens to focu ...
from 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 h ...
in 1989. Having initially emerged onto the film scene shortly after the
Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 The Tiananmen Square protests, known in Chinese as the June Fourth Incident (), were student-led demonstrations held in Tiananmen Square, Beijing during 1989. In what is known as the Tiananmen Square Massacre, or in Chinese the June Fourth ...
, he is frequently referenced as an exemplar of the pioneers who are grouped into the loosely defined Sixth Generation. Despite a diploma from the prestigious Film Academy, Zhang decided to eschew his assigned position within the
People's Liberation Army The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the principal military force of the People's Republic of China and the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The PLA consists of five service branches: the Ground Force, Navy, Air Force, ...
-connected August First Film Studio, choosing instead to produce his films independently. As a fledgling filmmaker, he chose to shoot in a documentary style and has referred to these early films (''
Mama Mama(s) or Mamma or Momma may refer to: Roles *Mother, a female parent * Mama-san, in Japan and East Asia, a woman in a position of authority *Mamas, a name for female associates of the Hells Angels Places *Mama, Russia, an urban-type settlement ...
'', ''
Sons A son is a male offspring; a boy or a man in relation to his parents. The female counterpart is a daughter. From a biological perspective, a son constitutes a first degree relative. Social issues In pre-industrial societies and some current co ...
'', and ''
Beijing Bastards ''Beijing Bastards'' () is a 1993 drama film by Sixth Generation director Zhang Yuan, and is one of the first independently produced Chinese films. Cast * Karzi "a rock promoter" - played by Li Wei 李委 * Cui Jian as himself * Wu Lala (武啦 ...
'') as "documentary feature-films." Aside from some original short subjects he directed as a student filmmaker, the official debut of his career in 1990 is ''
Mama Mama(s) or Mamma or Momma may refer to: Roles *Mother, a female parent * Mama-san, in Japan and East Asia, a woman in a position of authority *Mamas, a name for female associates of the Hells Angels Places *Mama, Russia, an urban-type settlement ...
'', a semi-documentary account of a mother and her retarded son, which is considered to have a historical spot as one of the first features of the Sixth Generation movement and as China's "first independent film since 1949". His next film, 1993's ''
Beijing Bastards ''Beijing Bastards'' () is a 1993 drama film by Sixth Generation director Zhang Yuan, and is one of the first independently produced Chinese films. Cast * Karzi "a rock promoter" - played by Li Wei 李委 * Cui Jian as himself * Wu Lala (武啦 ...
'' follows Beijing's disaffected youth subculture and another title, ''Sons'', in the same manner as ''Mama'', blends the line between fiction and documentary film, as the actors, playing themselves, recreate the actual destruction of their family due to alcoholism and mental illness. However, the transgressive nature of these films (which depicted Chinese youth and society in harsh and unflattering imagery and terms), quickly came to the attention of the Chinese authorities. By April 1994, the Ministry of Film, Television and Culture issued a statement banning Zhang from filmmaking. Also banned were fellow Sixth-Generation directors
He Jianjun He Jianjun (; born 1960 in BeijingBarbieri, Maria (2005). "He Jianjun" i''Encyclopedia of Contemporary Chinese Culture'' edited by Edward Lawrence Davis. Routledge, p. 340. . ) is a Chinese film director and screenwriter. A graduate of the Beiji ...
,
Wang Xiaoshuai Wang Xiaoshuai (; born May 22, 1966) is a Chinese film director, screenwriter and occasional actor. He is commonly grouped under the loose association of filmmakers known as the "Sixth Generation" of the Cinema of China. Like others in this gener ...
, the documentary filmmaker
Wu Wenguang Wu Wenguang 吴文光 (born 1956 in Yunnan Yunnan , () is a landlocked province in the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the p ...
, Fifth Generation director
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 am ...
, and Zhang's wife, screenwriter Ning Dai, whose sister, director
Ning Ying Ning Ying (born 1959 in Beijing) is a female Chinese film director often considered a member of China's " Sixth Generation" filmmaker coterie, a group that also includes Jia Zhangke, Zhang Yuan and Wang Xiaoshuai. However, this is more a resul ...
, is a transitional figure between the Fifth and Sixth Generation. In 1996, two years after the ban went into force, Zhang was ready to present his next, and most-controversial, work, the surreptitiously filmed ''
East Palace, West Palace ''East Palace, West Palace'' (Simplified Chinese: 东宫西宫, Pinyin: ''Dōng gōng xī gōng'') is a 1996 Chinese film directed by Zhang Yuan, starring Hu Jun and Si Han, and based on a short story by writer Wang Xiaobo. It is also known as ' ...
'', also known as ''Behind the Forbidden City'', China's first feature with homosexual characters and, furthermore, their persecution by the police. A print was secretly taken out of China and screened at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival.Zhang Yuan's career overview at ''AllMovie Guide''
/ref> After ''East Palace, West Palace'', Zhang's style began to shift away from documentary-like neo-realist dramas to more conventionally filmed features. 1999's '' Seventeen Years'', a family drama and also the first Chinese film with approval to shoot inside a Chinese prison, nevertheless proved a significant international success winning the Best Director award at the
Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival he ...
. 2002–2003 continued to see Zhang approaching more commercially viable works as well as his most prolific period yet, directing three films in the course of a year. The cinematic version of the Communist opera ''Jiang Jie'', the celebrity-helmed romantic mystery ''
Green Tea Green tea is a type of tea that is made from '' Camellia sinensis'' leaves and buds that have not undergone the same withering and oxidation process which is used to make oolong teas and black teas. Green tea originated in China, and since the ...
'', and the romantic drama '' I Love You'' were successful, if a far cry from his earlier "underground" works. In 2006, he directed ''
Little Red Flowers ''Little Red Flowers'' () is a 2006 Chinese film directed by Zhang Yuan. The film was a co-production between China's Beijing Century Good-Tidings Cultural Development Company LTD and Italy's Downtown Pictures. The Dutch company, Fortissimo Film ...
'', based on writer and Chinese cultural icon
Wang Shuo Wang Shuo (, born August 23, 1958) is a Chinese author, director, actor, and cultural icon. He has written over 20 novels, television series and movies. His work has been translated into Japanese, Spanish, French, English, Italian, Hindi, and ...
's semi-autobiographical novel ''It Could Be Beautiful''. The film garnered a CICAE award at the 2006
Berlin Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festi ...
.


