He Jianjun

He Jianjun (simplified Chinese: 何建军; traditional Chinese: 何建軍; pinyin: Hé Jiànjūn; born 1960 in Beijing[1] ) is a Chinese film director and screenwriter. A graduate of the Beijing Film Academy, He is considered a leading voice in the so-called "Sixth Generation."[2] He is occasionally credited under the name "He Yi."[1]

He Jianjun
Born1960 (age 6061)
Beijing, China
OccupationFilm director
AwardsFIPRESCI Award
1993 Red Beads (Rotterdam)
1995 Postman (Rotterdam)
Golden Alexander
1995 Postman
Rotterdam Tiger Award
1995 Postman
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese何建軍
Simplified Chinese何建军

Career

He Jianjun began his film career like many of his contemporaries at the Beijing Film Academy, China's premiere film school. Upon graduating in 1990, he began an apprenticeship with some of the Fifth Generation's major figures, notably Zhang Yimou, Chen Kaige, and Tian Zhuangzhuang. He would serve as the assistant director in Zhang's Raise the Red Lantern (1992) and Tian's The Blue Kite,[3] as well as a screenwriter for Chen Kaige's King of the Children (1987), before his debut film, Red Beads, was released in 1993 to strong reviews in the west. Filmed in only twelve days, Red Beads was based on the experiences of one of He's classmates, who had a psychotic break.[1]

While Red Beads would win a FIPRESCI award in the 1993 International Film Festival Rotterdam, the film also caught the wrath of Chinese censors, who blacklisted He Jianjun in 1994 along with several other prominent filmmakers, including Tian Zhuangzhuang, Wang Xiaoshuai, Wu Wenguang, Zhang Yuan, and Ning Dai.[4]

Because of the blacklisting, He Jianjun had to smuggle out his next film, Postman for post-production.[5]

Filmography

Year English Title Chinese Title Notes
1994 Red Beads 悬恋 FIPRESCI Award (International Film Festival Rotterdam)
1995 Postman 邮差 Golden Alexander (International Thessaloniki Film Festival)
Tiger Award (International Film Festival Rotterdam)
1999 Scenery 风景
2001 Butterfly Smile 蝴蝶微笑
2004 Pirated Copy 蔓延
2008 River People 水上人家

References

  1. Barbieri, Maria (2005). "He Jianjun" in Encyclopedia of Contemporary Chinese Culture, edited by Edward Lawrence Davis. Routledge, p. 340. ISBN 0-203-64506-5.
  2. Zhang, Yingjin & Xiao, Zhiwei (1998). Encyclopedia of Chinese Film. Taylor & Francis, p. 184. ISBN 0-415-15168-6.
  3. Maslin, Janet (1995-03-21). "Postman-Movie-Review". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-09-27.
  4. Halligan, Fionnuala (1994-05-30). "In Surprise Move, Ministry Issues Blacklist: A Crackdown on Filmmakers". The International Herald Tribune. Archived from the original on 2012-10-12. Retrieved 2008-11-17.
  5. Berardinelli, James (1995). "Review:Postman (Youchai)". ReelReviews. Retrieved 2008-10-21.
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