Film projectionist Du Zhenming has been showing movies in rural areas for more than 50 years -
brings light and shadow experience to more villagers
Du Zhenming is debugging the projection equipment. Photo by Ren Kesheng
When he was young, Du Zhenming was checking the film. Photo provided by the interviewee
Biography
Du Zhenming was born in 1955 in Anqiu, Shandong. He became a film projectionist in 1972 and has been working in film projection for more than 50 years. In 2015, after retirement, Du Zhenming joined the public welfare film screening team and continued to work in rural film screening. For more than half a century, he has taken root at the grassroots level and participated in more than 16,000 film screenings, with a cumulative audience of more than one million people. He has won honors such as "Advanced Worker of New Rural Digital Cinema in Shandong Province", "Good Person of Shandong" and "Good Person of China".
"Hey..." Du Zhenming leaned back, threw out his arms, and threw the hemp rope neatly. The rope hung naturally from the other end of the tree trunk. After smoothing the hemp ropes on both sides, Du Zhenming took out the curtain, grabbed the rope, and passed it through the holes around the curtain. After pulling up the rope, the curtain slowly unfolded.
In the cultural square of Xiaohekou Village, Linghe Street, Anqiu City, Shandong Province, villager Li Youchen has been waiting here with a stool for a long time. "I started watching Laodu movies more than 40 years ago." Li Youchen said that as long as Du Zhenming came to the village, he would "never miss a movie."
"Today we are showing you a country comedy film..." As the night wore on, with Du Zhenming's introduction, the crowd gradually gathered around.
Du Zhenming, 69, is a native of Anqiu. In 1972, he joined Anqiu Film Company (now Anqiu Film Distribution and Projection Co., Ltd.) as a film projectionist and worked there for 43 years. After retirement, he loved movies and chose to continue his work in charity movie screenings to make movies more accessible to the folks.
got to know
"Their love for the screen is something I can never forget."
clicked the button on the projector screen, a halo appeared on the screen, and the movie officially started. The children who had been laughing and playing just now gradually quieted down and watched attentively... …Du Zhenming walked behind the projector, pulled out the bench, and told reporters about his fate with movies.
The time goes back to 1967, and Du Zhenming followed his father to Dalian, Liaoning. There, he watched the first movie in his life, "Heroes and Sons". "So this is a movie. It would be great if I could watch movies every day." He still vividly remembers the excitement of seeing movies for the first time.
The seeds planted in my heart will bloom after 5 years. In 1972, Anqiu Film Company selected projectionists across the city. After learning the news, Du Zhenming immediately signed up to run. After passing the assessment, 17-year-old Du Zhenming became a projectionist as he wished. "At that time, there were few entertainment activities in rural areas at night, and movie screenings were one of the most anticipated activities for villagers." Du Zhenming said, "Villagers often ran to the entrance of the village to greet the projectionist and helped move equipment."
talked about the most impressive thing. After a profound screening, Du Zhenming's thoughts returned to the Spring Festival of 1973. On the eve of heading to Danshan Village, Danshan Town at that time, heavy snow fell in Anqiu and traffic was blocked. His family members advised Du Zhenming to wait until the snow lightened before setting off, but Du Zhenming did not want to "disappoint the villagers." So, early in the morning, he put the projector on his back and set off, pushing the cart through the wind and snow, one foot deep and one foot shallow. He set off in the morning and arrived at the village after dark.
When he arrived at the village, it was already dark, but many villagers were waiting at the entrance of the village. "Their love for the screen is something I can never forget." The weather was cold. In order to keep warm, the villagers huddled together, rubbed their hands, stamped their feet, and finished watching the movie while standing. At the end of the screening, Du Zhenming secretly determined: "If we work in this industry, we will continue to do it for the rest of our lives."
Persistence
"As long as there are people in need, I have the responsibility to persevere."
As the plot of the movie progressed, bursts of laughter erupted from time to time. . “Anything that can bring joy to the masses is worth it,” Du Zhenming said.
“When I first engaged in film screening, I used a 16mm film projector. In order to reduce the waiting time of the audience, I needed to change the film in the shortest possible time."In order to become proficient in film changing and other techniques, Du Zhenming signed up for a training class, studied hard and practiced, reducing the time of changing film to less than half a minute.
