WANG Bing
王兵
Director, screenwriter, cinemathographer, producer
Born in Xi’an, in 1967, WANG Bing studied photography at the Lu Xun Academy of Fine Arts and cinematography at Beijing Film Academy. He began his career as an independent filmmaker in 1999. Discovered in 2003, WEST OF TRACKS (Tiexi qu/铁西区), an enormous documentary work of more than 9 hours, has garnered great success internationally. In addition to his feature documentaries (THREE SISTERS/San zimei/三姊妹, ’TIL MADNESS DO US PART/Fengai/疯爱), he is also active in video installation (CRUDE OIL/Yuanyou/原油, a 14-hour film), fiction film (BRUTALITY FACTORY/Baoli gongchang/暴力工厂, THE DITCH/Jiabiangou/夹边沟), and photography.
His documentaries have been released in theatres internationally. Acclaimed by critics and recognised as a major Chinese artist, documentary maker and film director, he has been honoured by retrospectives of his oeuvre in major museums such as the Centre Pompidou in Paris, the Cinémathèque Royale de Belgique, Filmoteca Española and Museo Reina Sofía.
In 2012, his THREE SISTERS/San zimei/三姊妹, that follows three little girls in a small village up the mountain, won the best film award of the Orizzonti section of the Venice International Film Festival, Best film award and audience award in the Festival of 3 Continents, as well as Grand prix Award, Ecumenical jury Award, E-changer Award, and Don Quijote Award at Fribourg IFF.
His 2013 'TIL MADNESS DO US PART/Fengai/疯爱 opened out of competition at the Venice International Film Festival. It is again in Venice, in 2016, that his BITTER MONEY/Kuqian/苦钱 won Best script award of the Orizzonti section. His portrait of a dying woman, MRS. FANG won Golden Leopard in Locarno in 2017.
In 2018, his encounters with the survivors of the anti-rightist movement and labor camps presented in a 9 hours long feature, DEAD SOUL/Silinghun/死灵魂, opened at the Cannes International Film Festival as a Special Screening.
In 2023, his YOUTH (SPRING)/Qingchun/青春, that follows in a small town the youth of China who are the working forces of this world’s factory, is invited in Competition at the Cannes Film Festival.
The same year, MAN IN BLACK/Heiyi ren/黑衣人, his portrait of the Chinese composer, musician and Maestro WANG Xilin in the unique setting of a stage theatre, filmed by Caroline Champetier, is to screen as a Special Screening of the Cannes film festival.
FILMOGRAPHY
MAN IN BLACK (Heiyi Ren/黑衣人)
(International Sales : ASIAN SHADOWS)
2023, Documentary, 60 minutes
- Cannes IFF 2023
Official Selection, Special Screening
- New Horizons 2023
Retrospective on Wang Bing
- DMZ 2023
Frontier Competition, Grand Prix
- ICFF Manaki Brothers 2023
Competition
- Black Canvas 2023
Beyond the Canvas Competition, Best Film Award
- Dok Leipzig 2023
Camera Lucida
- Film Fest Ghent 2023
Sight & Sound
- Doc Lisboa 2023
Opening film, From the Earth to the Moon
- Sao Paulo 2023
International Perspective Competition
- Asian Pacific Screen Awards
Nominated for Best Documentary
- Manaki Brothers Film Festival
Iron Camera 300 for Caroline Champetier
YOUTH (SPRING) (Qingchun/青春)
2023, Documentary, 212 minutes
- Competition, Official Selection, Cannes 2023
DEAD SOULS (Silinghun/死灵魂)
2018, Documentary, 496 minutes
- Special Screenings, Cannes 2018
MRS. FANG (Fang Xiuying/方绣英)
(International Sales : ASIAN SHADOWS)
2017, Documentary, 86 minutes
- Festival del Film Locarno 2017, Concorso Internazionale, Golden Leopard
- Toronto IFF 2017, Wavelengths
BITTER MONEY (Kuqian/苦钱)
2016, Documentary, 155 minutes
- Venice FF 2016, Orizzonti Competition
TA'ANG (De'ang/德昂)
(International Sales : ASIAN SHADOWS)
2016, Documentary, 148 minutes
- Berlinale 2016, Forum
- Hong Kong IFF 2016
- Swedish Film Institute, 2016 (retrospective WANG Bing)