Zhang Yimou

Zhang Yimou
张艺谋
cropped headshot of Zhang at Tokyo International Film Festival 2023
Zhang in 2023
Born (1951-11-14) 14 November 1951 (age 72)
Xi'an, Shaanxi, China
Alma materBeijing Film Academy
Occupation(s)Film director, producer, cinematographer and actor
Notable workFull River Red
House of Flying Daggers
Cliff Walkers
The Flowers of War
Spouses
Xiao Hua (肖华)
(m. 1978⁠–⁠1988)
Chen Ting (陈婷)
(m. 2011)
ChildrenZhang Mo
Zhang Yinan
Zhang Yiding
Zhang Yijiao
Parent(s)Zhang Bingjun
Zhang Xiaoyou
FamilyZhang Weimou
Zhang Qimou
AwardsBAFTA Best Film Not in the English Language
1991 Raise the Red Lantern
1994 To Live
Golden Bear - Berlin International Film Festival
1988 Red Sorghum
Silver Lion - Venice Film Festival
1991 Raise the Red Lantern
Golden Lion - Venice Film Festival
1992 The Story of Qiu Ju
1999 Not One Less
Grand Jury Prize - Cannes Film Festival
1994 To Live
BSFC Award for Best Director
2004 House of Flying Daggers
NSFC Award for Best Director
2004 Hero; House of Flying Daggers
Golden Rooster Awards – Best Director
1999 Not One Less
2000 The Road Home
2003 Hero
Best Actor
1988 Old Well

Zhang Yimou
Zhang's name in Simplified (top) and Traditional (bottom) Chinese characters
Simplified Chinese张艺谋
Traditional Chinese張藝謀

Zhang Yimou (simplified Chinese: 张艺谋; traditional Chinese: 張藝謀; pinyin: Zhāngyìmóu; born 14 November 1951)[1][2] is a Chinese filmmaker.[3][4][5] Considered a key figure of China's Fifth Generation filmmakers, he made his directorial debut in 1988 with Red Sorghum, which won the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival.[6]

Zhang has won numerous awards and recognitions, with three Academy Awards nominations for Best Foreign Language Film for Ju Dou in 1990, Raise the Red Lantern in 1991, and Hero in 2003; a Silver Lion, two Golden Lion prizes and the Glory to the Filmmaker Award at the Venice Film Festival; Grand Jury Prize, Prize of the Ecumenical Jury and Technical Grand Prize at the Cannes Film Festival; the Golden Bear, the Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize and the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury at the Berlin International Film Festival.[7] In 1993, he was a member of the jury at the 43rd Berlin International Film Festival.[8] Zhang directed the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympic Games as well as the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games, which received considerable international acclaim.

One of Zhang's recurrent themes is the resilience of Chinese people in the face of hardship and adversity, a theme which has been explored in such films as To Live (1994) and Not One Less (1999). His films are particularly noted for their rich use of colour, as can be seen in some of his early films, like Raise the Red Lantern, and in his wuxia films like Hero and House of Flying Daggers. His highest-budgeted film to date is the 2016 monster film The Great Wall, set in Imperial China and starring Matt Damon. In 2010, Zhang received an honorary doctorate from Yale,[9] and in 2018, he was awarded an honorary doctorate from Boston University.[10] In 2022, he joined the Beijing Film Academy as a distinguished professor.[11]

  1. ^ Farquhar, Mary (May 2002). "Zhang Yimou". Senses of Cinema. Archived from the original on 13 October 2010. Retrieved 27 September 2010.
  2. ^ "Zhang Yimou | Biography, Credits, & Facts". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2020-04-11.
  3. ^ Tasker, Yvonne (2002). "Zhang Yimou" in Fifty Contemporary Filmmakers. Routledge Publishing, p. 412. ISBN 0-415-18974-8. Google Book Search. Retrieved 21 August 2008.
  4. ^ Mei Gui (玫瑰) (2022). 张艺谋:人过古稀 [Zhang Yimou: a man over seventy years old]. Culture and History Vision (in Chinese). 626. Yuhua District, Changsha, Hunan: Integrated Media Center of the Hunan Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference: 64–67. ISSN 1672-8653.
  5. ^ Zhou Xiaofan (周小烦) (2022). 张艺谋:双奥导演返璞归真 [Zhang Yimou: director of the Olympics returning to nature]. Youth Digest (in Chinese). 361. Beijing: China Youth Press: 10–11. ISSN 1673-4955.
  6. ^ Jonathan Crow. "Zhang Yimou - Biography". Allmovie. Retrieved 12 January 2009.
  7. ^ "Zhang Yimou Bio". tribute.ca. Retrieved 1 September 2010.
  8. ^ "Berlinale: 1993 Juries". berlinale.de. Retrieved 29 May 2011.
  9. ^ "Citations for Recipients of Honorary Degrees at Yale University 2010". YaleNews. 2010-05-24. Retrieved 2023-06-22. A genius with camera and choreography... From film to opera to live performance, your artistry amazes and entertains... We are delighted to bestow on you this degree of Doctor of Fine Arts.
  10. ^ "Filmmaker Zhang Yimou to Receive Honorary Degree". Boston University. 2018-05-11. Retrieved 2023-06-22.
  11. ^ "张艺谋出任北京电影学院特聘教授" [Zhang Yimou Appointed as Distinguished Professor of Beijing Film Academy].

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