The film "Lao Qiang" has been called by the peak of the "zero row film" directors to pay attention to the survival of literary films, Lao Qiang, a film about the growth, love and grudges of Huayin Laoqiang artists and the inheritance of traditional folk art, was released nationwide on Dec 2. Based on the true story of Wang Zhenzhong, an artist from Shaanxi province, Gao hopes to raise public awareness and pass on the art. However, in front of the embarrassing situation of almost "zero films", producer Li Linhong and director Gao Feng's heart is in anxiety.
The movie Lao Qiang
Lao Qiang director Gao Feng
Gao Feng said that Lao Qiang has appeared as a cultural element in the movies to Live, White Deer Plain and The Peach Blossom. Lao Qiang is the first time that Lao Qiang artists have been used as the main characters on the big screen, and there are a lot of old Qiang songs in the movie. Speaking about the original intention of the film, Gao recalled that he was shocked to see Lao Qiang for the first time many years ago in the Beijing folk art version of the drama White Deer Yuan. With a heart of rescue, he decided to put Lao Qiang on the screen.
The film was planned in late 2009 and finished production in 2014 before being released this year. After six years of grinding, Gao Feng admitted that he encountered difficulties like lack of funds and lack of actors... "The producers and I borrowed money from loan sharks and mortgaging property to finance the shoot. In the face of today's market conditions, we are under increasing pressure. Now we can only raise funds for early investment by selling film rights online." Gao called for support to be given to films made by private companies to encourage more people to make films that protect national culture.
据悉，《老强》曾获第六届欧洲国际电影节优秀原创故事片、2014年第38届蒙特利尔国际电影节“世界焦点”单元和第27届东京国际电影节“中国电影周”单元。事实上，《老强》并不是第一部在市场上难觅踪影的文艺片。之前，导演方励下跪要求放映《百鸟朝凤》，后来，《路边野餐》只在10天内上映。这不禁让人问，中国文艺片的市场出路在哪里?(文/小芳芳)