Reinventing China

Résumé du livre

In the first of three parts, the stories of ten filmmakers prior to entering film school in 1978 are told in the form of a shared or group biography. They include directors like Chen Kaige, Zhang Yimou and Tian Zhuangzhuang, who won international praise for their work. But they also include less well-known figures such as Liu Miaomiao. This mix of the famous and the obscure derives from the purpose to construct a history of the broad dynamics of Chinese cultural change. In the middle section of the book, the students' crucial four years together at film school are outlined. The main part discusses the work of each of the filmmakers until the 1990s, tracing remarkable social and political changes through the continuing histories of these talented and determined individuals. This part ends by introducing other members of this generation, who did not attend film school with them, and outlines their impact on older filmmakers.