Founding father of Chinese cinema remembered
Visitors learn about the history of early Chinese films at the event.
An event commemorating Zheng Zhengqiu (1889-1935), a Chinese filmmaker considered the "founding father" of Chinese cinema, and other famous filmmakers was held on the Bund on Sunday.
It marked the 110-year anniversary of the first Chinese feature film.
The event, held in Waitanyuan (the origin of the Bund), was part of the ongoing Shanghai International Film Festival.
Posters of films of bygone eras and old newspapers and advertisements were featured with the combination of digital technologies that retrospect the past of China's film industry and envision its future.
Born in Shanghai in 1889, Zheng made the first Chinese feature film, a short film titled "The Difficult Couple," in 1913 with his friend Zhang Shichuan.
Posters of films in the bygone eras and old newspapers and advertisements are exhibited.
The location of the silent film was on Huqiu Road near Waitanyuan.
The two men came together again in 1922 with the founding of the seminal Mingxing Film Company, with Zheng going on to write and direct 53 films.
The first long feature film of the company, "An Orphan Rescues His Grandpa" directed by Zheng, was screened in 1923, becoming a hit upon screening.
Other classic films by Zheng such as Twin Sisters and Laborer's Love were well received.
During the event, old films directed by Zheng such as Twin Sisters were screened via 3D means.
"As a filmmaker of the new generation, we need to pay tribute to the first generation of Chinese directors as they were real pioneers," said Gu Xiaodong, founder of Artown Film, a Shanghai-based filming company.
Shanghai is where the Chinese film industry originated, according to Tang Weijie, associate professor of School of Humanities of Tongji University.
Old items related with these films were displayed, unfolding a piece of history and enabling people to explore early Chinese films and pay tribute to forerunners of film industry.
A roundtable discussion was held with filmmakers sharing insights into digital technologies and the development trends of Chinese film industry.
The event was jointly hosted by Fushouyuan Cemetery and the Waitan Subdistrict in Huangpu District.
A film screening at the event
