Hu Jie is a prodigious independent Chinese filmmaker who has produced and directed thirty or so documentaries. Also a master of wood engraving, Hu Jie breathes new life into the expressionist tradition of Käthe Kollwitz. In his works — including those produced in Paris for this film — Hu Jie recreates terrifying moments of organized crimes against the Chinese people during the famine of the “Great Leap Forward” and the “Cultural Revolution”. Bertrand Renaudineau’s and Gérard da Silva’s film offers Hu Jie his first chance to tell how he was a wood engraver before becoming a filmmaker; how, he freed the “soul of a young martyr”; and how his prints and documentaries have helped convey the experiences of the Chinese to people all around the world. (René Viénet)
Bertrand Renaudineau
Bertrand Renaudineau studied cinema and Japanese. He is producer and director of theatrical shorts as well as ethnographic and artistic films in his production company, “Les Films de l'Effraie”. In 1986, he launched “Gallix Ltd” in order to foster his activities with Japan, contributing towards the production of arts-oriented programs for Japanese TV channels.
Gérard da Silva
Gérard da Silva studied 17th century poetry, philosophy and aesthetics. He has published several works on social history, one of which is about the “Mortara Affair” and Christian anti-Semitism. More recent works include one about Georges Buisson, father of social security (2016) and one about Suzanne Buisson, French political activist and résistante (2018).
