Yang Haijun (Yangzi) at Unrestricted New Image Festival, Beijing Film Academy, 2001

Yang, Haijun – his nickname is Yangzi - is a graduate of China Art Academy and Beijing Film Academy. He is a film director and film producer. Yang Haijun is an important figure for Chinese contemporary cultural history, because he is the curator for the important Unrestricted New Image Festival at Beijing Film Academy in 2001. This film festival of independent Chinese documentary and feature films and First Chinese Gay and Lesbian Film Festival at Beijing University in 2001 played an import role in the broader movement for Chinese personal and artistic freedom. Neither of these film festivals were officially publicized and both were shut down by the Chinese government after two days of screening. Many young Chinese attended both events. They heard about them on the Internet or by word of mouth. Some traveled a long distance to attend them. And this led to an emerging sense of community and sometimes a collective euphoria about embracing a new culture that openly challenges repressive social boundaries. Later Unrestricted New Image Festival became known as Beijing Independent Film Festival and moved to the artist village Songzhuang on the outskirts of Beijing until the government shut it down in 2014. I was one of two foreigners who attended Unrestricted New Image Festival. Some Chinese in attendance were interested in my reaction to the festival. Yang Haijun arranged for me to be interviewed by Life Weekly.

• 2001-09

• Spencer, Norman A.

• Wu Documentary Film

• Beijing (China)

• Yang, Haijun, 1973-

• Exhibition curators
• Independent filmmakers
• Motion picture producers and directors
• Screenwriters

• image

• No linguistic content; Not applicable

• Spencer, Norman A.

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2021-09-29