independent filmmaker

In the early spring of 1990, Beijing.

The wind is a bit strong, and vehicles of "eternal" and "phoenix" rush past in the streets and alleys.The women cover their heads with scarves, so they can't see their true colors.

Xie Lansheng stepped on his long legs and got off the "[-]" car.He put the beam on his shoulders, and then carried it all the way up to the fourth floor, panting slightly, took out the key to open the door, and pushed the car into the house.

Mother Li Jingrou just put the dishes on the plate and shouted in the kitchen: "Where did you go?! I just came back from shopping!"

Xie Lansheng didn't want to say that he was going to sell the script, so he said, "Take a look around and take a breath." Just now, he went to a certain studio to recommend the script with the cheek, but he still couldn't pass the test.

"There's nothing serious all day long..." Li Jingrou started nagging again.She put two dishes on the table with a bang, and handed her son a pair of chopsticks, "Eat, eat, you can have a meal too."

Xie Lansheng's appearance is handsome, and his smile has always been pleasing: "I'm still young, and there will be a turning point soon."

While talking, he stretched out his hand to scoop up a mouthful of porridge and put it in his mouth, feeling a little hot.

Li Jingrou really hated this son, and she began to complain again: "I have been at home for more than half a year. Your father and I have not dared to go back to our hometown for a year. We are afraid that relatives will ask your son what he is doing after graduation... and he will not go to work. I have to hide from people. I have to go to Nortel, learn some director, and make some movies. Now I am really promising. Wait for my parents to raise me for the rest of my life. After my parents are all dead, you can die with them. Make you stubborn, make you disobedient, you can go to the University of Science and Technology, I heard that Hefei is all assigned!"

"Okay, okay, it's good to stay with you in Beijing for five more years, how many parents envy you for getting old." Xie Lansheng has never said harsh words in his life, especially to his parents.

Everyone knows that the "university entrance examination" is a single-plank bridge for thousands of troops to pass. Less than 3% of them can get a bachelor's degree. A college degree or even a technical secondary school diploma is very popular outside. Therefore, Xie Lansheng, who graduated from university, is at home. People can't accept it psychologically, not to mention that their son's score is enough to get into a university of science and technology that is more difficult than Tsinghua University and Peking University.

When graduating from high school, Xie Lansheng wanted to go to Nortel and learn to be a director, so he went his own way and filled out the volunteer despite his family's opposition.However, no one expected that none of the graduates of director Nortel had been assigned last year for some reason, and all of them stayed in the school, wandering around doing nothing all day long. This situation has lasted for more than half a year.Xie Lansheng wrote a few scripts because he had nothing to do.

After his mother talked about it for an hour, Xie Lansheng put down his job and said, "No one thought that the distribution would be irrelevant...Everyone is waiting, and it will be divided soon. Don't worry."

Li Jingrou has a lot of resentment: "You, Nortel, have a lot of things. What kind of two-four system do you still have, and you almost don't even have a college diploma. I've never heard of such a thing."

Xie Lansheng laughed again: "Don't you have a college degree? Good things take time, good things take time, huh?"

In 85, the director department of Nortel began to implement the "two-four system".In the second year, the unified examination will eliminate half of the students. This half will leave school immediately and can only obtain a junior college degree, while the remaining half can obtain a bachelor's degree.Xie Lansheng inexplicably developed a high fever on the day of the exam. He ranked 18th out of 9 students in the class and almost slipped into the last half, which was very exciting.

Li Jingrou said, "Go to school after dinner and ask if there is any news."

Xie Lansheng paused, nodded and said, "OK."

He raised his eyes, and saw the face of Berlin actor Xin Ye happened to appear on the TV.He stared at the TV screen, deeply feeling that this is a person who is rewarded by God.He just graduated from university this year and is not from a major, but he won the first best actor award of a Chinese in the three major European film festivals for his role as a young man.

This young man lived in the United States and grew up in the United States. His stepfather is oldmoney in Los Angeles, who runs hotels and other industries. I seem to have studied at Harvard, studying economics, and his temperament is unique.Xie Lansheng had seen a photo of him walking down the street in a trench coat in a newspaper. It was so cool that it attracted a group of young and old in Beijing to stop and watch.

…………

After lunch, Xie Lansheng went back to the film school.The Film Academy is located on Xitucheng Road outside Jimen Bridge. On the campus, there are black and white young literary and artistic youths who love to make a fool of themselves. They smoke and drink, dye their hair and get tattoos, and daydream out of nowhere.

Regarding the matter of "assignment", the teacher only said that there is no news yet.

Xie Lansheng bent over, with a humble and respectful attitude: "Thank you teacher, if there is any movement, please inform us."

"Of course." Nortel director Wang Xianjin interrupted Xie Lansheng.He liked this student very much and asked, "Lan Sheng, what have you been doing recently?"

