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Directors Zhao Wei, Xu Jinglei, Li Yu and Xue Xiaolu are doing notable work in China.
By Xin En Lee
August 10, 2013, 8:00 a.m.
BEIJING — Eva Jin isn't the only female director *** waves in China. This year alone, Zhao Wei's "So Young" made nearly $115 million and Xue Xiaolu's "Finding Mr. Right" took in $85 million.
Shaoyi Sun, a professor of film and TV at Shanghai University, attributed their success in part to the demographic of Chinese filmgoers. "Today's audiences are composed of white-collar office workers and dating couples, which is why rom-coms and films with *** politics in the office are on the rise," he said.
RELATED: Eva Jin makes 'One Night Surprise' as a rom-com for a global audience
But Tan Ye, a Chinese cinema expert at the University of South Carolina, said credit also goes to these women's strong storytelling chops. "They have a good nose for audience appetites and cook up what they want."
See video trailers from each director below.
Zhao Wei
After a succession of flops, actress-turned-director Zhao Wei silenced critics with her directorial debut "So Young," about a love *** among three college students set in the 1990s, when Chinese society was swept up by economic reforms. (The movie was her Beijing Film Academy graduation project.) The doe-eyed actress shot to fame in 1998 after playing the leading role in a TV series, "Princess Pearl."
Li Xun, a fellow at the China Film Art Research Center, said Zhao, 37, was skillful in evoking a sense of nostalgia. "Chinese audiences are getting nostalgic for the past despite being relatively young in age, which reflects how fast society is changing," he said. "She capitalized on this … and created a very college-specific dialogue mixed with terms from both the '90s and more recently, which appealed to a wide range of moviegoers."
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/moviesnow/la-et-mn-four-female-chinese-directors,0,5345401.story
By Xin En Lee
August 10, 2013, 8:00 a.m.
BEIJING — Eva Jin isn't the only female director *** waves in China. This year alone, Zhao Wei's "So Young" made nearly $115 million and Xue Xiaolu's "Finding Mr. Right" took in $85 million.
Shaoyi Sun, a professor of film and TV at Shanghai University, attributed their success in part to the demographic of Chinese filmgoers. "Today's audiences are composed of white-collar office workers and dating couples, which is why rom-coms and films with *** politics in the office are on the rise," he said.
RELATED: Eva Jin makes 'One Night Surprise' as a rom-com for a global audience
But Tan Ye, a Chinese cinema expert at the University of South Carolina, said credit also goes to these women's strong storytelling chops. "They have a good nose for audience appetites and cook up what they want."
See video trailers from each director below.
Zhao Wei
After a succession of flops, actress-turned-director Zhao Wei silenced critics with her directorial debut "So Young," about a love *** among three college students set in the 1990s, when Chinese society was swept up by economic reforms. (The movie was her Beijing Film Academy graduation project.) The doe-eyed actress shot to fame in 1998 after playing the leading role in a TV series, "Princess Pearl."
Li Xun, a fellow at the China Film Art Research Center, said Zhao, 37, was skillful in evoking a sense of nostalgia. "Chinese audiences are getting nostalgic for the past despite being relatively young in age, which reflects how fast society is changing," he said. "She capitalized on this … and created a very college-specific dialogue mixed with terms from both the '90s and more recently, which appealed to a wide range of moviegoers."
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/moviesnow/la-et-mn-four-female-chinese-directors,0,5345401.story
