He Qun

b. 1956, Beijing

Film director, screenwriter, art director

A 1982 graduate of the Beijing Film Academy, He Qun is a key member of the Fifth Generation (film directors). After working as art director on several important films of the early 1980s, He turned to directing in 1988.

He Qun was a major creative force and artistic collaborator on several of the most important early films in the development of the Fifth Generation’s cinematic style. As an art director, He contributed his skills to Zhang Junzhao’s One and Eight (Yige he bage), a stunning war film that was among the first shots fired in the Fifth Generation’s cinematic revolution, and Chen Kaige’s The Big Parade (Da yuebing), which traces the lives of a battalion of soldiers chosen to take part in a National Day parade.

Since his directorial debut Mutiny (Huabian) in 1988, He Qun has made nine additional films including Westbound Convict Train (Xixing qiuche), Steel Meets Fire (Liehuo jingang), Conned Once Restaurant (Shang yidang), The Woman Who Disappeared (Xiaoshi de nuren), Women’s Drug Rehab Centre (Nuzi jiedu suo), Strangers in Beijing (Hun zai Beijing) and The Flying Tigers (Feihu dui). The beloved actor Ge You stars in several of these. He Qun has produced an eclectic and versatile body of work, which has featured everything from contemporary urban comedies to historical war epics. His masterpiece is his award-winning feature Country Teachers (Fenghuang qin, 1993), a moving portrait of the conflict between idealism and reality at a rural school. It won five major awards and evoked the most powerful performance in its lead actor Li Baotian’s career.

MICHAEL BERRY