She graduated from Beijing Film Academy and then from Italy's National Film School (CSC,Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia).While studying in Rome,she be friended Bernardo Bertolucci;he later hired her as assistant director for THE LAST EMPEROR. She completed a fellowship at Harvard University and was awarded to the Order of the Star of Italy(Stella della solidarietà italiana) for excellence in the arts.The Peace Women Across the Globe Association nominated her among 1000 Women for the Nobel Peace Prize.
In 1990 she directed her first film, the comedy blockbuster SOMEONE LOVES JUST ME, soon followed by her internationally acclaimed “Beijing Trilogy” (FOR FUN/1992, ON THE BEAT/1995 and I LOVE BEIJING/2000), which represents“both a historical document of the transformation of the filmmaker’s native city and her cinematic eulogy to a form of life that is rapidly vanishing” (Harvard’s Nieman Reports) and received many prestigious international awards, making her a pioneer of Chinese urban cinema.
In 2002 her RAILROAD OF HOPE won first prize at the Cinema du Reelin Paris. Jean Michael Frodon wrote: her cinema “foreshadows the urban minimalist fictions that represent the most meaningful advances of the next generation of Chinese cinema d’auteur, from Zhang Yuan to Jia Zhang-ke, to Wang Chao.”
In 2005 PERPETUAL MOTION was presented at Venice Int. Film Festival and was regarded as“undoubtedly a turning point as concerns the women’s image in Chinese cinema”, as well as “a mile stone for women in the new Chinese cinema” (Giovanna Fulvi). “it's a poetic and political borderline cinema, having a Rossellini’s style passion for mixing fiction with reality… in such sense NingYing was a ‘mentor’ for Jia Zhang-ke’s generation”（Ciristina Piccino）
In 2013, her TO LIVE AND DIE IN ORDOS, a film that is “an aspect of China’s contemporary history” (Yoshihiko Yatabe)awarded Best Actor at Tokyo International Film Festival,China Hua Biao Award for best picture, best film at China Wu Ge Yi Best Works Award, and best screenwriter at China Filmmaker’s Association Award.
Ning Ying has been a jury member at numerous International Film Festivals, including Berlin, Locarno,Torino, Tokyo film-ex, Yamagata. She is the head of Film Department of Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA)-College of City Design.
Ning Ying’s Film
SOMEONE LOVES JUST ME,
“YouRenPianPianAiShangWo”(original title),
1990, 92min
Director
FOR FUN
“ZhaoLe”(original title)
1992, 97min,Beijing Trilogy Part I
Director, Co-screenwriter
FESTIVALS:
Berlin Intl.Film Festival Forum; San Sebastian Intl. Film Festival; Tokyo Intl. Film Festival; Festival Des 3 Continents, Nantes; Hong Kong Intl. Film Festival,1993, Opening film; New Directors New Films, New York; Toronto International Film Festival; The ssaloniki Intl. Film Festival; Rotterdam Intl. Film Festival;films collection of New York’s Museum of Modern Art (MoMA); Harvard Film Archive Ning Ying’s retrospective 2003.
AWARDS:
FIPRESCI PRIZE,Berlin Intl. Film Festival Forum;
BEST FIRSTFILM, San Sebastian Intl. Film Festival;
TOKYO GOLDPRIZE, Tokyo Intl. Film Festival;
BEST DIRECTOR,BEST ACTOR The ssaloniki Intl. Film Festival;
GRAND PRIX MONTGOLFIERE D'OR, BEST ASIAN FILM, BEST ACTOR, Nantes-France
“Masterpieces with great meaning, landmark of Chinese films.”
---- By South China Morning Post (Hong Kong)
“Interesting but meaningful, like a fable with deep meaning.”
---By Le Monde (France)
“A comedy by which the author shows her profound thinking about bureaucratism in China.”
--- By Derek Elley, a senior movie critic, on Variety
ON THE BEAT
“MinJingGuShi” (original title)
1995,102min,Beijing Trilogy Part II
Director, Screenwriter, Editor, Producer
FESTIVALS:
San SebastianIntl. Film Festival; Torino International Film Festival; Festival Des 3Continents, Nantes; Festival du Film De Belfort, France; International Film Festival of India; Singapore International Film Festival; China University Students Film Festival; Toronto Intl. Film Festival; - Telluride Intl. Film Festival; Berlin Forum Intl. Film Festival; The ssaloniki Intl. Film Festival;Rotterdam Intl. Film Festival; Jerusalem Intl. Film Festival; New Directors New Films-New York; S. Francisco International Film Festival; films collection of New York’s Museum of Modern Art (MoMA); Harvard Film Archive Ning Ying’s retrospective 2003.
