The last living legends of Chinese cinema finally tell their secrets—and they're not holding back.
"Actor" is China's first documentary film to explore the virtues and skills of actors. The film takes the "Twenty-Two Big Movie Stars of New China" as the starting point. It will explore the film experience and artistic achievements of the older generation of artists, explore their insights and thinking about the profession of actors for more than half a century, and pay tribute to the century-old Chinese film with the classic film images they created.
Acting
These octogenarian performers are still performing—just differently now.
Direction
Pan Yilin knows when to let silence do the heavy lifting.
Editing
Juxtaposing golden-age clips with present-day frailty destroys me every time.
Director
Pan Yilin
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The '22 Big Stars' were officially canonized by the Ministry of Culture in 1962, making this list both honor and surveillance target during subsequent political campaigns.
Tian Hua still remembers her costume fitting for 'The White-Haired Girl' in 1950 because it was the first time she'd ever worn store-bought shoes.
CN
