For the inaugural IndieChina Film Festival, we have chosen cinematographer Liu Yonghong as our Filmmaker in Focus. This special section will present a curated selection of his most significant works as a director of photography. Active in China’s independent film scene for more than two decades, Liu has left an enduring mark on the country’s cinematic landscape with his keen observational eye and a visual language that is both unadorned and profoundly resonant.
A graduate of the Beijing Film Academy’s Cinematography Department, Liu also earned a PhD in Theatre Studies from the Central Academy of Drama. His cinematography does not seek dazzling spectacle; rather, it captures the inner tension of his subjects and the deeper order of the world through the orchestration of light and shadow. His camera remains close to reality—calm, restrained—often conveying complex layers of humanity and social meaning within minimalist compositions.
As cinematographer, his landmark work Blind Shaft won the Silver Bear at the 53rd Berlin International Film Festival. With its weighty social subject matter and oppressive visual atmosphere, the film remains a pinnacle of Chinese realist cinema. His collaboration with Zhu Wen on Seafood received the Special Jury Prize in the “Cinema of the Present” section at the 58th Venice International Film Festival, marking a significant milestone in the rise of Chinese DV filmmaking. Earlier, the experimental short There’s a Strong Wind in Beijing, directed by emerging filmmaker Ju Anqi, premiered in the Forum section of the 50th Berlin International Film Festival, capturing the raw, unfiltered state of a new generation of Chinese image-makers.
Beyond his work behind the camera, Liu has directed several films, including Ye Lang, One Day, and Genesis, continuing his sustained exploration of the relationship between reality and the visual image. He has also served as a lecturer, mentor, and juror at numerous film festivals and training programs, actively fostering the growth of young Chinese filmmaking talent.
This year’s festival will screen the newly restored digital version of There’s a Strong Wind in Beijing, Blind Shaft, and other works shot by Liu Yonghong. This program is not only a mid-career retrospective of his cinematographic journey, but also a renewed reflection on the aesthetics of Chinese independent cinema. Through these works, we invite audiences to look again—behind the quiet, unassuming frames, what bodies, emotions, and social forces are in motion? And how does a cinematographer’s gaze, poised between reality and fiction, leave the imprint of time on film?
Liu Yonghong will attend IndieChina and participate in the post-screening discussion.
焦点影人：刘勇宏
我们选择电影摄影师刘勇宏作为首届 IndieChina 电影节的“焦点影人”。在这个特别单元中，将集中放映他担任摄影师的几部重要作品。作为活跃于中国独立影像现场二十余年的摄影指导与导演，刘勇宏以敏锐的观察力与质朴深邃的影像语言，在中国电影发展历程中留下了不可忽视的印记。
刘勇宏毕业于北京电影学院摄影系，并获中央戏剧学院戏剧戏曲学博士学位。他的摄影风格并不追求绚烂夺目的视觉效果，而是在光影的调度中捕捉人物的内在张力与世界的深层秩序。其镜头贴近现实，冷静克制，经常在极简的画面构图中传递出复杂的人性与社会意涵。
作为摄影指导，他的代表作《盲井》曾获第53届柏林国际电影节银熊奖，影片沉重的社会题材与压抑的影像氛围至今仍被视为华语现实主义电影的高峰。他与朱文合作的《海鲜》在第58届威尼斯国际电影节“当代电影”单元荣获评审团特别奖，是中国 DV 电影崛起的重要标志。更早的作品《北京的风很大》作为青年导演雎安奇的实验短片，在第50届柏林国际电影节青年论坛单元中初露锋芒，呈现了新一代中国影像创作者的原生状态。
除摄影外，刘勇宏亦多次执导影片，如《夜郎》《有一天》《Genesis 造物》等，延续他对现实与视觉关系的持续探索。他还在多地影展与电影训练项目中担任讲师与评委，积极推动中国青年电影人才的培养。
本届电影节将放映修复数字版的《北京的风很大》以及《盲井》等刘勇宏担任摄影的作品。这不仅是对刘勇宏摄影生涯的一次阶段性回顾，也是一场关于中国独立电影美学的再思考。透过这些作品，我们邀请观众重新观看——在那些不动声色的画面背后，流动着怎样的身体、情感与社会？一位摄影师的观察，如何在现实与虚构之间，为电影留下时间的痕迹？
刘勇宏將出席IndieChina並參加放映后的讨论。
