County Magistrate, County Magistrate

County Magistrate, County Magistrate

2025 · 23 min · Documentary

County Magistrate, County Magistrate depicts a collective migration unfolding in an indeterminate time and place. Men, women, and children from a village move through mountains as the sky gradually grows dark, walking resolutely into the distance until they arrive at a new settlement. The abandoned courtyards they leave behind still bear traces of daily life: a steaming kettle, unfinished bowls of food, an old television flickering with static, and worn-out pieces of furniture. The camera then slowly pans to an outdoor movie screen showing After Armistice, a black-and-white film released in 1962. In the film, a man draws a business card from his pocket and introduces himself as Xianghe’s newly appointed county magistrate. At this moment, the story slips into another layer of fictional time and space.

Directed by Yang Fudong

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Seven Intellectuals in Bamboo Forest, Part IV

Seven Intellectuals in Bamboo Forest, Part IV · 2006

Seven Intellectuals in Bamboo Forest, Part IV

The film 'Seven Intellectuals In Bamboo Forest' is based on the history of seven talented intellectuals from the ancient Chinese Wei and Jin Dynasties. Ruan Ji, Ji Kang, Shan Tao, Liu Ling, Ruan Yan, Xiang Xiu and Wang Rong were famous poets and artists at that time. Open and unruly, they used to gather and drink in the bamboo forest, singing songs and playing traditional Chinese musical instruments, in the hope of escaping from earthly life. They pursued individuality, freedom, and liberty. Their remarkable talent and passion made them a notable group in Chinese history. Part 4 is about the idea of living on an island with no one else, avoiding the hustle and bustle of the busy metropolis. In Chinese legend, there is an island of Peach Blossoms - the very ideal place to live, where one's thoughts can fly freely.

Seven Intellectuals in Bamboo Forest, Part V

Seven Intellectuals in Bamboo Forest, Part V · 2007

Seven Intellectuals in Bamboo Forest, Part V

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Seven Intellectuals in Bamboo Forest, Part I

Seven Intellectuals in Bamboo Forest, Part I · 2003

Seven Intellectuals in Bamboo Forest, Part I

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Seven Intellectuals in Bamboo Forest, Part III

Seven Intellectuals in Bamboo Forest, Part III · 2005

Seven Intellectuals in Bamboo Forest, Part III

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Liu Lan

Liu Lan · 2003

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Seven Intellectuals in Bamboo Forest, Part II

Seven Intellectuals in Bamboo Forest, Part II · 2004

Seven Intellectuals in Bamboo Forest, Part II

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The 13th Shanghai Biennale cooperated with the artist Yang Fudong in a public welfare short film - "Art, Art, Art...".

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Moving Mountains · 2016

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Lock Again · 2004

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Xiānghé · 2025

MovieHistoryRomance

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The Nightman Cometh · 2011

The Nightman Cometh

MovieHistoryDocumentary

Yejiang / The Nightman Cometh features a cast of strange figures who slip between historical eras. Strewn with symbols of past and future, civilisation and wilderness, dream and reality, the work is laden with filmic, artistic and literary meanings but surrenders to none. An ancient warrior is seen wounded and forlorn after battle, in conflict about his path in life. Yang dramatises the clash between the hero's social role or 'mask', and the more authentic face of his instincts and aspirations. For Yang, the visible world presented in this work is not an objective one but rather the externalisation of internal sentiments.

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Close to the Sea · 2004

Close to the Sea

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Su Xiaoxiao

Su Xiaoxiao · 2001

Multi-channel video installation (4 overhead projectors, 19 TV sets). Yang Fudong captures the poetic sentiment that arises in moments of individual encounter with the real world, and his own expression of the world inside him. His artistic practice engages in a temperamental dialogue with the traditional culture and literature of China. Yang Fudong constructs a potential platform for dialogue and negotiation between the self and external reality. In so doing, he does not propagate ？xed believes or dogmas. His work is based on process, on what he learns from ceaseless study, observation, and involvement with his social environment and the way it relates to the individual.

The Half Hitching Post

The Half Hitching Post · 2005

The Half Hitching Post

MovieDocumentaryMystery

An Sai, Shanbei, An isolated village on the Loess Plateau, Northern China. Two young outsiders are moving in, While two young locals are struggling to escape. Comes into view a donkey full of luggage, Comes also into view a young couple, He carries her on a bike...

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