Si Tuzhaodun

Situ Zhaodun, aged 85, is a professor at Beijing Film Academy and comes from a legendary overseas Chinese family. His father, Situ Huimin, was a film expert in the Communist Party, and his younger brother, Situ Zhaoguang, is a renowned sculptor. In 1951, he moved to Beijing with his family. He graduated from Beijing Film Academy in 1964 and later became a teacher, mentoring notable Fifth Generation directors such as Chen Kaige and Zhang Yimou. In 1968, he was sentenced to five years for political reasons. He made a comeback in 1987, serving as the head of the directing department. He坚持 realists' principle of seeking truth from facts in documentary filmmaking; his works, including "Bamboo" and "Evening Sunset in the Green Mountains," have won numerous awards. In 2003, he served as a visiting professor at City University of Hong Kong, guiding students in award-winning documentary productions. Zhaodun advocates for cultural heritage preservation, has a deep love for his hometown Kaiping, and received the Beijing Film Academy "Golden Candle Award." He passed away on August 31, 2023, at the age of 85.