Chao News Client Reporter Shen Tingyu
During this time, Pan Zhiqi, associate professor at the School of Television Arts, Zhejiang University of Communication, was very busy.
A few days ago, he was in Kyrgyzstan with the subjects of a documentary he was filming. The day after he returned to Hangzhou from this trip, he immediately rushed to Shanghai to attend the world premiere of another documentary he directed, "Aunt Hu's Garden", at the 26th Shanghai International Film Festival.
"Aunt Hu's Garden" was shortlisted for the Golden Goblet Award Documentary Competition at this year's Shanghai International Film Festival, and is the only work from mainland China selected for this unit.
"I hope that different audiences can have different touches or feelings, instead of me explaining the meaning of the work, which can easily restrict the audience's thoughts." In the past two days, the reporter had a face-to-face chat with Pan Zhiqi. He said this when talking about the meaning the film hopes to convey.
has been making documentaries for nearly 20 years. Pan Zhiqi is pleased that the charm of documentaries is being recognized by more and more audiences, but he also admits that documentaries need more display platforms for more people to see.
He said this about "Aunt Hu's Garden" and the documentary itself.
Video poster, picture provided by Pan Zhiqi
htmlFor 49 years, it recorded the story of a mother and her son
The story told in "Aunt Hu's Garden" is very simple: Aunt Hu in Chongqing makes a living by running an extremely low-priced small hotel. Although her life is poor, she sometimes She would also help the residents out. She built a colorful garden out of discarded garbage, using this poetic space to achieve self-salvation and comfort her sick son.
From 2012 to 2021, Pan Zhiqi spent 9 years recording the life of this mother and son. He said that what impressed him most was their spiritual world and resilience in life. "Aunt Hu has a rare kind of idealism. Although the reality is very unbearable, she always transcends the suffering and has a beautiful heart, just like a flower blooming in the barren land."
In fact, we can still spend more time on it. Callback. In 2010, by chance, Pan Zhiqi came to Chongqing Shibati. It is located in Jiefangbei Business District, Yuzhong District, Chongqing, and is one of the oldest streets in the main city of Chongqing. Just the previous year, the Yuzhong District Government of Chongqing announced that it would rebuild Shibati and launched the renovation and relocation of the area in July 2010.
"When making documentaries, I hope to record the changes of the times and the changes of the city." Standing in front of the 18th Staircase, looking at the huge contrast between it and the surrounding commercial CBDs such as the Jiefang Monument, Pan Zhiqi felt that this was a place worthy of being recorded.
Stills from the film, pictures provided by Pan Zhiqi
Starting from focusing on space, he searched for people living in the surrounding areas, such as teahouse owners, street vendors, etc. Two years later, he met Aunt Hu.
The encounter with Aunt Hu’s son Shaobin also originated from a coincidence. "When we were filming, one day, Aunt Hu suddenly asked me seriously in front of the camera, Xiao Pan, could you do me a favor?" Pan Zhiqi recalled that when he asked what kind of favor he could do, Aunt Hu said that tomorrow was his son. On my birthday, I hope to receive blessings from strangers. The next day, when Pan Zhiqi called, the voice on the other end of the phone was fragile and seemed completely opposite to Aunt Hu, which aroused his curiosity.
After getting to know each other, Pan Zhiqi discovered that the personalities of the mother and son were completely different, but their life trajectories and the changes in the two urban spaces under the great changes of the times. The fate of small people in this big era was consistent with the direction that the creation originally wanted to express. Fit.
html On June 17, when Pan Zhiqi returned from Kyrgyzstan, he also went to Chongqing. "Now Aunt Hu has a large TV installed in her house. I connected my laptop to it and watched the film with them." Pan Zhiqi said that this was also the first time for Aunt Hu and her son to watch the film. Now, when I look back at what it was like more than 10 years ago, I find it very magical. This may be the unique charm of documentaries.Aunt Hu's words while watching the film impressed him deeply: "Xiao Pan, you are getting old too." Pan Zhiqi said that a documentary predecessor, Situ Zhaodun, said, "Documentary is the time when one life accompanies another life."
Shanghai International Film Festival screening scene, photo provided by Pan Zhiqi
As one audience member said after watching the film at the Shanghai International Film Festival: "I have never understood the role of the director in the documentary. In this film, the director and The relationship with Aunt Hu probably gave me the best answer. When Aunt Hu was about to move to a new garden that even her son didn't know about, she quietly told the director that this was a little secret that belonged to two people. Near the end, Aunt Hu in the camera also introduces to her friends that the director who shoots with the camera every day has no job and is free. This kind of close feeling should mean that Aunt Hu has regarded the director as her godson and shares the joys and sorrows with her. Let’s protect the small garden together.”
Documentaries need a broader market
This is not the first time that Pan Zhiqi has focused on the lives of ordinary people.
Once upon a time, his documentary film "Street 24" recorded the changes in a street in Hangzhou and showed the survival picture of migrant workers. In the past few years, he has also been following the stories of beekeepers traveling around the world chasing flowers and collecting honey.
"There is an unknown quality when documentaries are being shot. This means that documentaries have unlimited possibilities." Pan Zhiqi told reporters that this is why he has always insisted on making documentaries.
"People, society, times" are the principles that Pan Zhiqi always follows when creating and shooting. He hopes to reflect the changes of the times by recording the stories of ordinary people, reach a point of empathy with the audience, and stick to his own expression.
This time, Pan Zhiqi did not feel too much about being selected into the documentary competition unit of the Shanghai International Film Festival's Golden Goblet Award. "Every film has its own destiny after it is completed."
Pan Zhiqi. Picture provided by me
The Shanghai International Film Festival Golden Goblet Award Documentary Competition Unit was established in 2015. Finnish documentary director Piljo Khancasaro, who served as the jury chairman of the "Golden Goblet Award" documentary unit of the 22nd Shanghai International Film Festival, once said: "When you come to Shanghai to watch the screening of these documentaries, it is like traveling around the world. Documentary Let us see the real world and the plight of life, it will increase our sense of responsibility, and it will teach people all over the world to understand and tolerate each other. "
In the history of the development of domestic documentaries, 2016 is crucial. This year, "I Repair Cultural Relics in the Forbidden City" Station B became popular. It successfully attracted the attention of young audiences and also caused the industry to re-examine the value of documentaries. Since then, TV stations and video websites have accelerated the layout of documentaries, and high-quality films such as " flavor human ", "A String of Life", and "Guarding the Jiefang West" have appeared frequently.
As a visual expression of real life, the audience for documentaries in China is currently growing. However, Pan Zhiqi admitted that in the content ecology of most platforms, documentaries are still oriented towards commercialization and pursuit of profit. At the same time, it is undeniable that investment in documentaries has been shrinking in recent years.
"Nowadays, many people may watch documentaries on TV or on the website, but those are different from documentary films." Pan Zhiqi said that next, he plans to let "Aunt Hu's Garden" be released in art theaters. However, the film market is very cruel in the face of common competition between commercial films. There is still a long way to go for documentaries to cultivate a broader market.
"Please indicate the source for reprinting"
