“Variety” published two articles before the world premiere of “Above the Dust” at the Berlin International Film Festival, revealing a lot of surprising information about Wang Xiaoshuai’s new film.
One article is titled “Wang Xiaoshuai Risks China’s Wrath With ‘Above the Dust’ Screening in Berlin”, and the other is “Wang Xiaoshuai: ‘Above the Dust’ Uses a Child’s Voice to Explain Complexity of 20th Century Chinese History”, which is an exclusive interview with Wang Xiaoshuai before he went to Berlin.
On February 1st, this year’s Berlin International Film Festival announced the official film list, in which Wang Xiaoshuai’s “Above the Dust” was shortlisted for the “Generation Kplus” unit. This unit, along with Generation 14plus, are both competition units mainly for young audiences.
The Berlin official press release also specifically mentioned: “Wang Xiaoshuai’s last participation in the Berlin Film Festival competition was “So Long, My Son” in 2019. In his latest film, from the perspective of the 10-year-old boy Wotu, the story of a Chinese village and its residents is told. Against the backdrop of social change, Wang Xiaoshuai cleverly blurs the boundaries between the past and the present, reality and dreams.”
The Berlin official website shows that “Above the Dust” is a co-production between China and the Netherlands.
In February 2019, Wang Xiaoshuai, with “So Long, My Son”, allowed Yongmei and Wang Jingchun to win the Berlin Film Queen and Film Emperor, which can be called the last highlight of Chinese films on the international stage since the outbreak of the epidemic.
In February 2019, Yongmei and Wang Jingchun won the Berlin Film Queen and Film Emperor together.
After that, “Above the Dust”, which took over “So Long, My Son” and was called the second part of the “Homeland Trilogy”, has been delayed, and there has been no news. It has been rumored that it would go to Cannes, but in the end, there was no follow-up.
Today’s two articles in “Variety” revealed the mystery of the disappearance of “Above the Dust”.
“Above the Dust” Berlin version poster
“Variety” said that “Above the Dust” submitted a sample film for review as early as October 2022. During this period, Wang Xiaoshuai also made more than 50 edits and deletions as required by the review agency, but after 15 months of continuous communication, it still failed to pass the review, and the entire project was in a standstill.
Finally, “Above the Dust” went to this year’s Berlin International Film Festival without obtaining the “Dragon Mark”.
This not only means that “Above the Dust” may never be able to be released in China through regular channels, but also means that Wang Xiaoshuai will be severely punished. The most serious consequence is that he will no longer be able to make films in China as a director.
Although Berlin has taken a very low-key attitude, according to “Variety”, the relevant departments have contacted Wang Xiaoshuai and asked him to withdraw from the film festival, otherwise he and his company will face serious consequences.
But Wang Xiaoshuai has not made any concessions so far. He told “Variety”: “The production company and I are under pressure, a lot of pressure. Films without the Dragon Mark are prohibited from being screened in Berlin. But Berlin chose it, and I am very happy about it. This is the film I want to make, about China, about our lives, about Chinese history and reality.”
Of course, this is not the first time Wang Xiaoshuai has been punished by the authorities. In 1993, Wang Xiaoshuai’s feature film debut “The Days” was shortlisted for the Berlin Youth Forum unit, followed by the more experimental “Frozen”, etc. These films could not be released in China, and Wang Xiaoshuai was also put on the blacklist of prohibited filming.
Even in 2001, “Seventeen Years” which had almost no “underground film” flavor and “violated the rules to participate” won the Berlin Jury Prize, the Film Bureau instructed: “The film’s tone is gray and not suitable for public release.”
Until 2004, the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television convened a symposium with a group of “problem” directors including Jia Zhangke and Wang Xiaoshuai to communicate, and they were “unfrozen” and allowed to re-film. Then, Wang Xiaoshuai’s first film released in China, “Shanghai Dreams”, was released the following year.
It is quite dramatic that, nearly 30 years later, Wang Xiaoshuai is about to face being banned again.
In those days, in 2004, “Youth Times” interviewed Wang Xiaoshuai, who was still in the banned state, and asked him about his thoughts on being banned: “Then do you hope that your film will come out and see the light of day again?”
Wang Xiaoshuai replied: “I don’t think my film has been treated unfairly, and I don’t have any angry emotions. The problem is not the problem of my film seeing the light of day again. The existing film environment determines that there is no such channel, no such art theaters, and no fixed audience group has been cultivated. It simply cannot see the light of day again.”
“Youth Times”: “Then what kind of reforms do you think the State Film Administration needs to make?”
Wang Xiaoshuai: “That is openness, that is to let it face the competition of the current market, and face a normal market with life and death.”
In fact, as early as the beginning of the “Above the Dust” project in 2020, CCTV Channel 6’s “China Film Report” also reported the news of the project’s establishment.
“Above the Dust” is adapted from Li Shijiang’s short story “Grandpa’s Tricks”. The story is set in 2009. The film features a teenage boy as the protagonist and describes a family in a poor village in northwestern China in 2009. As their neighbors slowly move to the city, the boy’s parents dig in the barren land, trying to find the treasures left by the family. Through communication with the ghost of his grandfather, the boy learns about the events of the land reform period in the 1950s, as well as the disastrous history of the Great Leap Forward.
“Wotu” is both the name of the protagonist. Wang Xiaoshuai admitted that this is quite meaningful. The name “Above the Dust” will make everyone mistakenly think that this is another ideological propaganda film.
“Above the Dust” stills
When asked if he was afraid of being banned, Wang Xiaoshuai said: “I hope not. I didn’t expect that 30 years after being banned for the first time, I have returned to this situation.”
But perhaps this time, the situation is a little different. He seems to have given up on the opportunity to release and even film in China.
As early as the beginning of the epidemic, Wang Xiaoshuai and Liu Xuan and their spouses had shrunk the business of their film company “Dongchun”, and during the most severe period of the ban, they moved to Chiang Mai and have been living there ever since. They even moved the film shooting to a foreign country.
In 2022, Wang Xiaoshuai directed the film “Hotel” based on the story of being trapped in Chiang Mai after the outbreak of the epidemic, and participated in the Barcelona Asian Film Festival and the Toronto Film Festival. This film has no “Dragon Mark” and even completely abandoned the release in China.
“Hotel”, 2022
Last year, a certain film created by Huang Ji and Daizuka Ryuji, which has disappeared on Douban, won a major award on the other side. Although the film is 100% based on domestic stories, it has taken a completely different path. They participated as a Japanese film with Japanese investment.
It seems that more and more creators no longer consider censorship and dissemination paths, nor do they consider censorship as one of their creative concerns.
As Wang Xiaoshuai said: “The long-term repression brought about by the censorship system makes it difficult for people to open their hearts and create freely. When I have a story to tell, I must first consider the censorship system, which stifles my own creativity and ability to express.”
Such an extraordinary start, this year is destined to be extraordinary.
Reference for writing
Wang Xiaoshuai Risks China’s Wrath With ‘Above the Dust’ Screening in Berlin (EXCLUSIVE) (https://variety.com/2024/film/news/wang-xiaoshuai-china-berlin-above-the-dust-1235913938/)
‘Above the Dust’ Uses a Child’s Voice to Explain Complexity of 20th Century Chinese History, Says Wang Xiaoshuai (https://variety.com/2024/film/news/above-the-dust-wang-xiaoshuai-berlin-film-festival-1235914339/)
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