AWARDS:
FIPRESCI PRIZE and SPECIAL MENTION BY THE JURY, San Sebastian Intl. Film Festival;
BEST FILM,Torino Intl.Cinema Giovani;
MONTGOLFIERE D'ARGENT, Nantes-France;
BEST FILM,Belfort, France;
SILVER PEACOCK,India Intl. Film Festival;
BEST ASIAN FEATURE, BEST ACTOR, Singapore Intl. Film Festival;
BEST FILM,China University Students Film Festival
“As funny as Franz Kafka’s artworks, or even drive readers to cry ...... The tragicomedy style was once a tradition of Chinese movies in 1940s. The film is about ordinary people in our daily life, who showed the true themselves in front of the camera.”
----- By Cahiers Du Cinema
I LOVE BEIJING
“XiaRiNuanYangYang”(original title)
2000,80min,Beijing Trilogy Part III
Director, Co-screenwriter, Editor, Producer
FESTIVALS:
Berlin International Film Festival Forum 2001; Rotterdam Intl. Film Fest.; San Francisco Intl. Film Fest.; Hong Kong Intl. Film Fest.; Pesaro Intl. Film Fest.; Tokyo Film Ex Intl. Film Fest.; Pusan Intl. Film Fest.; Vienna Intl. Film Fest.; Lyon Asian Film & Culture Festival; La Rochelle Intl Film Festival;Barcelona Asian Film Festival; Harvard Film Archive Ning Ying’s retrospective 2003.
AWARDS:
SPECIAL MENTION: The International Federation of Film Societies, FICC/IFFS, Berlin International Film Festival Forum
BEST DIRECTOR,China Film Award from Mainland-Hong Kong-Taiwan
“The film is about a taxi driver in Beijing, mainly focusing on her emotional experience, by which audiences can see the complication of Beijing and the survival of people in Beijing. By an extraordinary and exquisite expression, the director perfectly connects a special individual experience with the spiritual status of people in Beijing.”
--- Comments to I Love Beijing by International Jury of Berlin International Film Festival
RAILROAD OF HOPE
“XiWangZhiLv”(original title)
2001,52min (documentary)
Director, Co-photographer, Editor, Producer
FESTIVALS:
Cinema du Reel,Paris, 2002, Grand Prix; - Pesaro Intl. Film Festival, 2002, “Cinemavenire” Award; - Firenze Festival dei Popoli; - Berlin Intl. Film Festival Forum; - Fribourg Intl. Film Festival;- Jeonju Intl. Film Festival; - One World Award-London; - La Rochelle Intl.Film Festival; - Jerusalem Intl. Film Festival; - Toronto Intl. Film Festival;- Viennale; - IDFA Amsterdam; - Margareth Mead Film Festival New York; -Vancouver Film Festival; London Intl. Film Festival - Women With Vision Festival, Minneapolis; - Environmental Film Festival, Woodrow Wilson Center.Washinghton; INPUT 2003, Aarhus, Denmark; IVFest '03 Trivandrum India; 1st Oxford International Documentary Film Festival; The Guardian Hay Festival,Wales, UK; China Art Exhibition – Pompidou Centre-Paris; San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery 2004; Harvard Film Archive Ning Ying’s retrospective 2003.
AWARDS:
GRAND PRIX DU CINEMA DU REEL, Cinema du Reel, Paris, by unanimous decision of the Jury
CINEMAVENIRE AWARD, Pesaro Film Festival
ONE WORLD MEDIA AWARD, One World Media Awards, London
“This is an extraordinary film, whose expression is quite powerful, whose angle is rather deep and sensitive, whose thinking about the society is rather simple. This film has a powerful story framework, whose plots are intersected and overlapped. The film will get audiences into the story and our lively life as soon as possible. The film provides audiences more than what the film wants to tell us.”
---Comments to Journey of Hope by International Jury of Festival International De Films Documentaires
“Ning Ying’s film always have a simple and brief concept. She is really talented and excellent .......What is covered in her film is really profound and the beauty of her film is speechless.”
