History+of+Chinese+Film+Industry+(CY)

**Development of Chinese Film Industry**
In the 1980s film was a dominant form of entertainment sought by people: annual movie attendance reached as high as 25 billion in 1984 and nationwide exhibition revenue was approximately 1.3 billion (Zhang). In this period of film boom, the prevailing genres of film were revolutionary history and literary adaptation. For example, //The Legend of Tianyun Mountain// was a revolutionary historical film that criticized anti-rightist campaign. However, the trend gradually moved on to favor films that focused on human emotions and explored previously banned subjects such as heterosexuality and female sexuality. Although the film industry was under strict censorship, there was an increased artistic freedom with the new CCP policy.

The Fifth Generation filmmakers such as Chen Kaige and Zhang Yimou were the ones who drew the international society’s attention towards Chinese cinema. Films such as //One and Eight// and //Yellow Earth// emphasized Chinese cultural tradition through its scenery and challenged the overly biased, glorified views of the Communist Revolution by moving away from the strict distinction of heroes and villains in previous films. Many criticized the Fifth Generation for their obsession with aesthetics, however when the film //Red Sorghum// won the Golden Bear at the Berlin film festival and became internationally acknowledged, many filmmakers came to adopt this new style.

With the new economic reform in place, the mid 1990s was marked as a difficult period for the film industry: They could no longer afford experimental films and had to find ways to finance their productions. Thus this led many filmmakers to turn to genres such as martial arts, comedy, thriller - the money-making genres popular among the audience. In the 1990s we also witnessed a rise in co-production (usually with Hong Kong) and underground films being smuggled into Europe’s film festivals. Films such as the //The Days//, //Red Beads//, and //Beijing Bastards// were few examples of outlawed films that were struggled out of the country.

The next generation of filmmakers, the Sixth Generation used images and themes that focused on the lives of marginal individuals such as gays, alcoholics, prisoners and topics that dealt with violence and rock music. It was also among the Sixth Generation that we saw production of films funded by private sources and overseas money. For example, Feng Xiaogang’s comedy film, //Big Shot Funeral// was invested by Columbia. Increase in transnational financing, casting and marketing allowed foreign film industries to make inroads into the restricted Chinese film market.