20 LIFE | Film Thursday, March 29, 2018 CHINA DAILY HONG KONG EDITION

Australian From bravery to mystery film stars Competition is hotting up for the China Film Directors’ Guild Awards, with closely contested appeal nominations across five categories. Xu Fan reports. for help fter his arthouse hit I Am Not Madame Bova­ CANBERRA — Hollywood ry took home the actress Cate Blanchett is lead­ highestA prize at the China Film ing a campaign to protect Directors’ Guild Awards last Australia’s film and television year, Feng Xiaogang has again industry from proposed gov­ become the favorite at this ernment budget cuts. year’s event. Melbourne­born Blanchett As a top honor for Chinese joined other Australian filmmakers, the guild’s annu­ actors including Rose Byrne al awards have been running and Richard Roxburgh, and since 2005. For its latest and directors Gillian Armstrong ninth edition, the guild and Peter Weir, in signing an released its shortlist of nomi­ open letter to the govern­ nations across five categories ment, appealing for help in in Beijing on March 22. Pres­ preserving opportunities for tigious filmmaker Han San­ local film and TV creators. ping won the annual Tuesday’s open letter was achievement award. delivered to the federal gov­ Feng’s directorial hit Youth, ernment during the final par­ a nostalgic tale centering on a liamentary sitting week Chinese military art troupe before the budget is handed that bagged the nominations down in May. for best picture, director, The letter, also signed by actor and actress, has come other eminent figures in the out as a front­runner for the entertainment industry awards this year. including Ben Elton, Yael Also with nominations for Stone, Fred Schepisi, Kate best picture, director, actress Mulvany, David Williamson and a comparatively lighter­ and Deborah Mailman, weight entry for best script­ reads: “Our ability to keep writer, director Vivian Qu’s telling Australian stories on drama Angels Wear White fol­ screen is at risk, and if our lows a close second. The story nation’s stories aren’t told, about two schoolgirls being they die.” sexually assaulted by a mid­ The letter is the latest move dle­aged man won Qu the from the “Make it Australian” award for best director at Tai­ campaign, an alliance of the wan’s Golden Horse Awards in Australian Directors’ Guild; 2017. the Australian Writers’ Guild; Following closely behind the Media, Entertainment & are Taiwan actress­director Arts Alliance; and Screen Pro­ Sylvia Chang’s Love Educa­ ducers Australia. tion, and Zhou Ziyang’s direct­ Australian “free­to­air” orial debut Old Beast, which commercial TV networks Sev­ both picked up three nomina­ en, Nine and Ten, have called tions. for local content quotas to be Also starring Chang, Love relaxed and for the children’s Education is a warm yet funny content quota to be removed look at the different attitudes altogether, because it is so of three generations toward expensive to produce local love. programs. Set in Ordos in the Inner But the “Make it Austra­ Mongolian autonomous lian” letter suggests that more region, Old Beast looks into than 40 percent of drama the complexity of humanity Clockwise from top: Feng Xiaogang’s Youth has bagged the nominations for best picture, director, actor and actress at the China Film Directors’ Guild Awards this year; hours, A$125 million ($96.7 through a dark story about a Chen Kaige’s Legend of the Demon Cat, a fantasy epic, and Wolf Warrior 2, an action film that stirred worldwide interest in the market potential of Chinese cinema, have million) in budgets, and 3,500 ruthless father who would also been nominated. PHOTOS PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY jobs would have been lost if rather squander money on his the reduced quota proposal mistress than save his ailing market potential of Chinese Tashi Dawa’s novels Tibet, A awards in 2005, it was hard to “In the past, directors usual­ had been in place since 2016. wife. The low­budget movie cinema. The action­packed Soul Knotted on a Leather even pick out 20 movies to ly established themselves only The alliance, which has emerged as a dark horse at the 800 story follows a former Chinese Thong and On the Road to shortlist for five categories. after shooting at least two or been lobbying Arts Minister 54th Taipei Golden Horse movies Special Forces operative’s Lhasa, Zhang Yang’s new The annual output then was three features. But in recent Mitch Fifield since Septem­ Film Festival, winning two evacuation of Chinese citizens directorial work Soul on a low, and most of the entries years, we have seen many ber 2017, is seeking increased awards for best actor and best approximate number of from a war­torn African coun­ String is about a hunter’s were arthouse films,” she says. young directors quickly rise to tax incentives that could lure original screenplay. feature films China try. adventurous journey to “Now China is producing fame after their first feature. It more international produc­ For foreigners interested in produced last year Widely recognized as one of redemption. nearly 800 movies a year. The shows that the Chinese movie tions to Australia. learning more about Chinese director Chen Kaige’s best For Li Shaohong, president genres are rich. I think we can industry is evolving quickly,” Australia currently has a cinema, the Guild’s best pic­ films, Legend of the Demon of the China Film Directors’ learn from the Academy she says. 16.5 percent tax offset for ture award may provide a use­ Demon Cat, Soul of a String, Cat is a fantasy epic that recre­ Guild, the diversity of nomina­ Awards and add more catego­ Zhang Yimou, one of Chi­ international film produc­ ful guide. Youth and Angels Wear White. ates the spectacle of Tang tions exemplifies the growing ries, such as best animated na’s most prestigious film­ tions, compared with 25 per­ Shortlisted from 27 first­ A milestone hit that raked Dynasty (618­907) in its hey­ momentum of China’s film work and best documentary,” makers, will head the jury cent in New Zealand. round candidates selected in an unprecedented box day. It interweaves storylines industry. adds Li. panel to decide the winners in “Make it Australian” is call­ from nearly 800 Chinese mov­ office total of nearly 5.7 billion about royal romance and an “The rapid expansion of the Li also highlights the rise of around one month’s time. ing for that offset to be ies produced in 2017, the nom­ yuan ($902 million), Wolf uprising to create a supernat­ Chinese movie industry has young talent, predicting that increased to 30 percent. inations have gone to Wolf Warrior 2 has stirred world­ ural mystery. been miraculous. When we they will reshape China’s mov­ Contact the writer at Warrior 2, Legend of the wide interest in the future Inspired by Tibetan author held the first edition of the ie industry. [email protected] XINHUA US author tweaks Great Wall story about love

