Source1: Cannes Film Festival: Chinese film industry evolution embodied by ‘sixth generation’ directors Jia Zhangke and Zhang Ming
https://www.scmp.com/culture/film-tv/article/2145097/cannes-film-festival-chinese-film-industry-evolution-embodied-sixth
Source2: Jia Zhangke: why my films are received differently in China and abroad
Source3: The reformation of Chinese Cinema and the birth of the the Six generation of Chinese directors
http://www.sohu.com/a/195458395_425345
I hardly have watched any Chinese art films until going abroad. In the past I was exposed to, and was more interested in French and American films. Recently, I happened to watch Ash is the purest white with my sister, a great film with dark humor and a touch of people’s mental state in China. I have noticed that the majority of Chinese audience preferred popular movie genres, and merely exposed to art films. During the winter break, I went back China and watched a highly rated art film called The Last Night on Earth because interestingly, it received a lot of angry complaints from a part of the audience, mostly those who are not used to art film genre. It again called on my curiosity in learning about the situation of Chinese art films: where are them now and how is the Chinese cinema going to improve?
I looked up theree sources with related key words describing the situation and problems we are facing
- Chinese art films need a diversity of film languages and aesthetics.—Shen Yang
- “I think the main factor is our different perceptions of the current reality [in China],” says Jia of audiences in China. “It’s whether they can agree with the reality presented in my films. There was a dramatic shift in 2008 when nationalism began to rear its head. [It is promulgated] that China cannot have problems; that artists cannot reflect on China’s problems; that China is a happy society without a tinge of sadness,” he says.
- 第六代最初指北京电影学院导演系85级、87级学生，他们在校期间就被期待成为第五代的接班人。可是他们毕业分配到各电影厂后却发现很难有拍片机会，即使像王小帅选择边缘性的福建电影制片厂也没能复制第五代“一鸣惊人”的模式。其中摄影系出身的张元在用极低的成本拍摄黑白片《妈妈》却未申请公映许可证，而是私自带出国外参加国际电影节并获奖，这为在体制内找不到“出头日”的第六代提供了范式。
( The sixth generation was expected to become the ‘fifth’ while they were in college. However, after graduation they found it hard to direct their own movies when assigned to several domestic studios. Also art films were hardly approved by authority and got chance to be played in cinemas because the political and social sensitivity in content.)