Xie Lansheng also answered honestly: "Well, I sold the book to the film studio, but none of them passed."

"What story is it?"

Speaking of his movie script, Xie Lansheng was very serious: "It's like this, a woman was born and grew up in the countryside, and she gave birth to three daughters six years after marriage..."

After Xie Lansheng finished speaking, he jumped directly to his predicament: "I ran away from Changchun Film Studio, Shanghai Film Studio, Beijing Film Studio, and Bayi Film Studio. I don't want them." He plans to go again Look elsewhere, such as Xi'an Film Studio.

Wang Jinjin also sighed: "That's natural."

"Naturally...???"

Wang Xianjin said: "Our state-run studios generally don't shoot this."

"..." Xie Lansheng also knew the difficulties, but he always had a little hope, so he asked Wang Xianjin, "Then what should we do? We can only make movies in state-owned studios."

"What can I do?" Wang Xianxian said kindly, "I heard that next year the studios will mainly support red films. Your ability is fine, you can prepare a few good books and try again."

"Red movie..." Xie Lansheng smiled at Wang Xian: "Okay, thank you teacher."

The two chatted for a while before Xie Lansheng took his leave.

He is very familiar with the path outside Beijing Film School. There are three peach trees and three pomegranate trees.

The pomegranates are in full bloom, and are branching for the first time this year.

Xie Lansheng stood quietly in front of the tree.

No one wants me, and no one wants the script.

The pomegranate flowers are covered with the rain that just stopped in Beijing, and the already bright petals are even more bright and eye-catching.The rainwater seems to be sucked in, holding on firmly, motionless.

Xie Lansheng wiped the petals with his hands, and the rain fell down.

His eyes were unfocused, as if he was thinking about something.

…………

At the intersection, Xie Lansheng met two classmates.

One is Zhang Shijie and the other is Wang Zhongmin.Zhang Shijie is a fat man, while Wang Zhongmin is very thin.The two stay together every day and are good friends of Xie Lansheng.The two of them have been wandering around the school for nine months. At the beginning, they summed up watching movies together, but now they are too lazy to go. Only Xie Lansheng is still going in and out of school to watch internal reference movies-the Film Academy has observation classes, which are shown on Tuesdays. Foreign movies show Chinese movies on Wednesdays, and surrounding state-owned enterprises and institutions will also show internal movies. The juniors from the art department of their school can draw movie tickets, which are exactly the same as real tickets, and he can get in every time.

"Unemployed people!" Zhang Shijie and Wang Zhongmin shouted loudly, "Thank you, thank you!"

Xie Lansheng: "Hey, Fatty Zhang, what a coincidence."

Zhang Shijie and Wang Zhongmin: "Are you asking about graduation assignments again?"

"Yes," Xie Lansheng nodded and admitted, "Are you two too?"

"Hehehehe, I don't even believe it." Zhang Shijie put his arm around Xie Lansheng's shoulder, "Let's go and drink!" Xie Lansheng has a good personality and popularity, and everyone likes to drink with him.

Xie Lansheng said: "Okay, I invite you, go eat and eat!"

The restaurant was not far from the school, and it was shabby and extremely crowded.The plastic stools were rickety and the wooden tables were stained with oil.

The three of them ate, drank, chatted and went crazy, naturally talking about the future.

Zhang Shijie and Wang Zhongmin said: "We want to start an advertising company and make commercials. This is very popular now. Let's go out and earn enough money before we come back to make movies. What about you? Do you want to do it together?"

Xie Lansheng shook his head: "I still want to make movies." In Xie Lansheng's opinion, if a person loves movies, he should not leave movies.This is a lifelong career. He needs to keep working hard and improving without being interrupted or delayed. He has no time to make money first.

"Okay," Zhang Shijie and Wang Zhongmin asked, "Then what have you been doing these past few months?"

When Xie Lansheng mentioned movies, he would become very talkative: "I am promoting a script called "Growing Roots". It tells about a woman who was born in the countryside and grew up in the countryside. She gave birth to three daughters six years after marriage... Time has run out, Changying, Shanghai Film, Beiying and Bayi, don’t want it.”

Zhang Shijie and Wang Zhongmin: "Oh, my Lansheng ancestors, this thing can't be photographed."

"I really hope it will be filmed." Xie Lansheng took a sip of beer, his Adam's apple rolled up and down his neck, "I thought in case someone wanted it."

"Here, you know, 99/[-], no one wants it?"

Xie Lansheng didn't speak, but hiccupped.

After a while, he said, "Anyway, there are only 16 studios in total, let's go through them all."

"Haha, whatever you want, try it if you want." Zhang Shijie and Wang Zhongmin also took a few sips of beer, "I see you, you will never die until you reach the Yellow River!"

