Intellect

Authors:  Mark Cousins 
DOI: 10.1386/jcc.3.3.249/7

Keywords
Beijing Film Academy, Fifth Generation, Cultural Revolution, Cultural legacy

Abstract
Mark Cousins interviewed Tian Zhuangzhuang in Beijing in March 2008. The interview covers Tian's student days at the Beijing Film Academy, as well as his early forays into filmmaking, and his recent return to directing following the furore that resulted from The Blue Kite (1993). Tian outlines the huge influence of the Cultural Revolution on his own works and those of his fellow students, and gives fascinating insights into the particular challenges that Chinese film-makers have faced throughout the period of Communist rule.