Tell it on the 'Mountain'
- Source: Global Times
- [20:03 March 07 2011]
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By Leng Mo
China, like the international film industry, lacks female directors, but controversial 38-year-old Li Yu is perhaps among the best though her films rarely get a mainland cinema release.
This month, however, she is enjoying the media spotlight with new release Buddha Mountain, which was permitted to screen last Friday.
Born in Jinan, Shandong Province, Li's childhood had limited memories of her father. Known for her female sometimes feminist points of view, Li's protagonists include lesbians, teenage mothers or, in Buddha Mountain, a grieving mother who has lost her son.
"My father was always away and only recently do I feel he has reappeared in my life," Li said, admitting her childhood experience has had a continuous impact on her films.
Li became a host for Jinan TV at 16, but after three years, she quit the well-paid job. "It was very mechanical: I announced pre-written scripts day after day. I sometimes felt it was all my life was about."
She became a Beijing reporter for a CCTV documentary programme and later the director.
"It was a wonderful time; I am always interested in other people's lives more than mine and my circle's, so it was great to have my lens on others."
She soon got her first prize for Sister (1995). "I never took any formal training for filmmaking my documentary experience was very helpful," Li admitted.