--- By Fareastern Economic Review (Hong Kong)
“Her film is a combination of story and documentary, which is always talking about a restless and anxious soul living in China ...... So from this view, Ning Ying is a representative of new generation directors who devote themselves to making films full of “emotions and truths”.
---By Cristina Piccino, a senior movie critic, on IL Manifesto
“This film starts a page for the film that briefly talks about a story, which is the same as Zhang Yuan, Jia Zhangke and Wang Chao.”
--- By Jean Michael Frodon, a senior movie critic
IN OUR OWN WORDS
“RangWoMenZiJiShuo”, (original title)
2001,30 min (documentary)
Director, Co-photographer, Editor, Producer
COMMUNE BY THE GREAT WALL
“ChangChengJiaoXiaDeGongShe”,2002,12min
Director, Co-photographer, Co-editor, Producer
LOOKING FOR A JOB IN THE CITY
“JinChengDaGong”, (original title)
2003,15min(documentary)
Director, Editor
PERPETUAL MOTION
“WuQiongDong”, (original title),2005, 90 min
Director, Co-screenwriter, Co-photographer, Editor,Producer
FESTIVALS:
Venice, Toronto, Pusan,Tokyo FilmEx, Goteborg, Mar del Plata, San Francisco, Hong Kong, Singapore,Munich, Fukuoka, Cairo, Calcutta, Rome Asian Film Festival, Danish FilmInstitute, Viennale, Dortmund-Cologne, Forum des Images Paris.
AWARDS:
ARTISTIC EXPLORATION AWARD, China University Students Film Festival
MOST ORIGINAL FILM, Rome Asian Film Festival
“Ning Ying’s new film, Perpetual Motion, is brave and persuasive, which would definitely changes audiences’ view to the Chinese females. This film is charming and relaxing, which combines several elements like the suppressed desire, the past hurt and the political power of upper class in Mainland China ...... Women in this film, are so confident and experienced, they talk about their sexual life and the their history loudly. This movie is really exciting but restless. Anyway, Perpetual Motion is a landmark of Chinese female movie.”
--- By Giovanna Fulvi, film selector of Toronto International Film Festival
“Ning Ying always focuses on the present time. Her film, beyond the border stuck to by regular films, is full of poetry and political passion. Similar to Roberto Rossellini, her film consists of realities and made-up passions, so eloquent but not smooth-tongued, so cruel, painful and indifferent. By her strong power in film-control, the film has beautiful pictures but so real. What is shown in her film is insightful because of the realities. So Ning Ying is the teacher of other directors like Jia Zhangke etc.
--- By Cristina Piccino, a senior movie critic, on IL Manifesto
THE DOUBLELIFE/SIDE A SIDE B
“A Mian B Mian” (original title),2010,95 min
Director
FESTIVALS:
Shanghai Int. Film Festival
UNWORLDLY
“TianShangRen” (original title),2010,94 min
Director
FESTIVALS:
Shanghai Int. Film Festival
TEMPLE OF HEAVEN
“TianTan” ,2010,2m40s
Director,Producer
KUNG FU MAN
“KongFuXia”(original title),2013,90 min
Co-Director
TO LIVE AND DIE INORDOS
“JingChaRiJi” (original title), 2013,115 min
Director,Executive Producer
AWARDS:
BEST ACTOR, Tokyo International Film Festival
BEST FILM, China HuaBiao Award
BEST FILM, China Best Works Award(Wu Ge Yi Award)
BEST SCREENWRITER, China Filmaker’s Association Award
“Her film doesn’t give great complements to the rapid growth of China’s economy, and doesn’t criticize the broadening gap between poverty and richness. Still, by the story of leading characters, audiences see the great changes and contemporary history of China.”
--- By Yoshihiko Yatabe, a senior movie critic and the film selector of Tokyo International Film festiv
“Her film doesn’t have political tones and vulgar plots; instead, an ordinary hero is vividly and accurately described ......The film is not a biography of someone and doesn’t sing the praises for someone; instead, this film is about a policeman with great social responsibility, who lives in a boundary county where people get rich rapidly. His life is just the epitome that in the past tens of years, Chinese people had experienced great tests in social morality ...... This film is a symbol of Ning Ying to come back.”
--- By Derek Elley, a senior movie critic, on Film Business Asia
THE SPETIAL RHYTHM
“KongJianDeJieZou”2014,2min
Director, Producer
ROMANCE OUT OF THE BLUE
“LangManTianJiang”, (original title),2015,90 min
Director, Co-screenwriter
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