As Du Zhenming walked through the countryside, more and more villagers felt the influence of light and shadow. Charming. In 1976, Du Zhenming came to Xiawa Village, Danshan Town, to show a movie. Among the audience, 9-year-old Ding Jiansheng was particularly fascinated. After the screening, Ding Jiansheng ran to Du Zhenming and asked curiously about the principle of the screening. Every time Du Zhenming came to Xiawa Village for a screening, Ding Jiansheng would be the first to wait in the square. In 1986, Ding Jiansheng was trained and hired by Anqiu Film Company and became Du Zhenming's colleague.
He has been showing movies in rural areas for a long time. The love doesn’t just stay on the screen. Since 2008, Du Zhenming and his colleagues began to provide voluntary services to villagers before movie screenings, offering voluntary haircuts and cleaning, and also helped the villagers bring special agricultural products to the city for sale. “To do a good job in film screening, we must have a heart-to-heart connection with the villagers and truly integrate into their lives. "
In 2015, Du Zhenming retired. He did not choose to leave, but started working on charity film screenings. "As long as there are people in need, I have the responsibility to persevere. Du Zhenming said. He has been engaged in film screening for more than 50 years. He has traveled to every village in Anqiu City and participated in more than 16,000 film screenings with more than one million viewers.
Popular Science
"Bringing agricultural technology to the fields through movies"
After the movie ended, the crowd gradually dispersed, and Du Zhenming began to pack up the projection equipment. “Look, our curtain is spotless. "While speaking, Du Zhenming rolled up the removed curtain into a ball and stuffed it into a storage bag, "Only by maintaining a meticulous and down-to-earth work attitude can we serve the masses well. "With the development of film projection technology, Du Zhenming's projection equipment has also been replaced by a digital projector, which realizes digital film storage and playback. The image details are richer and more delicate, which improves the viewing experience.
At the end of each screening, Du Zhenming The projector will be wiped clean. Every week, he will use professional cleaning tools to maintain the projector and curtain. He will also regularly clean the light path and replace the light bulbs to ensure that the projection equipment is always in good condition.
In recent years, with the urban cinema chain. With the development, rural film screening has undergone major changes. “In the past, it was about ‘watching movies’, but now it is about ‘watching good movies’. "Before a charity screening, Du Zhenming will work with his colleagues to make a form, list the films, write the plots on it, and solicit the villagers' wishes. In the past, "you can watch whatever I show", now, "what the audience likes to watch" What do we show?”.
“We also bring agricultural technology to the fields through movies. "Du Zhenming said that promoting villagers to increase their income and become rich by showing popular science films is also an important goal of his voluntary screenings. In recent years, through the screening of science and education films, popularizing scientific knowledge and disseminating advanced technologies in an entertaining way has become increasingly popular among villagers. “We increase the number of screenings of scientific and educational films, disseminate agricultural planting techniques and health knowledge, and help villagers solve problems. "Wang Junhua, general manager of Anqiu Film Distribution and Screening Co., Ltd., said that last year, the screening of popular science films accounted for more than 40% of the company's total voluntary film screenings.
In 2018, Du Zhenming went to Shalingzi Village, Jinzhongzi Town to screen movies After the screening, villager Ma Zirang shouted to Du Zhenming, "You have shown some science and education films, but the young silkworms in my greenhouse are not well raised. Do you have any science films about raising silkworms?" "Yes! I will do it today." I'll leave the equipment with you and I'll show it to you tomorrow. "Du Zhenming immediately agreed. Early the next morning, he and his colleagues walked into Ma Zirang's breeding base and showed him the scientific and educational film "New Techniques for Greenhouse Sericulture". In recent years, he has mastered professional breeding techniques by watching scientific and educational films. Since then, Ma Zirang’s breeding scale has continued to expand, and his income has increased year by year. “After watching the video, the villagers can learn more about science and technology, which is my greatest sense of accomplishment. " Du Zhenming said.
"In the interweaving of light and shadow, we brought different scenery to the vast countryside. "Looking back at the film screening career of more than 50 years, it is full and rich.Facing the future, he has his own expectations, "I hope that more and more young people will join the film screening industry and bring more good movies to the countryside."
"People's Daily" (page 6, April 18, 2024 )
Source: People’s Daily
