Yi miao zhong

One Second
China during the Cultural Revolution. In the midst of a lonely desert landscape, two people appear like dots on the horizon. The prisoner and the orphan girl do not yet know each other, but their paths will soon cross. He has escaped from a labour camp, risking being handed down an even longer sentence, and is undertaking an exhausting trek in the heat because he absolutely must see a particular newsreel. But of all things, this is exactly the film roll that the girl steals. While the villagers wait impatiently for the screening to begin and the fugitive feverishly awaits the one second in the film that counts for him, the silver film can is passed from hand to hand.
Director Zhang Yimou was sent to the country as a young man during the Cultural Revolution, an experience he has explored in many of his films. He is familiar with the life and traditions in the country’s remote areas, and with the enthusiasm that rural dwellers have for cinema, which comes as welcome respite from everyday life. In Yi Miao Zhong, the filmmaker pays homage to his medium and celebrates the cinema as a communal experience which goes beyond the film itself.
by Zhang Yimou
with Zhang Yi, Fan Wei
People’s Republic of China 2019 Mandarin 105’ Colour World premiere

With

  • Zhang Yi (Fugitive)
  • Fan Wei (Mr. Movie)

Crew

Director Zhang Yimou
Screenplay Zhang Yimou, Zou Jingzhi in cooperation with Zhou Xiaofeng
Cinematography Zhao Xiaoding
Editing Du Yuan
Music Lao Zai
Sound Tao Jing
Production Design Lin Chaoxiang
Line Producer Liang Yu
Producers Dong Ping, Bill Kong, Pang Liwei, Steven Xiang

Produced by

Huanxi Media Group

Edko Films Beijing

Zhang Yimou

Winner of numerous international awards, he is one of the most important and influential filmmakers in China. His directing debut, Hong gaoliang (Red Sorghum), won the Golden Bear in 1988. Since then, his work has featured five times in the Berlinale Competition, most recently in 2012 with Jin líng Shi San Chai (The Flowers Of War). Wo de fu qin mu qin (The Road Home) won the Jury Grand Prix and Ying xiong (Hero) the Alfred Bauer Prize. He holds an Honorary Doctorate from Boston University and, in 2012, received lifetime achievement awards from Mumbai, Marrakesh and Cairo film festivals.

Filmography

1987 Red Sorghum 1988 Codename Cougar 1990 Ju Dou 1991 Raise the Red Lantern 1992 The Story of Qiu Ju 1994 To Live 1995 Shanghai Triad 1997 Keep Cool 1999 Not One Less · The Road Home 2000 Happy Times 2002 Hero 2004 House of Flying Daggers 2005 Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles 2006 Curse of the Golden Flower 2009 A Woman, a Gun and a Noodle Shop 2010 Under the Hawthorn Tree 2011 The Flowers of War 2014 Coming Home 2016 The Great Wall 2018 Shadow

Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2019