survey_46 — experimental film and video essay

1. Ju Anqi — 雎安奇 (Urumqi, 1975)

A director of documentary and experimental film and a multimedia artist; author of the film 《北京的风很大》 (1999/2000), one of the landmark works of Chinese experimental cinema.

Path — born in 1975 in Urumqi (Xinjiang), of Nanjing (Jiangsu) origin; in 1995 he founded the advertising company “红旗广告公司” in Xinjiang; in 1999 he graduated from the directing faculty of the Beijing Film Academy (北京电影学院导演系).

《北京的风很大》 — the debut film was shot in 1999 on 16 mm Kodak Eastman stock eight years past its expiry date, with a microphone mounted on a television antenna; the edit was made at a 1:1 ratio — not a single frame of the footage was excluded. It premiered in 2000 at the 50th Berlin International Film Festival (Forum programme).

Films — 《北京的风很大》 (1999/2000, 50 min), 《被子》 (Quilts, 2003), 《中国之夜》 (2006), 《生日快乐！安先生》 (2007), 《屌丝和毛》 (2013), 《巴黎派对》 (shot in Paris in 2005, edited by 2016), 《诗人出差了》 (2015, 103 min), 《钻的人》 (2016, 35 min), 《失踪的警察》 (2016, 50 min), 《阿尔莫多瓦的演员》 (2016, 13 min), 《艺术是什么》 (2018, 25 min).

《诗人出差了》 — shot in September 2002 over 40 days of travelling through Xinjiang with the poet Shu (Hou Xianbo); the author served as director, screenwriter and cinematographer; the material was edited in 2014. Premiere at the 44th International Film Festival Rotterdam (2015), where the film won the NETPAC award for best Asian film, as well as the Grand Prize of the 16th Jeonju International Film Festival. The project received support from the Hubert Bals Fund (IFFR).

Architectural trilogy — since 2019 he has been making a documentary series about China's architectural heritage: about 100 sites and interviews with 85 architects and researchers; the first part, 《楼》, was shown at the 25th Shanghai International Film Festival (2023), where the author joined the documentary jury; the second part is 《厂》, the third 《乡》.

Roles and screenings — in 2004, together with six independent directors (including Jia Zhangke and Lou Ye), he signed an appeal to the State Administration of Film on reforming the film industry; his works have been exhibited at the Centre Pompidou (Paris), the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) and the Guggenheim Museum (New York).

website

2. Zhu Rikun — 朱日坤 (Guangdong, 1976)

Independent director, producer and film-festival curator; founder of the studio “现象工作室” and one of the organisers of the Beijing Independent Film Festival.

• Path — born in 1976 in Guangdong, a Hakka; from 1996 to 2000 he studied at the Guanghua School of Management of Peking University, in money and banking; as a student he took part in creating a film website.
• Studio and festivals — in 2001 he founded “现象工作室” and the website “现象网” (现象网 / fanhall), working in the production, distribution and screening of independent cinema; in 2003 he established “中国纪录片交流周” (the China Documentary Film Exchange Week), one of China's first independent film festivals; in 2006 he co-founded the Beijing Independent Film Festival (北京独立影像展, BIFF) and served as its executive director.
• Roles — from 2006 to 2012 art director of the Li Xianting Film Fund (栗宪庭电影基金), continuing to organise “中国纪录片交流周” and the Beijing Independent Film Forum; he sat on the juries of the Locarno International Film Festival (2011), the Hong Kong International Film Festival (2012) and the festivals “Message to Man” (St Petersburg), CinDi (Seoul) and the Rome Asian Film Festival; visiting researcher at Keio University (Japan) and guest curator at the Burns Film Center (USA); editor-in-chief of the collections “影象冲动” and “独立纪录”.
• Films — since 2013 he has worked as a director himself: 《查房》 (2013, 21 min; special mention in the short-film competition of the festival “Cinéma du Réel”, 2013), 《档案》 (The Dossier, 2014, 129 min; Locarno International Film Festival), 《尘》 (Dust, 2014, 85 min), 《欢迎》 (2016, 62 min), 《安妮》 (2018, 78 min). On 《档案》 he was director and cinematographer (together with Wang Wo), with editing by Xu Xin.
• Screenings — his works have been shown at the festivals “Cinéma du Réel” (France), IDFA, Festival dei Popoli (Italy), the Locarno IFF, the Hong Kong Independent Film Festival, CPH:DOX, Doclisboa and One World, as well as at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA, New York) and Asia Society.
• Later period — he has lived in New York since 2014; in 2025 he was preparing the first New York festival of independent Chinese cinema, the Indie China Film Festival, which was cancelled two days before opening.

website

3. Wang Wo — 王我 (Hebei, 1967)

Independent documentary director and graphic designer; author of the posters of the Beijing Independent Film Festival.

