To purchase his first camera, Zhang Yimou sold his own blood. During the Cultural Revolution in China, he was sentenced to a re-education camp through no fault of his own. When he returned, Zhang — at age 27 — was too old to be admitted to the Beijing Film Academy. Despite the barrage of hardships Zhang faced in his early life, he persevered to become the cinematic maestro he is today. Adored by audiences and critics around the world, Zhang exemplifies international cinema at its best, imbued with deep cultural resonance and heartfelt personal touch.

Much of his filmography is personal in nature, not just a meditation on his own life but also on the lives of both his contemporaries and ancestors. Throughout his career, developing a robust sense of place and time has been imperative to Zhang. His first feature film, “Red Sorghum” (1987), turns back the clock to the Second Sino-Japanese War. In the debut, Zhang focuses on a poor young girl who lives with her family in rural Shandong. Her parents set her up in a prearranged marriage with a leper. Time passes as she lives a new life with her new husband before the plot takes a sudden turn: Japanese soldiers invade the village and perpetrate extreme violence, with a scene where two villagers are skinned alive. Coming from someone who experienced firsthand the many extremities of 20th century Chinese history along with his immediate family, the visceral dialogue and depictions that saturate the movie aptly serve as a poignant personal reflection with great historical significance.

Over the course of the following decade, Zhang directed several films that are now widely considered defining masterpieces of not just Chinese cinema, but world cinema. The triumvirate of his most well-received films at this point of his career were “Ju Dou” (1990), “Raise the Red Lantern” (1991) and “To Live” (1994). The characters, the stories and the messages of all three films leave a lasting impression in every viewer’s mind. For one, “Ju Dou” follows the titular female protagonist’s plight as she enters into a loveless marriage with an abusive husband. She takes solace in the company of her husband’s nephew but then enters into a passionate love affair with him, which they must cover up to evade the wrath of her husband. With “Ju Dou,” Zhang touches on a lot of the same themes he emphasizes in “Red Sorghum.” One of the most remarkable features of his films is his unapologetic focus on the women of contemporary China, whom a lot of directors in the past have not touched on with the same depth and thoughtfulness he was able to portray.

“Raise the Red Lantern” and “To Live” also meditate on Chinese history. The former follows a concubine’s life during the Warlord Era as she deals with the politics of being a wealthy man’s fourth wife. The latter spotlights Fugui, a spoiled Chinese landlord who loses all of his material possessions through gambling, but through the ensuing process of living as a poor peasant through the Communist Revolution, Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution, experiences immense character development and becomes a responsible family man. Including these two tour de forces, Zhang’s filmography during the last two decades of the 20th century earned him no less than two Golden Lion prizes at the Venice Film Festival, the top prize at the Berlin Film Festival and three Academy Award nominations. Without a question, he is one of the most innovative, talented and well-respected filmmakers of all time in international cinema. 

Throughout the latter half of his career, Zhang has continued producing huge hits, including the commercial blockbusters “The Great Wall” (2016) and “Full River Red” (2023). Zhang has had enormous success within China, but has also attracted a vast global following for his ability to tell stories with incredible visual beauty, emotional evocativeness and incredible narratives. Along with the other directors of the Fifth Generation of Chinese filmmakers, Zhang has played a huge role in elevating Chinese cinema on the international stage and telling stories that feel authentic and meaningful to people from all walks of life.