New Age Artists

Chapter 34 Aren’t they just a bunch of clowns in the guise of art?
Xie Fei is over sixty years old and has achieved status and honors in the industry.

Professor, doctoral supervisor, vice chairman of the Film Association, and vice chairman of the Directors Association.

It was only 05, and the entry qualifications for film production, distribution and screening were liberalized, just over a year ago.

Xie Fei is a representative of the fourth generation of directors, while Shen Santong is just a new director.

The academic exchanges after the screening are themselves a form of support and recognition, and have the meaning of inheritance, and have many benefits.

Whether you accept it or not, admit it or not, at that point in time in 05, not everyone could make a movie or have a go at it.

Making movies remains a special privilege.

It is something that only a few people can play with, a symbol of status.

Shen Santong was really a little nervous, fearing that the other party would launch a sneak attack without following the moral code of martial arts.

We had communicated in advance, and the purpose of showing the film at Beijing Film Academy was definitely encouragement.

It is also good for Beijing Film Academy to have a representative figure of the new generation of directors emerge from the school.

But who is sure?
If I really want to criticize, I will criticize.

A sixty-year-old man with a high status in the industry and also his teacher, could he really drop gold coins on the spot?

Fortunately, Teacher Xie Fei is realistic and this play is a good one.

This evaluation was very high, higher than Shen Santong had expected.

With this evaluation, Shen Santong is the representative of the new generation of directors.

It can be taken out with justification.

This is the advantage of professional training, it feels great to have connections.

Although he also makes commercial films, Zhang Yimou is criticized a lot.

Although Chen Kaige’s “The Promise” turned out to be like that, there was not much noise in the industry because Chen Kaige’s background is more profound than Zhang Yimou’s.

It was a good start and the atmosphere of communication with Director Xie Fei was very good.

There are still some problems with this play, such as the camera, lighting, etc., please communicate normally.

"Thank you, thank you Director Xie Fei." Jingwei took control and entered the next segment, where the audience talked about their feelings and communicated with each other.

Shen Santong sent Xie Fei off the stage.

"The long shot at the beginning of this play is very good and beautiful, and it explains the status of the characters very clearly, but it lasts less than three minutes and immediately enters the funny stage. The whole film has no depth at all, it is too kitsch, flattering the audience and the powerful institutions. For example, the portrayal of the police is obviously a bit out of touch with reality. If the daughter's birthday is very important, then just ask for leave. There is no critical thinking at all."

A boy with long hair, a furrowed brow, and the look of an independent self-taught student criticized.

After a few friendly exchanges, the boy brought Shen Santong back to reality.

The taste is right.

My understanding of movies is author films, master films, the European style.

That's what the textbooks teach.

"All I have to do is present a good story, a story that the audience likes. For me, this is not flattery, this is my expression."

"Then you have completely lost your awareness as a director and your sense of social responsibility. You don't pay attention to marginalized groups. Your stories are powerless and lighter than a hair. You are really unworthy of being a director. You have completely become a slave to the market." The boy sneered.

"Okay, student, we are here for an academic discussion, no personal attacks." Jingwei signaled the staff to take away the microphone and move on to the next topic.

The boy was about to say something, but was pulled down by the students next to him. The auditorium burst into laughter. It was normal to be humiliated at Beijing Film Academy.

"What is heavy then?"

Shen Santong signaled Jingwei not to change the subject and stood up.

"I don't care about those bullshit auteur films, master films, and European ones. Aren't they just the grandsons who were defeated by Hollywood and left in disarray. They shiver in the so-called art hall, using dry excuses to make up some pathetic excuses for their own incompetence. Aren't they just a bunch of clowns in the guise of art?"

Shen Santong raised his voice, his tone filled with anger.

clap clap!

The auditorium was silent for two seconds, and suddenly applause broke out.

This passage is quite pretentious.

The students were very excited to listen, but some of the fifth and sixth generation directors who came looked unhappy.

"What's the difference between art films and commercial films? Aren't art films just something a group of people do to entertain themselves?"

"Some films in particular are purely sponsored by foreign film producers and investors. What's ridiculous is that they can still talk about independent personality when they are sponsored."

"Hundreds of years ago, they were literati, a small circle. In recent decades, they are intellectuals. When more people can read and write, they can no longer distinguish themselves, so they came up with the term 'literary youth'."

"Movies are very simple. There are only types of movies: feature films, drama films, comedies, action films, spy films, war films, road movies, science fiction films, and avant-garde films. So-called art films are just a sub-category of avant-garde films."

"What is avant-garde film? First, it is a low-budget work of art. If you have the guts to get the money, you can do whatever you want. That's why the low-budget film circles in Europe and the United States are very chaotic."

“Then there are the experimental explorations that directors make to explore new techniques or new narratives.”

"But what about us?"

"There is an extreme lack of genre films, avant-garde films, and a large number of directors are gathered together, and they are not using new technologies or new narratives, but rather dark and marginal bullshit."

The expressions of the people present gradually became solemn, especially some of the actors.

The college leader winked at Jingwei, wanting her to change the subject quickly.

"Director Shen." Jingwei reminded.

"Let me finish."

Shen Santong glared at Jingwei, looked around, and smiled: "What I said is an academic discussion and artistic exchange. I also have the freedom to express myself, right?"

"This is our current problem. When China joined the WTO, there were clauses on film liberalization. China imported 10 Hollywood blockbusters every year, and the number has increased to 40 every year."

"Once our local films lose ground, we may lose the right to define what is beautiful, what is ugly, what is real, what is fake, what is good, and what is evil."

"Open your eyes and see the world."

"The turning point of World War II is almost becoming the Normandy Landing. In a few years, Stalingrad will be forgotten. This is the turning point of World War II. It concerns the lives of billions of people, and it can be distorted."

"Our conflict with Hong Kong is still an internal one, but it is different with Hollywood. If the local film industry loses, the fate of all of us in the industry will be much more cruel than being squeezed out by the Hong Kong industry."

"So I can understand why companies in our industry cooperate with Hong Kong Island, and even flatter it. I can understand that they are trying to save our local films in a roundabout way, but I can't do it."

Originally, I wrote about the story of Little White Dragon in order to emphasize the rationality of developing local films. But because it involved some negative public opinions, I made some changes in order to avoid being taken down.

This is to clarify.

2024年6月12日15:04:19。

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(End of this chapter)