During the next four weeks China will release a number of films
to commemorate the 85th anniversary of the founding of the
Communist Party of China (CPC).
CPC was founded on July 1, 1921 in Shanghai.
The Forest Ranger, the Best Feature Film winner at the
13th Beijing Student Film Festival and a candidate for the 9th
Shanghai International Film Festival, is among the 26 movies to
mark the CPC's anniversary. It features a ranger who dies
protecting a state-owned forest. The film reveals some of the
social problems associated with environmental protection in
China.
The screenings have been initiated by the Chinese Film
Circulation and Projection Association, China Film Producers'
Association, the City Cinema Association of China and they have the
support of the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television
(SARFT).
"It's the CPC who turned China's film making industry around as
it was neglected and weak before new China was founded in 1949,"
Tong Gang, director of the Film Bureau of the SARFT told a press
conference in Beijing on Tuesday.
"Cinema companies must land the support of local governments in
playing these films and should pay attention to the rural market
not just the urban one," he added.
"It's a duty of the Chinese film makers to pay a tribute to the
CPC," said Yang Buting, board chairman of the China Film Group
Corporation, the biggest film production and distribution company
in China.
The movies also include Legend of Seasons, about a
college graduate who volunteers to work to educate the poor in
rural areas, Endless Love, about a CPC official who
wholeheartedly helps the public solve problems and The
Backbone, a documentary film following generations of CPC
leaders including Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping.
(Xinhua News Agency June 14, 2006)