Fuck Cinema
Wu Wenguang | 2005 | 150 min. | English subtitles
Synopsis:
This documentary shows how young people try to realize their dreams or find fame through the film industry. A central characters is Wang, a 28 year-old man from the countryside. His love for the cinema brought him to Beijing but all he can do is line up outside the gate of a film studio every day in hopes of landing a job as an extra. The pay is 30 RMB a day. While in Beijing, he writes a screenplay based on his own experience as an extra. He thinks it expresses the somber desperation of surviving in China. He wants to find an investor or a director to produce it as an “underground film” because he believes many Chinese directors have gotten their start this way. Wang meets some directors and producers, some famous and some not, some businessmen, some from the film censorship authority, some film students, even some underground film people. His life in Beijing is very difficult; he doesn’t have money or a permanent place to sleep. In the summer he sleeps on the roof of a school dormitory. In the end, Wang cannot realize his dream. He will never see his film made.
Another character is Xiao Wu, a 19 year-old man from the countryside. His love of cinema is shown in his chosen occupation of selling pirated DVDs. He sells famous foreign films such as award winners at the Berlin, Venice, and Cannes Film Festivals. Every day he puts all his DVDs into a bag and goes out on his bike to find his frequent customers, students and young film buffs.
In this documentary we also meet some young girls who dream of becoming movie stars. We learn of their love of film and their ideas about life as they audition for roles.
While making this documentary Wu revealed himself and his own questions about why he makes films. He shares the conflicts he has with his subjects, such as when Wang accuses him of exploiting his miserable life story in order to make a successful film.
About the Filmmaker:
Wu Wenguang was born in 1956 in Yunnan Province in southwest China. After graduating from high school in 1974, Wu was sent to the countryside where he worked as a farmer for a year and as an elementary school teacher for three years. From 1978 to 1982 he studied Chinese literature in Yunnan University. After receiving his Bachelor’s degree, Wu taught at a junior high school for three years. He was then a journalist for a TV station for another three years. In 1988 Wu left television and moved to Beijing to be an independent documentary filmmaker, freelance writer and creator and producer of Living Dance Studio, a dance performance group. In 2005 Wu co-founded the independent art space Caochangdi Workstation (CCD Workstation) with his partner Wen Hui. He is the curator of the annual film and dance festivals Crossing Festival and May Festival. He is also the curator of the China Village Documentary Project, which began in 2005. His other films are: Bumming in Beijing (1990), 1966, My Time in The Red Guards (1993), At Home in The World (1995), Jiang Hu: Life on the Road (1999), Dance With Farm Workers (2001),You Are Called Outlander (2003), Bare Your Stuff (2010), Treatment (2010).
| Information | |
| Online Viewing | Yes |
| Available Subtitle | English , Chinese |
| Length | 174 min |
| Production Year | 2005 |
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| FORMATS | PRICE | REMARKS |
|---|---|---|
| DVD (Colleges, Universities, Institutions) | $300 | |
| Video on Demand (Home) | $19.99 | Monthly subscription to watch(more than 30 documentaries,unlimited online viewing within 30 days from purchase date) |
| $5 | Watch one filmValid for 48 hours |