Documentaries

Between his feature film efforts, Zhang strives to continue producing long-form documentaries. 1994's '' The Square'' documents daily life in
Tiananmen Square Tiananmen Square or Tian'anmen Square (; 天安门广场; Pinyin: ''Tiān'ānmén Guǎngchǎng''; Wade–Giles: ''Tʻien1-an1-mên2 Kuang3-chʻang3'') is a city square in the city center of Beijing, China, named after the eponymous Tiananmen (" ...
, in the immediate years following the events of the 1989 Democracy demonstrations. The surreptitious shoot took the guise of a program production crew for
China Central Television China Central Television (CCTV) is a Chinese state- and political party-owned broadcaster controlled by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Its 50 different channels broadcast a variety of programing to more than one billion viewers in six lan ...
(CCTV). The late 1990s, meanwhile, saw Zhang indulging again in his interest in documentary form with ''Demolition and Relocation'' in 1998, an account of the destruction of Beijing's
Hutong ''Hutong'' () are a type of narrow street or alley commonly associated with northern Chinese cities, especially Beijing. In Beijing, hutongs are alleys formed by lines of ''siheyuan'', traditional courtyard residences. Many neighbourhoods wer ...
s. In 1999, Zhang made ''
Crazy English ''Crazy English'' () is a brand name A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for re ...
'', which followed
Crazy English ''Crazy English'' () is a brand name A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for re ...
-founder and motivational speaker Li Yang in a film Zhang himself described as a cross between ''
Triumph of the Will ''Triumph of the Will'' (german: Triumph des Willens) is a 1935 German Nazi propaganda film directed, produced, edited and co-written by Leni Riefenstahl. Adolf Hitler commissioned the film and served as an unofficial executive producer; his na ...
'' and ''
Forrest Gump ''Forrest Gump'' is a 1994 American comedy-drama film directed by Robert Zemeckis and written by Eric Roth. It is based on the 1986 novel of the same name by Winston Groom and stars Tom Hanks, Robin Wright, Gary Sinise, Mykelti Williamson and ...
''.Berry, Michael (2002). "Zhang Yuan" in
Speaking in Images: Interviews with Contemporary Chinese Filmmakers
Columbia University Press, p. 144. . Google Book Search. Retrieved 2008-08-25
2000's ''Miss Jin Xing'', meanwhile, follows Zhang's interest in society's marginalized with a touching portrait of China's most famed transgender individual,
Jin Xing Jin Xing (; born August 13, 1967) is a Chinese ballerina, modern dancer, choreographer, actress, founder and artistic director of the contemporary dance company Shanghai. She is a transgender celebrity. Early life Jin was born in 1967 in Shen ...
, who in 1996 came out as a trans woman. Jin's story is told through a series of interviews with those who know her as well as with Jin herself.


Other media

Besides films, Zhang has also directed numerous
music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...
s and commercials. His most fruitful collaboration was with Chinese musician
Cui Jian Cui Jian ( zh, c=崔健, p=Cuī Jiàn, ; born 2 August 1961) is a Beijing-based Chinese singer-songwriter, trumpeter and guitarist. Affectionately called "Old Cui" (), he pioneered Chinese rock music. For this distinction Cui Jian is often l ...
, resulting in several music videos, including the winner of the Best Asian Video, ''Wild in the Snow'', at the 1991
MTV Music Video Awards The MTV Video Music Awards (commonly abbreviated as the VMAs) is an award show presented by the cable channel MTV to honour the best in the music video medium. Originally conceived as an alternative to the Grammy Awards (in the video category) ...
. In 2000 he was a member of the jury at the
22nd Moscow International Film Festival The 22nd Moscow International Film Festival was held from 19 to 29 July 2000. The Golden St. George was awarded to the Polish-French film ''Life as a Fatal Sexually Transmitted Disease'' directed by Krzysztof Zanussi. Jury * Theodoros Angelopoul ...
.


Filmography


References


External links


Official site
* *

* ttp://www.china.org.cn/english/2003/Sep/75527.htm Interview with Zhang Yuan {{DEFAULTSORT:Zhang, Yuan Beijing Film Academy alumni Chinese documentary filmmakers Film directors from Jiangsu Artists from Nanjing Living people 1963 births Date of birth missing (living people) Venice Best Director Silver Lion winners Chinese film directors