"I don't want to die when I get to the Yellow River." The last drop in the bottle rolled into his throat, bitter and astringent, Xie Lansheng put it on the table with a "bang", and creaked the hard glass with the bottom of the bottle, as if it was An indestructible barrier, "I want to shoot anyway." His stories, his characters, his images, he wants to shoot them.Those things and those people wandered and flew in my mind countless times, and the fresh vitality was ready to come out.

Just thinking about it makes blood boil.

"...My friend, how do you take pictures."

In the past 40 years or so, filmmaking has required a factory logo.Owning a factory logo means owning the right to make movies, and factory logos only belong to 16 state-owned film studios.Among them, Beiying, Shangying, Changying and [-] have long been divided and governed, and the Pearl River, Guangxi, Xiaoxiang, etc. are relatively small.

In other words, no private enterprise, private enterprise, or individual can make a film.

Xie Lansheng thought about it, lowered his voice, and asked Zhang Shijie and Wang Zhongmin: "Hey, do you know... Sun Fengmao from the photography class?"

Zhang Shijie and Wang Zhongmin said: "I seem to have heard of it."

"It is said that he is taking photos by himself. He has no job and has nothing to do."

"what???"

Xie Lansheng continued to explain: "Self-raised funds, self-sourced equipment... I'm thinking, if it doesn't work, I can—"

"Thanks! Lan! Health!" Zhang Shijie and Wang Zhongmin were startled and angry, "You're crazy! The ball!!!!"

"..."

Zhang Shijie poked the big glass plate on the table with his fat fingers: "You're crazy! This is called land! Down! Movies! Movies!!! There is no factory logo!!! Sun Fengmao is sick, and so are you." sick?!"

Xie Lansheng was also shocked.

Underground movies, what a scary word.

However, I don't know whether it was stimulated by the bright red pomegranate flowers in full bloom, or by the bitter and astringent drinking of low-quality alcohol just now, or both, Xie Lansheng's stubbornness came up, and he deliberately twisted and blinked Single-eyed, shivering cleverly, said, "It's underground. I'll shoot it, who would know?"

He admired Sun Fengmao very much.

In the food stall, the tape recorder is playing American country music again.After the establishment of diplomatic relations, because of the "common enemy" of the Soviet Union, China and the United States have mixed oils, and everyone can hear these fresh songs.

Xie Lansheng is very clear that "making films by himself" has surpassed the freedom of 1990. However, in this ignorant age when Chinese and Western cultures first collided, Sun Fengmao's betrayal made Xie Lansheng feel terrified but fascinated.

Wang Zhongmin also stared blankly: "You are crazy...you are really crazy..."

"..." She was really drunk, and she spoke and acted very casually.Xie Lansheng held the slender neck of the beer bottle backhand with his right hand, picked it up, and smashed it to the ground with a loud bang.In an instant, the glass shattered, and the small, thin, green and slightly translucent fragments were like jade.

He smashed the bottle, and was also slightly taken aback at this moment.He put his hands on his knees, looked at the mess in front of him, and said what he just wanted to say: "I don't care, I'll just shoot. Hey, not shoot!"

Needless to say, this action is quite cinematic.

Zhang Shijie and Wang Zhongmin: "..." They knew that Xie Lansheng was really going crazy.

Xie Lansheng used Jiu Jin to think more and more right.

This is his personal emotion.

There is always something worth taking the risk or even giving it all.

Over there, Zhang Shijie and Wang Zhongmin were still persuading, imitating the tune of the translated film, trying to ease the atmosphere: "Hey, my old man, our teacher said that the studio will be assigned in two months, and there will be jobs by then , there is no need to die like this, huh? Be good."

Xie Lansheng did not speak.

For some, filmmaking is just a job to support a family.

But for others, it's not.

He wanted to tell stories, not to support his family, but for the tears that fell quietly from the corners of his eyes when he was moved.

The author has something to say:

A small Gong trench coat walked through the street and was stopped by a group of people to watch... You can refer to Pierre Cardin's first visit to China!Of course it is not as good as Pierre Cardin, after all, he is a real foreigner...and it will be 10 years earlier.

All the background of this article, including Nortel's two-fourth system, whether the distribution of points, as long as I don't say it's made up, it's all true.

The style may be more like my bg, such as the previous article "Don't Fall in Love with Investors", half of the career line, half of the relationship line, the previous BL is mainly about love, this article may be different.

Because this year marks the 30th anniversary of Chinese independent films, I want to write about this period of history and the people involved.It does not simply evaluate the rights and wrongs of black and white, nor does it say that censorship is wrong or that fighting against censorship is right.All parties have their own positions. This article will mainly talk about the games, compromises, developments, and repetitions in various aspects in the past [-] years, and look at what can be done for creative freedom from a historical perspective.

The love line is sweet.

The first part was in 1991, and the last part was in 2015, when the protagonist was 45 years old.