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MillimeterChina's Next Generation
May 1, 2008 10:00 AM, By S. D. Katz
Actor-turned-director Daming Chen on making it in China.
Actor-turned-director Daming Chen is the writer/director of two films: Manhole (2004) and One Foot Off the Ground (2006).
At 17, Daming Chen was expelled from the Peking Opera School for fighting with the principal’s son. He was acquitted, but he could not return to school. In 1988, he graduated from Beijing’s prestigious Film Academy. Before directing his first movie, he spent eight years working as an actor in Los Angeles. He is the writer/director of two films: Manhole (2004) and One Foot Off the Ground (2006).
millimeter: Please describe the next generation of filmmakers in China. I'm asking about artists who are just starting out and have made at least one or two movies.
Daming: The new generation is called the seventh generation, but most the generations of filmmakers were referred to graduates from the Beijing film academy. But since many filmmakers weren’t necessarily a BFA graduate, I think they don’t use this term anymore.
What are the influences on these new filmmakers? Popular culture, Western movies, Hong Kong movies from the past?
I think it’s a hybrid influence: Hollywood films, European films—but not many Hong Kong films. The older generation of Chinese filmmakers were influenced by European films, like those from the French La Nouvelle Vague and neo-realist directors. The younger generation has been influenced by Hollywood films, American indie films, and also European films since you can get pretty much everything on DVD. Clearly, the rapid social and economic changes the Chinese have been subjected to in recent times are having a strong impact on the younger filmmakers as well. In recent years, many films focus on the transformations of new China. So there are multiple influences.
One Foot Off the Ground
Most the films I see are technically quite good, however, the writing is often uneven.
There is a lack of experienced scriptwriters in China, that is true. The Beijing Film Academy only started offering screenplay writing classes in 1985. For many years, filmmakers have solely focused on artsy films and ignored commercial films. The style of filmmaking at the Beijing Film Academy has been very anti-Hollywood with filmmakers preferring spontaneous filmmaking—but things have changed in the last 10 years. At the BFA, they now teach mainly genre filmmaking.
Some of the genres that are being done in China, with the exception of small art pictures, tend to be western genres. What subjects might be of interest to an international audience? What sources might the filmmakers draw on that have greater cultural resonance?
It’s difficult for Chinese films to reach a wider western audience now. Most Chinese films released in the West have been either big martial-art films or so called Chinese art films. Martial-art films reach a predictable audience, and Chinese art films mainly draw a small anti-mainstream audience. One day, I would like to see a Chinese romantic comedy released in the western market. As for sources of inspiration, the rapid changes in the culture and economy in China are causing all sorts of conflicts and unusual alliances—great subjects for filmmakers.
The French produced the New Wave, the Italians had neo-realism in the late '40s and early '50s, the Americans had their own renaissance in the '70s, and Australia had a run of great movies in the '70s and '80s. What is needed to produce a unique film style and movement in China?
China had its own renaissance at the film festival circuit in the '80s, but not in China. In the '80s, The Chinese government was much more open about the subjects suitable for filmmaking. The fifth-generation filmmakers tried lot of new things, and many good films were produced in the '80s—for example, Chen Kaige’s Yellow Earth and Zhang Yimo’s Red Sorghum. Now it’s 2008. Many American-style movie theaters have been built and digital technology provides more opportunities for filmmakers. If the government reduces the amount of censorship, there will be a real renaissance in China soon—just like Korean’s had in their film industry in the '90s.
What forces inspire Chinese filmmakers to take chances? What forces discourage or prevent them from doing so?
A growing audience for movies and more film investment certainly helps foster a risk-taking environment. The biggest problem that discourages filmmakers right now is censorship.
What films would you like to make that current local circumstances prevent you from doing? Money can be a factor, but please go beyond that.
I’m working on several projects at the same time. One is an urban comedy and the other is a martial-arts drama. The martial-arts picture is not the typical martial art film you get from China. It’s closer to what grandmaster Kurosawa used to do. But there’s one film I have been working on for years. It’s a crime story that takes place in a Chinese city, Moscow, and New York. But it may have some censorship problems here, and I am patiently waiting (and waiting), hoping one day the Chinese government will be more generous towards filmmakers.
