Forgotten Images: The Origin of New Chinese Documentaries: The Origin of New Chinese Documentaries

Author: Li Xing
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-01-01
Features: Documentary is a load of shit; it's uncomfortable until it's released. — Wu Wenguang
Forgotten, it seems, is an inescapable ailment for ordinary people. People use various tools to preserve their memories, and this is what recording is about. — Chen Zhen
The way I shoot is that the camera basically doesn’t move, because to me, life itself is utterly captivating. I use a lot of long takes, which was my fundamental narrative method when making documentaries. — Wen Pinlin
Look at this society—how much of it is false? We face such a huge lie! That’s why I still make documentaries. — Zhang Yuan
In this world, I haven’t yet found anything more interesting than making art or anything else compared to making documentaries. — Jiang Yu
Since the birth of documentaries, internationally speaking, it has been a relatively mainstream direction—focused on society and people. — Duan Jinchuan
Documentaries are actually a kind of nostalgia for our youth, an ideal that can never be extinguished. As long as the time is ripe, we will return to this creative work. — Time
I think documentary filmmakers should possess qualities similar to those of feature film directors, or even those of writers and reportage writers. — Wang Zijun
Documentary is undoubtedly a cultural movement. Whether it’s a movement or the inspiration for a collective consciousness, or even the current state of pure technology—like the widespread use of jump cuts and on-site shooting in the "New Wave"—history never progresses all at once. It has to first "eliminate" the "enemies" and complete its mission. — Chen Jue
Where is the origin of China’s new documentaries? The author of this book, after ten years of research, has interviewed nine firsthand witnesses and carefully studied eight films, revealing for the first time the true origins of China’s new documentaries. The author and their collaborators pursued this journey with great passion and meticulously recorded the history of China’s new documentaries. The firsthand accounts of the witnesses vividly document the creativity, processes, reflections, and progress of the participants at the time. The film reader section provides readers with a detailed look at the precious documentaries left behind for future generations, serving as invaluable primary sources. On the occasion of the centennial of the birth of Chinese cinema, the publication of this book adds another layer of significance.