South of the Clouds (2004 film)

Last updated
South of the Clouds
Traditional Chinese 雲的南方
Simplified Chinese 云的南方
Hanyu Pinyin Yún de nán fāng
Directed by Zhu Wen
Written byZhu Wen
Produced byGeng Ling
Han Sanping
Starring Jin Zi
Li Xuejian
Liu Changsheng
Tian Zhuangzhuang
Cinematography Wang Min
Edited by Kong Jinlei
Music by Zuoxiao Zuzhou
Distributed byChina Film Assist
Release date
  • February 10, 2004 (2004-02-10)(Berlin International Film Festival)
Running time
100 minutes
LanguageMandarin

South of the Clouds is a 2004 Chinese film and the second film directed by the writer Zhu Wen. The film stands in stark contrast to Zhu's previous film. In terms of production, South of the Clouds received the cooperation of the state apparatus unlike 2001's Seafood which was an underground production shot on digital hand-held cameras. In terms of story, the transgressive tale of a prostitute and a policeman in Seafood is a far cry from South of the Cloud's gentle tale of a retiree who fulfills a lifelong desire to travel to the southern province of Yunnan (literally "South of the Clouds").

Contents

South of the Clouds stars Li Xuejian as the protagonist, Xu Daqin, and features a cameo by director Tian Zhuangzhuang as the police chief in a small town in Yunnan. It was produced by China Film Assist, an independent production company in China; South of the Clouds was the company's first production. [1]

Background

South of the Clouds was, at heart, an attempt by Zhu Wen to capture the image and beauty of Yunnan that he had experienced upon his first visit to the province. [1] Beyond that, however, the film was an opportunity for Zhu to present his work to his home country. Following the completion of Seafood, Zhu "wanted to make something that [he] could show to [his] parents and...friends in China. [1] Unlike Seafood, South of the Clouds did not encounter any issues with the state censors, in part because the film strictly followed all the relevant regulations. [1]

Awards and nominations

South of the Clouds like many Chinese art films was screened at numerous film festivals around the world. It succeeded in winning a FIPRESCI prize and the Firebird Award for New Cinema at the 28th Hong Kong International Film Festival. [2] The film also won a NETPAC award at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2004. [3]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fruit Chan</span> Hong Kong filmmaker

Fruit Chan Gor is a Hong Kong filmmaker who is best known for his style of film reflecting the everyday life of Hong Kong people. He is well known for using amateur actors in his films. He became a household name after the success of the 1997 film Made in Hong Kong, which earned many local and international awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hou Hsiao-hsien</span> Taiwanese director, actor (born 1947)

Hou Hsiao-hsien is a retired Mainland Chinese-born Taiwanese film director, screenwriter, producer and actor. He is a leading figure in world cinema and in Taiwan's New Wave cinema movement. He won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival in 1989 for his film A City of Sadness (1989), and the Best Director award at the Cannes Film Festival in 2015 for The Assassin (2015). Other highly regarded works of his include The Puppetmaster (1993) and Flowers of Shanghai (1998).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hong Kong International Film Festival</span> Film festival

The Hong Kong International Film Festival (HKIFF) is one of Asia's oldest international film festivals. Founded in 1976, the festival features different movies and filmmakers from different countries, and takes place in Hong Kong.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chu Tʽien-wen</span> Taiwanese writer

Chu Tʻien-wen is a Taiwanese fiction writer. Chu is perhaps best known for writing the screenplays for most Hou Hsiao-hsien films. She is the recipient of the 2015 Newman Prize for Chinese Literature.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Busan International Film Festival</span> Annual film festival held in Busan, South Korea

The Busan International Film Festival (BIFF), formerly the Pusan International Film Festival (PIFF), held annually in Haeundae-gu, Busan, South Korea, is one of the most significant film festivals in Asia. The first festival, held from 13 to 21 September 1996, was also the first international film festival in Korea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cinema of East Asia</span>

The Cinema of East Asia is cinema produced in East Asia or by people from this region. It is part of cinema of Asia, which in turn is part of world cinema.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yan Yan Mak</span> Hong Kong film director

Yan Yan Mak is a Hong Kong based female award-winning director.

<i>Still Life</i> (2006 film) 2006 Chinese film directed by Jia Zhangke

Still Life is a 2006 Chinese film directed by Jia Zhangke. Shot in the old village of Fengjie, a small town on the Yangtze River slowly being destroyed by the building of the Three Gorges Dam, Still Life tells the story of two people in search of their spouses. Still Life is a co-production of the Shanghai Film Studio and Xstream Pictures.

