Fengming, a Chinese Memoir
Encyclopedia
Fengming, a Chinese Memoir , also known as Chronicle of a Chinese Woman, is a 2007
Chinese
documentary film
directed by Wang Bing
. The film consists almost entirely of an interview with the elderly He Fengming, recounting her experiences in post-1949 China
.
. With the launch of the subsequent Anti-Rightist Movement
, Wang was attacked for these statements, and He was condemned by association. The two were sent to separate labor camp
s, where Wang eventually died. He Fengming was released, briefly imprisoned again during the Cultural Revolution
, and finally rehabilitated
. In the early 1990s she published a memoir, My Life in 1957.
's Tie Xi Qu: West of the Tracks
). After receiving a commission from the Kunsten Festival des Arts, Wang decided to record He's story, resulting in a 50- and then a 130-minute film. After the Festival, Wang went back and conducted an additional interview, bringing the film to its final three-hour running time. The director employed an unusually stripped-down style, relying mainly a single camera set-up with only the occasional cut
or dissolve
.
The full-length version premiered, out of competition, at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival
. It subsequently played the international festival circuit, winning the Grand Prize at the 2007 Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival
.
2007 in film
This is a list of major films released in 2007.-Top grossing films:Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top grossing films that were first released in the USA in 2007...
Chinese
Cinema of China
The Chinese-language cinema has three distinct historical threads: Cinema of Hong Kong, Cinema of China, and Cinema of Taiwan. Since 1949 the cinema of mainland China has operated under restrictions imposed by the Communist Party of China's State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television and...
documentary film
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
directed by Wang Bing
Wang Bing (director)
Wang Bing is a Chinese director, often referred to as one of the foremost figures in documentary film-making. Wang is the founder of his own production company, Wang Bing Studios, which produces most of his films...
. The film consists almost entirely of an interview with the elderly He Fengming, recounting her experiences in post-1949 China
History of the People's Republic of China
The history of the People's Republic of China details the history of mainland China since October 1, 1949, when, after a near complete victory by the Communist Party of China in the Chinese Civil War, Mao Zedong proclaimed the People's Republic of China from atop Tiananmen...
.
Plot
Caught up the fervor of the Chinese Revolution, He abandoned her plans to study at university and took a job at the Gansu Daily newspaper. Her husband, fellow journalist Wang Jingchao, wrote several critical essays at the height of the Hundred Flowers CampaignHundred Flowers Campaign
The Hundred Flowers Campaign, also termed the Hundred Flowers Movement, refers mainly to a brief six weeks in the People's Republic of China in the early summer of 1957 during which the Communist Party of China encouraged a variety of views and solutions to national policy issues, launched...
. With the launch of the subsequent Anti-Rightist Movement
Anti-Rightist Movement
The Anti-Rightist Movement of the People's Republic of China in the 1950s and early 1960s consisted of a series of campaigns to purge alleged "rightists" within the Communist Party of China and abroad...
, Wang was attacked for these statements, and He was condemned by association. The two were sent to separate labor camp
Labor camp
A labor camp is a simplified detention facility where inmates are forced to engage in penal labor. Labor camps have many common aspects with slavery and with prisons...
s, where Wang eventually died. He Fengming was released, briefly imprisoned again during the Cultural Revolution
Cultural Revolution
The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, commonly known as the Cultural Revolution , was a socio-political movement that took place in the People's Republic of China from 1966 through 1976...
, and finally rehabilitated
Political rehabilitation
Political rehabilitation is the process by which a member of a political organization or government who has fallen into disgrace, is restored to public life. It is usually applied to leaders or other prominent individuals who regain their prominence after a period in which they have no influence or...
. In the early 1990s she published a memoir, My Life in 1957.
Production
Wang Bing first met He in 1995 and interviewed her in the course of research for his second feature (after 20032003 in film
The year 2003 in film involved some significant events. Releases of sequels took place with movies like The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, 2 Fast 2 Furious, Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle, The Matrix Reloaded, The Matrix Revolutions, Pokémon Heroes, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines,...
's Tie Xi Qu: West of the Tracks
Tie Xi Qu: West of the Tracks
Tie Xi Qu: West of the Tracks is a Chinese documentary film by Wang Bing. Over 9 hours long, the film consists of three parts, "Rust," "Remnants" and "Rails."...
). After receiving a commission from the Kunsten Festival des Arts, Wang decided to record He's story, resulting in a 50- and then a 130-minute film. After the Festival, Wang went back and conducted an additional interview, bringing the film to its final three-hour running time. The director employed an unusually stripped-down style, relying mainly a single camera set-up with only the occasional cut
Cut (filmmaking)
In the post-production process of film editing and video editing, a cut is an abrupt, but usually trivial film transition from one sequence to another. It is synonymous with the term edit, though "edit" can imply any number of transitions or effects. The cut, dissolve and wipe serve as the three...
or dissolve
Dissolve (film)
In the post-production process of film editing and video editing, a dissolve is a gradual transition from one image to another. The terms fade-out and fade-in and are used to describe a transition to and from a blank image. This is in contrast to a cut where there is no such transition. A dissolve...
.
The full-length version premiered, out of competition, at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival
2007 Cannes Film Festival
The 2007 Cannes Film Festival, the sixtieth, ran from 16 to 27 May 2007. Wong Kar-wai's My Blueberry Nights opened the festival, and Denys Arcand's The Age of Ignorance closed...
. It subsequently played the international festival circuit, winning the Grand Prize at the 2007 Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival
Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival
The Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival is a documentary film festival held biennially in Yamagata, Japan.It was first held in October 1989, which makes it one of the longest running documentary film festivals in the world and the most distinguished such festival in Asia...
.
External links
- Fengming, a Chinese Memoir at the Punto de Vista International Documentary Film FestivalPunto de Vista International Documentary Film FestivalThe Punto de Vista Documentary Film Festival is a space for celebrating, discovering and analysing the form of cinema generically grouped under the heading of ‘documentary’...
- Fengming, a Chinese Memoir at the Toronto International Film FestivalToronto International Film FestivalThe Toronto International Film Festival is a publicly-attended film festival held each September in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In 2010, 339 films from 59 countries were screened at 32 screens in downtown Toronto venues...
- Fengming: A Chinese Memoir' at the Vancouver International Film FestivalVancouver International Film FestivalThe Vancouver International Film Festival is an annual film festival held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada for two weeks in late September and early October...
- He Fengming at the Cannes Film FestivalCannes Film FestivalThe Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...
- He Fengming at the Kunsten Festival des Arts