By CHINA DAILY are so many novels written, says: “The research John did “They were super strong. If I especially within historical on material culture is really had a problem, I would just American novelist John fiction, from a sort of Europe­ strong, like some of the say, please fix this problem, Shors, 49, has seven novels an standpoint. And I think descriptions of the clothing, and they would fix it,” says under his belt, and all of them there’s an amazing part of the weapons and food.” Shors, smacking the back of are set in Asia. world, Asia, that’s really The book is titled Unbound his hand on his other palm. His latest novel Unbound is underrepresented in Western because its heroine, Meng, has Meanwhile, Shors is looking a love story that takes place on literature.” unbound feet and what Shors for opportunities for Unbound the Great Wall. The tall, slim and soft­spo­ calls an “unbound spirit”. to be published in China. Unbound is based on an ken author backpacked across Women’s empowerment is And he doesn’t expect there ancient Chinese folk tale 10 Asian countries when he an important subject in the to be more criticism coming about Lady Meng Jiang. was 24. And, in 1999, when he story. As Shors sees it, Chinese from Chinese readers than Shors fleshed out the origi­ was backpacking again in Asia women in the Ming Dynasty from other parts of the world. nal story with fictional side with his wife Allison, Shors pushed boundaries in very “I think they’ll understand characters and subplots. discovered the love story subtle ways, for instance, in that as an American, I’ve done While the folk tale ends behind India’s Taj Mahal that writing good poetry and get­ my best,” says Shors. with the tragic deaths of Meng inspired his first novel, Left: Unbound, a novel based on an ancient Chinese folk tale about a woman. Right: John Shors, the ting out of home to travel. “The vast majority of the and her husband Fan Xiliang, Beneath a Marble Sky. author, walked along the Great Wall over a week to research the book. PHOTOS PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY So, Shors wanted his hero­ book is historically and cultur­ Shors concluded his version Since then he has written ine Meng to reflect the power­ ally accurate.” on an upbeat note. stories set in Vietnam, Thai­ including a two­week trip to “But I try to get as original ful roles women played in Speaking about the book, Christine Branstad, the wife land, Cambodia and Japan. Beijing in 2013. source material as possible,” China’s history. Huang Jiakun, Shors’ agent in of the US ambassador to Chi­ Shors has always had a keen Then, he walked along the says Shors. “I think there’s a concept in China, says: “He has probably na, Terry Branstad, has read interest in the ancient Won­ Great Wall for almost a week At home in Boulder, Colora­ the West that historically set an example for Chinese Unbound and recommended ders of the World. I think there’s an and felt the texture of the do, Shors kept an English women in Asia were power­ writers on how to tell China it to friends and family, both He has written about the Taj bricks, in an effort to imagine translation of Stories to less. I just don’t think that’s stories.” in China and in the United Mahal, Cambodia’s Ankgor amazing part of spending time on it from the Enlighten the World, a collec­ accurate,” says Shors. Huang, who also worked States. Wat and now China’s Great perspectives of his characters tion of short stories compiled “I wanted to show women as with Shors when the Chinese Commenting on the book, Wall, by which he has been the world, Asia, in the book. and edited by Feng Menglong they truly were, perhaps version of his fourth book The she says in an email: “My hus­ captivated for almost 10 years. “My time on the Great Wall during the Ming Dynasty. repressed but yet powerful in Wishing Trees was published band and I have both read it “I wanted to see the Great that’s really allowed me to see its beauty,” During the two­year writing their own way.” in China in 2011, says she con­ and loved the beauty of the Wall, I wanted to walk it, I says Shors. process, he consulted about Women of modern China siders Unbound a “faithful, story and that portion of the wanted to understand it, and underrepresented “This is a graceful, elaborate six experts on Chinese culture perpetuate Shors’ notion. interesting and innovative history of the Great Wall. It is of course, I wanted to write a structure that is far more than and history, including a few For his side business, Shors approach” to Chinese tradi­ a true gift to be able to share book about it,” says Shors. in Western a never­ending pile of stacked from the University of Colora­ organizes annual trips for tional folk tales that will that story with the world.” To create an accurate por­ literature.” stones.” do and one from China. small groups of readers to the appeal to readers beyond Chi­ Speaking about his work at trayal of Chinese culture for Shors admits to his limita­ Referring to Shors’ efforts to Asian settings of his books. na. an event at Beijing’s Book­ the book, Shors spent four John Shors, American novelist tions of having to rely on get the details right, Jeremiah In a 2016 tour to China, five worm store on March 14, months researching before English translations of Chi­ Jenne, a Chinese history teach­ of the six tour guides in Shors’ Liu Yinglun contributed to Shors said: “In the West, there putting pen to paper in 2014, nese historical accounts. er at IES Abroad in Beijing, group of 10, were female. this story.