<i>Hold You Tight</i> (film) 1998 Hong Kong film

Hold You Tight is a 1998 Hong Kong romantic drama film directed by Stanley Kwan. The film features full-frontal male nudity.

<i>The Park</i> (2007 film) 2007 Chinese film

The Park is the 2007 directorial debut of Chinese writer-director Yin Lichuan. Produced by Filmblog Media and Beijing Wide Angle Lens, the comedy-drama film is part of producer Lola Zhang's Yunnan New Film Project, ten proposed films by female Chinese directors. The Park is the second of the ten to be released, after Wang Fen's The Case (2007). Each of the films was required to take place in the southern province of Yunnan.

Zhu Wen is a Chinese short story writer turned director.

<i>Suzhou River</i> (film) 2000 Chinese film

Suzhou River is a 2000 Chinese romance film written and directed by Lou Ye, a tragic love story set in contemporary Shanghai. The film, though stylistically distinct, is typical of "Sixth Generation" Chinese filmmakers in its subject matter of contemporary China's gritty urban experience. Co-produced by the German Essential Films and China's Dream Factory, the film stars Zhou Xun in a dual role as two different women and Jia Hongsheng as a man obsessed with finding a woman from his past.

<i>Rain Clouds over Wushan</i> 1995 Chinese film

Rain Clouds over Wushan is a 1995 Chinese film directed by Zhang Ming and written by Zhu Wen. The film follows the lives of two lonely people living in Wushan on the banks of the Yangtze River during the construction of the Three Gorges Dam.

<i>Seafood</i> (film) 2001 Chinese film directed by Zhu Wen

Seafood is a 2001 Chinese film directed by the established writer Zhu Wen. Though Seafood was Zhu's first film as director, he had already gained some experience with filmmaking as a screenwriter for Zhang Ming and Zhang Yuan. Seafood was produced independently by Thought Dance Entertainment and Zhu's own Zhu Wen Workshop.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liu Yonghong</span>

Liu Yonghong is a Chinese cinematographer, based in Beijing. His work was recognized at the 23rd Manaki Brothers International Film Camera Festival, for his work as director of photography on Seafood (2001). As well as at the Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent Cinema, for his work as director of photography on Blind Shaft (2003).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">L'est Films Group</span>

L'Est Films Group Int’l Co (EFG) is an entertainment industry company involved in movie distribution and production.

<i>The Heroic Ones</i> 1970 Hong Kong film

The Heroic Ones is a 1970 Hong Kong Shaw Brothers Studio martial arts film directed by Chang Cheh. It was originally released on 14 August 1970 in Hong Kong and was one of the top grossing Hong Kong films between the years of 1970 and 1972.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tianyi Film Company</span> Film production company in Hong Kong

Tianyi Film Company, also called Unique Film Productions, was one of the "big three" film production companies in pre-Second World War Republic of China. Founded in Shanghai in 1925 by the Shaw (Shao) brothers led by Runje Shaw, the company also established operations in Malaya and Hong Kong. Although the company's Shanghai studio was destroyed in 1937 during the Japanese invasion, its offshoot in Hong Kong, later called Shaw Brothers Studio, blossomed into a media empire under the leadership of the youngest brother, Sir Run Run Shaw.

Qiu Jiongjiong is a Chinese contemporary artist and filmmaker based in Shenzhen China.

Bi Gan is a Chinese film director, screenwriter, poet, and photographer. His first feature film, Kaili Blues, was released in 2015 and won Best New Film Director at the 52nd Golden Horse Awards, the FIPRESCI Prize, The Golden Montgolfiere Prize at the 37th Festival of the Three Continents in Nantes, and the Best First Feature Film Award at The 68th Locarno Film Festival.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Lee, Kevin (September 2004). "From Sea to Sky: An Interview with Zhu Wen". Senses of Cinema. Archived from the original on 2008-06-02. Retrieved 2008-10-15.
  2. "FIPRESCI-Festival Reports-Hong Kong 04 - South of the Clouds". FIPRESCI. 2004. Retrieved 2008-10-15.
  3. Nguyen, Chau (2004-02-20). "Feb. 20, 2004: News from Abroad". Asia Pacific Arts. Retrieved 2008-10-15.