Life

Life

2003 · 50 min

Sand and Sea (shot in 1989) was a collaboration between filmmaker Kang Jianning and Liaoning Television producer Gao Guodong. That film depicted the lives of two families: one living in the Ningxia desert and another, a Northeastern fishing family, living on a remote island. For the 2003 broadcast version of Life — which aired as part of the 'The Weight of Time' series on Chinese TV — Gao did not participate, thus this film is only about the desert family, headed by father Liu Zeyuan. Since 1989, Kang has remained in contact with the family and returned to film them multiple times over the years. Kang's filmmaking largely consists of striking landscape shots of the desert and rather tortured interviews with reticent family members, who often provide one-word answers to Kang’s audible questions. Kang himself also appears, and is an important catalyst to drawing out responses. The filmmaker emphasizes a deep connection to place, as opposed to an eventful or dramatic narrative.

Directed by Kang Jianning

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SeriesDocumentary

The Rise of the Great Powers is a 12-part Chinese documentary television series produced by CCTV. It was first broadcast on CCTV-2 from 13 to 24 November 2006. It discusses the rise of nine great powers: Portugal, Spain, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Japan, Russia, and the United States. The documentary "endorses the idea that China should study the experiences of nations and empires it once condemned as aggressors bent on exploitation" and analyses the reasons why the nine nations rose to become great powers, from the Portuguese Empire to American hegemony. The series was produced by an "elite team of Chinese historians" who also briefed the Politburo on the subject." In the West the airing of Rise of the Great Powers has been seen as a sign that China is becoming increasingly open to discussing its growing international power and influence—referred to by the Chinese government as "China's peaceful rise."

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Sand and Sea · 1991

MovieDocumentary

Liu Zeyuan is a farmer on the edge of the desert at the junction of Inner Mongolia and Ningxia. He grows food and raises camels, and his family's annual income is 5,000 yuan. Liu Picheng is a fisherman on Jingwa Island, part of the isolated Liaodong Peninsula; he is unwilling to attract attention and becomes hostile to the camera. The living environment and conditions of these two families are different, but the directors try to find some common ground while expressing the two respective unique lifestyles. In fact, these lives are firmly swayed by nature: sand storms can destroy everything, just as the ocean tide can destroy everything, and for the two protagonists, the difficult grasp of the future and their children also brings them the same loneliness. Filmed in 1989, Sand and Sea received the Grand Prix award from the 1991 Asian Broadcasting and Television Union.

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A Soldier · 2001

Directed by Kang Jianning (under the pseudonym Wu Gong), and part of the 'Interesting Times' series with Duan Jinchuan's The Secret of My Success and Jiang Yue's This Happy Life. The film chronicles the progress of a lazy Chinese teenager who has a rude awakening when he joins the People's Liberation Army. The original film was finished in 2001, was titled 当兵 (Soldier), and is 88 minutes. It has never been broadcasted. There are two other, widely available versions: An English dub cut for BBC, which is 40 min, and a three-episode CCTV version that adds footage shot in 2003.

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Never broadcasted feature film by Chinese documentary filmmaker Kang Jianning.

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MovieDocumentary

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Tshultrim Danba and Tholing Monastery · 1993

Tshultrim Danba and Tholing Monastery

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The Thousand-Mile Baoji–Zhongwei Railway

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MovieDocumentary

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Never broadcasted feature film by Chinese documentary filmmaker Kang Jianning.

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Shanxi Businessmen · 2005

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SeriesDocumentary

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Rhyme of Tang

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SeriesDocumentary

A literary education series made for Ningxia TV Station, Shanxi TV Station, and Beijing Sanduotang Film and Television Advertising Company over two years (completed after searching for materials, researching and demonstrating, setting up scenery, and post-production). In order to make this series, the director had to travel all over China, with an investment of more than one million RMB. There are 20 episodes total of Rhyme of Tang; the runtime for each episode is about 20-30 minutes. The production of this series is exquisite, and creates a new space for TV interpretation of classics in classical Chinese literature. Its unique angle, beautiful visuals, and flare for elegance have resulted in an unexpected and enthusiastic response.

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