Wang Bing | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1967-11-16)16 November 1967 (age 58) |
| Occupation | Documentary filmmaker |
| Years active | 2001–present |
Wang Bing (Chinese:王兵;pinyin:Wáng Bīng; born 1967) is a Chinese filmmaker, often referred to as one of the foremost figures in documentary film-making.[1] Wang is the founder of his ownproduction company, Wang Bing Studios, which produces most of his documentaries.
Most known for his 9-hour epic documentaryTie Xi Qu: West of the Tracks (2002), hisGolden Leopard winner documentaryMrs. Fang (2017) and hisYouth trilogy:Spring,Hard Times,Homecoming (2023–24)
Wang is known for his extreme use ofcinema verité. All of his films are documentaries featuresdirect cinema techniques (without any narrator'svoice-over or conventional structure), usually with lengthy running times, and following sensitive Chinese societal themes.
His first documentary,Tie Xi Qu: West of the Tracks (2002), a 9-hour epic about late 20th century industrial China, is considered his first major success, the film went on to win the Grand Prix at theMarseille Festival of Documentary Film and was shown at thePunto de Vista International Documentary Film Festival.
Wang's followed withFengming, a Chinese Memoir (2007), a 3-hour documentary aboutChinese Communist Revolution aftermath, the film had its world premiere at the2007 Cannes Film Festival,[1] and was later shown at the2007 Toronto International Film Festival.
His 2008'sCrude Oil, a 14-hour epic documentary aboutoil field workers in China'sInner Mongolian, the film had its world premiere at the 2008Rotterdam Film Festival.
His 2010'sThe Ditch, a 109 minutes documentary aboutlabor camps duringMaoist China era, had its world premiere at the main competition of the67th Venice International Film Festival as thefilm sorpresa.[2] His following documentariesThree Sisters (2012),'Til Madness Do Us Part (2013) andBitter Money (2016) also had world premieres at theVenice Film Festival.
French philosopherGeorges Didi-Huberman dedicated a long epilogue to Wang Bing in his 2012 book,Peuples exposés, peuples figurants. He reflects on the social fate of images thoroughly analyzing Wang's 2010Man with No Name, writing that the director, as a humble portrait artist of a single rural worker, manages to represent the whole of China's people (as well as people from all over the World) "not through his past, nor his ideas, nor his name, nor his place in society, but through the simple gestures with which he works at his solitary life",[3] as opposed to the common epic portraits of national identity based on military prowess, war heroes and manifest destinies.
His 2017'sMrs. Fang had its world premiere at the main competition of the70th Locarno Film Festival where it won theGolden Leopard.
Wang'sDead Souls (2018), a 8-hour epic about survivors of thelabor camps in theGobi Desert inGansu, had its world premiere out of competition of2018 Cannes Film Festival, and was met with widespread critical acclaim.
After a 5-year hiatus, Wang released theYouth trilogy,Spring,Hard Times,Homecoming (2023-2024). The documentaries had its world premiere at the main competition of the2023 Cannes Film Festival,77th Locarno Film Festival and81st Venice International Film Festival, respectively.
In December 2023, alongside 50 other filmmakers, Wang Bing signed an open letter published inLibération demanding a ceasefire and an end to the killing of civilians amid the2023 Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip, and for a humanitarian corridor into Gaza to be established for humanitarian aid, and the release of hostages.[4][5][6]
Shortly after Wang'sYouth (Homecoming) was selected for the main competition section at the81st Venice International Film Festival,[7] Chinese websites includingDouban andBaidu Baike erased Wang's profile page and his entire filmography.[8][9] News websites such asSohu had previously reported on Wang'sGolden Lion nomination, but the articles were subsequently taken offline.[8] References to Wang on Chinese social media were also censored.[10] At the62nd New York Film Festival, where bothYouth (Hard Times) andYouth (Homecoming) screened in the Main Slate,[11] Wang told the audience that he did not care about China's official censorship.[12] Previously at the 2023International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam, where Wang was invited as the Guest of Honor,[13] he stated that "I’m not particularly interested in politics (…) I don’t want my films to become a political tool", and that he wanted to step away from "the big machine that runs in China, the process of basically making everything propaganda in a way".[14]
| Year | English Title | Chinese Title | Runtime | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Tie Xi Qu: West of the Tracks | 铁西区 | 551 minutes (9:11) | |
| 2007 | Fengming, a Chinese Memoir | 和凤鸣 | 184 minutes (3:04) | Premiered at the60th Cannes Film Festival Screened at the32nd Toronto International Film Festival |
| Brutality Factory | 暴力工厂 | Short in the anthologyThe State of the World | ||
| 2008 | Crude Oil | 採油日記 | 840 minutes (14:00) | Premiered at the 2008International Film Festival Rotterdam |
| 2009 | Coal Money | 煤炭，钱 | 53 minutes | |
| 2010 | Man with No Name | 无名者 | 92 minutes | |
| The Ditch | 夹边沟 | 109 minutes | Premiered at the67th Venice International Film Festival Screened at the35th Toronto International Film Festival | |
| 2012 | Three Sisters | 三姊妹 | 153 minutes (2:33) | Premiered at the69th Venice International Film Festival |
| 2013 | 'Til Madness Do Us Part | 瘋愛 | 228 minutes (3:48) | Premiered at the70th Venice International Film Festival |
| Alone | 孤独 | 89 minutes | ||
| 2014 | Father and Sons | 父与子 | 97 minutes | |
| 2014 | Traces | 遗址 | 30 minutes | |
| 2016 | Ta'ang | 德昂 | 148 minutes (2:28) | Premiered at the66th Berlin International Film Festival |
| Bitter Money | 苦錢 | 152 minutes (2:32) | Premiered at the73rd Venice International Film Festival | |
| 2017 | Mrs. Fang | 方绣英 | 86 minutes | Premiered at the70th Locarno Film Festival |
| 15 Hours | 15小时 | 900 minutes (15:00) | Premiered at thedocumenta 14 | |
| 2018 | Dead Souls | 死灵魂 | 495 minutes (8:15) | Premiered at the71st Cannes Film Festival |
| Beauty Lives in Freedom | 330 minutes (5:30) | Premiered at theAsia Society | ||
| 2023 | Youth (Spring) | 青春：春 | 212 minutes (3:32) | Premiered at the76th Cannes Film Festival |
| Man in Black | 黑衣人 | 60 minutes | Premiered at the76th Cannes Film Festival | |
| 2024 | Youth (Hard Times) | 青春：苦 | 227 minutes (3:47) | Premiered at the77th Locarno Film Festival |
| Youth (Homecoming) | 青春：歸 | 152 minutes (2:32) | Premiered at the81st Venice International Film Festival | |
| TBA | I Come From Ikotun | 我来自伊科通 | Post-production | |
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