• Path — born in 1967 in Hebei province (according to the University of California, San Diego Library, in Handan); in 1995 he received a bachelor's degree from the Central Academy of Arts and Crafts (中央工艺美术学院), then a master's in art and design from the Academy of Arts & Design of Tsinghua University; he has worked in film since 2004; he taught at the Li Xianting Film School (栗宪庭电影学校).
• Films — 《外面》 (Outside, 2005, 78 min, experimental), 《热闹》 (Noise, 2007, 93 min), 《折腾》 (Zhe Teng: According to China, 2010, 127 min), 《对话》 (The Dialogue, 2014), 《没有电影的电影节》 (A Filmless Festival, 2015, 85 min).
• Screenings — 《外面》 was selected for the competition of the 47th Festival dei Popoli international documentary festival (Italy) and won the main prize and the audience award of the new Asian cinema section at the 11th “Cinéma du Réel” festival in Lyon; 《热闹》 — the 4th China Documentary Film Exchange Week (2007) and the Hong Kong Asian Film Festival (2007); 《折腾》 — the 7th China Documentary Film Exchange Week (2010) and the Taiwan International Documentary Festival (2010).
• 《没有电影的电影节》 — a film about the preparation and forced cancellation of the 11th Beijing Independent Film Festival in 2014; the material was gathered by viewers, festival staff, participating directors, volunteers and journalists, making it a collective work.
• Design — since 2006 he has designed the posters of the China Documentary Film Exchange Week and the Beijing Independent Film Festival (the first BIFF poster of 2006 is his work); in 2023 the Philip Robinson Library of Newcastle University hosted an exhibition of his posters for Chinese independent cinema — more than 200 works from 2005 to 2023.
• Later period — he currently lives in the USA; in 2024 the film “A Filmless Festival” was shown as part of the programme “Machines & Me: A Filmless Festival” (University of Maryland).

4. Xu Xin — 徐辛 (Taizhou, Jiangsu, 1966)

Independent documentary director; author of the film 《克拉玛依》 (Karamay, 2010).

• Path — born in 1966 in Taizhou (Jiangsu); in 1991 he graduated from the art faculty of the Jiangsu Institute of Education (江苏教育学院美术系); in his youth he worked in painting (Jiangsu Youth Art Week, 1988; Guangzhou Biennale, 1992) and photography (an exhibition in Düsseldorf, 2001); in 2000 he founded the documentary studio “徐辛纪录片工作室”. He lives in Nanjing and Beijing.
• Films — 《马皮》 (2002, 80 min), 《车厢》 (2004, 18 min), 《房山教堂》 (2005, 80 min), 《火把剧团》 (2006, 110 min), 《桥》 (2007, 16 min), 《克拉玛依》 / KARAMAY (2010, 356 min), 《道路》 (2011, 113 min), 《长江》 (2017, 156 min).
• 《克拉玛依》 — a black-and-white documentary about the fire at the “Yui” culture house in Karamay (Xinjiang) on 8 December 1994, which claimed the lives of 288 children; filming began on 8 December 2007 by the Xiaohuxi cemetery and continued in Urumqi, Beijing and Shanghai; of more than 60 families interviewed, 13 stories made it into the film. Premiere at the 34th Hong Kong International Film Festival (2010, competition programme of the Human Rights Award); Young Jury Prize of the Locarno Film Festival (2010) and a nomination for best documentary at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards (2010).
• Other works — 《道路》, a portrait of an 83-year-old Nanjing resident and war veteran, was selected for the “Cinéma du Réel” festival (2011); 《火把剧团》 is about private Sichuan opera companies in Chengdu losing their venues to urban redevelopment; 《长江》 is a documentary counterpart to Yang Chao's fiction film 《长江图》 (2012).
• Subject matter — the films are devoted to the grassroots strata of Chinese society, the socially vulnerable and small groups; the author regards documentary filming as a way of taking part in the construction of history.

5. Huang Wenhai (Wen Hai) — 黄文海 ()

Independent documentary director and curator; he also works under the name 闻海 (Wen Hai).

• Path — has worked in independent cinema since 1996; studied at the Beijing Film Academy; worked for about four years at China Central Television, then left the system and turned to independent production. In publications and credits he uses the name 闻海.
• Films — 《北京郊区》 (2002), 《军训营纪事》 (2003), 《喧哗的尘土》 / Floating Dust (2004, 111 min), 《梦游》 / Dream Walking (2006, 86 min), 《我们》 / We (2008), 《西方去此不远》 / Reconstructing Faith (2009), 《壳》 / Crust (2010), 《凶年之畔》 / We the Workers (2017, 173 min), 《喊叫与耳语》, 《在流放地》.
• Recognition — 《喧哗的尘土》 won the “Georges Beauregard” Prize of the 16th Marseille International Documentary Film Festival (2005) and was selected for the “Silver Wolf” competition of the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA, 2004); 《梦游》 — the top award of the 28th French festival “Cinéma du Réel” (2006); 《我们》 — a special mention in the “Orizzonti” section of the 65th Venice Film Festival (2008).
• 《喧哗的尘土》 — shot in 2003 before and during the SARS epidemic in a county town in Hunan province (called Yaoyang in the film); at its centre are a mahjong gambling house, the underground “liuhecai” lottery and the fates of local residents; filming took about three months in the “direct cinema” manner (after F. Wiseman), from roughly 100 hours of footage.
• Curating and writing — in 2014 he founded in Hong Kong the 中國獨立紀錄片研究會 (Chinese Independent Documentary Research Society); curator of the programme “决绝——1997年以来的中国独立纪录片回顾” (Hong Kong, 2017–2018; 50 films by 55 directors); author of the book 《放逐的凝視——見證中國獨立紀錄片》 (2016) and the photo book 《存在的》 (2021).
• Screenings and archives — retrospectives of his work have been held within the Guggenheim Museum's programme “Turn It On: China on Film, 2000–2017” (2017, the US premiere of 《梦游》); in 2020 he donated a collection of more than 50 Chinese independent documentaries to the library of National Tsing Hua University (Taiwan).

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