Shanghai Film Group hosts series of events to honor late filmmaker Xie Jin

To commemorate the 100th birth anniversary of celebrated Chinese filmmaker Xie Jin (1923-2008), the Shanghai Film Group has hosted a series of events throughout the year.

On Monday, one day ahead of Xie's birthday anniversary on November 21, local filmmakers, actors, and industry professionals held a commemoration ceremony at Fushou Garden to look back on the film master's artistic achievements and his contributions to the Chinese cinema.

While at Shangyu, Zhejiang Province, the filmmaker's hometown, film scholars and young directors also attended workshops and activities in memory of the prominent figure among China's third generation of directors.

The trailer of a documentary series about Xie's life and his 60-year career was also released.

A joint effort of the Shanghai Film Group and Shanghai Xie Jin Film Art Foundation, the documentary interviewed nearly 100 cultural celebrities and film who interacted with Xie. Many said they were deeply impressed by Xie's versatility, diligence, and perseverance in his art.

During Xie's film career, he directed a few highly acclaimed movies, including "Two Stage Sisters," "Hibiscus Town," "Woman Basketball Player No. 5," "The Red Detachment of Women," and "The Herdsman." His artistic style and cinematography have influenced generations of filmmakers in China.

Xie's representative movies are also exhibited at the Shanghai Film Museum and Shanghai Lingang Performing Arts Center.

"There is a group of young filmmakers following in Xie's footsteps to present excellent films with innovation," said Wang Jian'er, chairman of the Shanghai Film Group. "They are now the focus of our training programs."

In recent years, the Shanghai Film Group has increased its efforts in the development of classic IP stories and accelerated the layout of an entire IP franchise. It is also devoted to the cultivation of young film talent to bring new vitality to the domestic film industry.

Creation of the second season of the animated film series "Yao-Chinese Folktales" has started. Based on Chinese folktales about demons and monsters, the series will be developed into an influential, home-grown animated IP.

Acclaimed Chinese sci-fi novelist He Xi has also signed a strategic cooperation agreement with the group to bring his representative fiction to the big screen.

Director Xin Yukun, whose credits include the suspense drama film "The Coffin in the Mountain" and crime film "Wrath of Silence," will helm a live-action movie based on the group's classic animation "Dirty King."