Memoirs from the Beijing Film Academy

Ni Zhen is a consultant to the Shanghai Film & TV Company and Visiting Professor at the Shanghai Theater Academy. He was Professor of Art Direction and Professor of Film Theory at the Beijing Film Academy, where he taught from 1980 to 2000. He has written screenplays for films including Raise the Red Lantern and Blush.Chris Berry is Associate Professor in the Program in Film Studies and the Department of Theater, Dance, and Performance Studies at the University of California, Berkeley.

• Table of Contents Translator’s Introduction viiPreface to the English Edition xiii1. Admission 12. Noses to the Grindstone 513. First Steps 1134. Graduation 147Postscript 192Character List for Chinese Names 201Chinese Film Title List 207Notes 213Index 225

“Ni Zhen was himself one of the educators of the Fifth Generation, so he has been able to give a full and accurate account of what happened then on the basis of his own first-hand evidence. He also gives a detailed scholarly analysis of the origins of the Fifth Generation and the particular conditions that produced this art movement. Reading his book not only gave me intellectual pleasure, but also took me back to those unforgettable times.”-Chen Kaige, director of Farewell My Concubine and Yellow Earth “Memoirs from the Beijing Film Academy: The Origins of China’s Fifth Generation Filmmakers brings back memories for me. It tells the true story of how I moved from ignorance to full maturity along with a group of my peers. Everyone faces challenges of some sort in their youth. They become life’s most beautiful memories. That means this is not just a book about film, but also a book about human life. Once youth is over it never returns, and so we treasure it in our hearts. Thank you, Professor Ni Zhen, for writing this inspiring book.”-Zhang Yimou, director of Raise the Red Lantern, Ju Dou, and Not One Less