XI’AN FILM STUDIO

One of the major film studios in China, Xi’an Film Studio was established on 23 August 1958. During its first decade, the studio produced nineteen films, including Peach Blossom Fan (Taohua shan, 1963). The film featured the talented actress Wang Danfeng and was acclaimed by audiences in China, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia. Film production at the studio was prohibited during the Cultural Revolution, but resumed in 1979 with Wu Tianming’s The Reverberations of Life (Shenghuo de chanyin). The Xi’an Incident (1981) marked a breakthrough in bringing a major historical event to the screen.

In the early 1980s, Xi’an Studio became the cradle of ‘Chinese New Film’ by recruiting recent Beijing Film Academy graduates and encouraging experimental filmmaking. Under the direction of the studio director Wu Tianming, such ‘Fifth-Generation’ directors (see Fifth Generation (film directors)) as Zhang Yimou, Chen Kaige, Tian Zhuangzhuang and Huang Jianxin produced their early work and helped thestudio establish an international reputation. In 1987, Xi’an Studio reached the height of its creativity with Wu Tianming’s Old Well (Laojing) and Zhang Yimou’s Red Sorghum (Hong Gaoliang) which won a series of international prizes and became domestic blockbusters. In the 1990s, like all other major film studios in China, Xi’an Studio faced serious financial hardship after a cut in government subsidies. The studio therefore began to engage in international co-productions, while building the impressive Xi’an Film Production City (Xi’an Cinecitta). In August 2000, Xi’an Studio and its adjunct businesses were incorporated as the Xi’an Film Studio Company.

WANG CHANG