Look at Jiang Wen and Zhou Xingchi! What do young actors cross-border directors rely on？
1905 movie network feature The short film co-directed with Qu Yuan was shortlisted for the Golden Goblet Award Short Film Unit of the 25th Shanghai International Film Festival. The film focuses on a 19-year-old girl who lives alone in the city. Her mother’s violence has left a long-term psychological shadow on her. Finally, borrowing Qu Yuan’s "Tian Wen", the girl gradually discovers the meaning and outlet of life.
Through this short film, Wen Qi officially unlocked a new identity – director."It’s actually interesting to me. In the creative process, directing and acting are two very different perspectives, and sometimes they even contradict each other. You need to sacrifice a part of the perspective to complete a good work."
Wen Qi, who handed over her directorial debut, said that looking at her performance from the director’s perspective was difficult and interesting, and "this time I have learned a lot of experience with real guns and live ammunition."
The 20-year-old Wen Qi picked up the guide tube, adding another vibrant face to the director world and a youthful female force.
It is worth mentioning that with the emergence of the post-00s and the growing up of the post-90s, more and more young actors are beginning to cross the field of directing. The new generation of Chinese films is going further and further on the road of exploration and has never stopped.
PART.1
After many mature actors have accumulated a certain amount of experience, they are keen to direct their own works. In recent years, it can be seen that there are many actors who are new to cross-border directors, and their age is getting younger and younger.
The story consciousness had long been hidden in the young actors’ minds. They eventually turned their imagination into a real image with their actions.
Wen Qi, who was born in 2003, began to consider leaving a film of her own very early on. "The so-called self is not only the film I have acted in, but the film that can really represent me. Maybe after a long time, people will still think of me when they mention this film." Wen Qi said.
In "She Asks," the 19-year-old heroine is about her age, reflecting her observations of her peers. The recurring appearance of mirrors and water extends the lens space and highlights her creative expression as a director.
Also born after 2000, Lai Guanlin tried to write and direct himself earlier than Wen Qi. As early as 2021, he created the short film "Winter and Spring Fight". The story is written by Lai Guanlin himself, and the romantic title of the film is derived from "mountainsA poem from The Little Poet.The film tells the story of the daily life of a pair of left-behind siblings in a village in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, who won the honorary promotion of the third Golden Rooster Short Film Season New Wing Program.
Talking about his original intention of becoming a director, Lai Guanlin said frankly, "I just want to shoot things and visualize what I write."
The theme focuses on the future of Beijing and tells a heartwarming story about robots. Chen Ruoxuan, 28, also wrote and directed the short film "A House" and was shortlisted for the 13th Beijing International Film Festival Young Chinese Director Venture Capital Training Camp.
"I just wanted to write something, but I didn’t expect to be selected from hundreds of scripts." Chen Ruoxuan said bluntly that becoming a director was completely unintentional.
Like many ordinary new directors, whether Wen Qi, Lai Guanlin or Chen Ruoxuan, the actors who have crossed the border have started to experiment with short films. In addition to the director, or the starring role, or the screenwriter, they assume more than one pivotal core role in the stills, making the entire short film more clearly imprinted. Perhaps as Wen Qi said, "This is to represent their own work."
"She Asked" was shortlisted for the short film section ** the Shanghai Film Festival, "Winter and ****** Fight" made a splash on the Golden Rooster Awards stage, and "A House" was a work ** the ******* Film Festival’s venture capital training camp. The recognition ** domestic first-line film festivals also proves that these young people who have crossed the line ** actors and directors have unlimited potential. Lai Guanlin intends to apply for directing studies. Chen Ruoxuan also told 1905 Film Network that after taking the first step, he will go further and further down the road ** directing.
In the future, they will continue to unleash their potential and explore new imaging possibilities.
Compared with the above-mentioned younger generations, the 90-year-old has advanced from short film shooting to feature film creation.
"Your Favorite Color" focuses on the memories of a middle-aged man who plays rock and roll. As early as the age of 30, he made a movie for himself, completing the transition from actor to director. In addition, "Love is a Gun" is written, directed and starred by him. In an earlier interview, Li Hongqi said that he is making a new film.
"Post-00s" Wen Qi, Lai Guanlin, "Post-90s" Chen Ruoxuan and Li Hongqi, represented by them, it is not uncommon for a new force to cross-border directors from actors, and there may be an endless stream in the future.
He revealed his deep thoughts on the direction of production in the past. The 93-year-old had long been looking forward to unlocking the director’s identity, "Acting is a stepping stone, and behind the scenes, you can feel the intentions of every film creator more deeply." A few years ago, he also said in an interview that after enough precipitation, he would consider making his own film.
After spending a long time on the set, cross-border directing seems to have become a new development direction for young actors.
PART.2
Regarding the phenomenon of actors, even young actors, "crossing the border", he did not shy away from saying: "This is normal. In addition to actors and screenwriters, photographers can also be directors, and there are many excellent examples. This only proves that the film industry itself provides a lot of room for young people to rise and is full of vitality."
In the past, there were indeed many successful examples of young actors and directors who had crossed the border. Compared with the current batch of new directors who crossed the border, although the seniors rarely tried to cross the border in their early twenties, they were extremely adaptable after crossing the border and achieved brilliant results early.
The director who turned out to be a handsome and passionate knight in Gu Long’s pen was only 29 years old when he made his feature debut. Douban’s 8.6-point "The True Story of the Mad" is still a classic. The film not only made the then-rookie director Er Dongsheng mention the Best Director of the 6th Hong Kong Film Awards and other nominations, but also ushered in a perfect start for his directorial career.
After getting rid of the youth of "Beijing Love Story", when she picked up the director tube, she was only 29 years old. This work, which she wrote, directed and starred in, not only won the Best Director’s Debut Award at the 23rd Chinese Film Golden Rooster Awards, but also helped Xu Jinglei nominate for the Golden Rooster Award for Best Actress that year.
With a household name, he was only 31 when he filmed his first director’s work; he was only 32 when he co-directed.
Looking back, in their twenties or early thirties, when they crossed over to become directors, they were also young actors in their prime.
With Zhou Xingchi as the representative, he became very popular when he crossed the border, and his high national popularity naturally became the confidence of famous actors to try to make films. Of course, there are also unknown actors who have the courage to cross the border. Even if the initial stage is like a splash, but one step at a time, they eventually grow into independent directors.
At the beginning of his debut, he often "played soy sauce" in Hong Kong films as an actor. The 31-year-old director did not attract much attention. It was not until his debut that his directing ability was revealed.
As far as the current social and employment environment is concerned, the age of 35 is often considered a difficult pass. If you cross it, you may usher in a new dawn; if you can’t cross it, you may be gradually eliminated in the tide of the times.
The same is true for actors, especially those who are less well-known.35-Year-old actors may face the dilemma of losing opportunities, but 35 is the golden age for directors to create. In a sense, young actors can not only maximize their creative initiative, but also help broaden their development space and create more opportunities for personal career advancement.
It was undeniable that there were examples of actors failing to become directors. But whether it was Jiang Wen, Zhou Xingchi and other senior directors who had not seen a new film for a long time, or still active in the film industry, etc., they had proved time and time again that there were infinite possibilities for actors to cross-border directors.
The younger you are, the earlier you try, the lower the cost of trial and error, and the greater the room for development. The cross-border director of young actors is undoubtedly an active attempt. Looking forward to more young actors, bold challenges, and new colors for Chinese movies!
