Headlines From China: Joan Chen’s New Film ‘English’ Continues To Focus On Cultural Revolution

Joan Chen’s Second Chinese-Language Film “English” Continues To Focus On Cultural Revolution

Directed by Joan Chen, and starring Wang Zhiwen, Yuan Quan, and Huo Siyan, new film English was recently featured on film magazine Screen‘s Berlinale special. Like Chen’s first film, Xiu XiuEnglish is centered around days of Cultural Revolution and tells stories that happened during the turbulent period. Xiu Xiu was previously nominated for the Golden Bear Award at the Berlinale. The poster, released for the first time, features a giant Chinese tunic suit, a garment named after revolutionary Sun Yat-sen. Still in post-production, the film will be released in China within the next year. Read more on Mtime

“Operation Red Sea’”s Box Office Projected To Reach $470 Million

Directed by Operation Mekong’s Dante Lam, Operation Red Sea has been performing extraordinarily both in box office and in reviews. Analytics reveal that Operation Red Sea’s box office is eerily similar to that of Wolf Warrior 2, and production company Bona Film Group is confident that the film will make it past 3 billion yuan ($470 million). The success of Operation Red Sea has opened more doors for propaganda films and sets new stands for modern military blockbusters. Read more on D-entertainment

Chen Sicheng Joins “1 Billion Club” With “Detective Chinatown 2”

Detective Chinatown 2 has been wildly successful with box office earnings surpassing 1.6 billion yuan ($252 million), making it a winner among all Chinese New Year films, and putting director Chen Sicheng in the “1 Billion Club.” Chen has only directed three feature films beginning 2014. There are 24 directors whose films have earned over 1 billion yuan in ticket sales, including screenwriters and directors Tian Yusheng, Wuershan, and Ning Hao, as well as actors and celebrities Wu Jing, Xu Zheng, and Da Peng; more than half of them are aged 50 and under, a contrast from Hollywood directors. Read more on yiqipaidianying

Season 3 Of “A Bite Of China” Debuts

The highly anticipated new season of popular food documentary A Bite Of China finally debuted during the Chinese New Year holiday, four years after the last season ended. First aired in 2012, the show has quickly garnered attention and popularity among viewers. The show’s content strategy is key to making A Bite Of China a long-running show. Season 3 aims at broadening the boundaries of food documentaries, and incorporating human elements and exploring the migration and integration of food from its historical evolution. Director Liu Hongyan believes it is important to be inventive and to keep up with the times so that the show will be able to draw more younger audiences. Read more on yuledujiaoshou