Wang Bing (; born 1967) is a Chinese filmmaker, often referred to as one of the foremost figures in documentary film-making. Wang is the founder of his own production company, Wang Bing Studios, which produces most of his documentaries.
Most known for his 9-hour epic documentary ' (2002), his Golden Leopard winner documentary Mrs. Fang (2017) and his Youth trilogy: Spring, Hard Times, Homecoming (2023âÂÂ24)
Wang is known for his extreme use of cinema verité. All of his films are documentaries features direct cinema techniques (without any narrator's voice-over or conventional structure), usually with lengthy running times, and following sensitive Chinese societal themes.
His first documentary, ' (2002), a 9-hour epic about late 20th century industrial China, is considered his first major success, the film went on to win the Grand Prix at the Marseille Festival of Documentary Film and was shown at the Punto de Vista International Documentary Film Festival.
Wang's followed with Fengming, a Chinese Memoir (2007), a 3-hour documentary about Chinese Communist Revolution aftermath, the film had its world premiere at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival, and was later shown at the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival.
His 2008's Crude Oil, a 14-hour epic documentary about oil field workers in China's Inner Mongolian, the film had its world premiere at the 2008 Rotterdam Film Festival.
His 2010's The Ditch, a 109-minute documentary about labor camps during Maoist China era, had its world premiere at the main competition of the 67th Venice International Film Festival as the film sorpresa. His following documentaries Three Sisters (2012), 'Til Madness Do Us Part (2013) and Bitter Money (2016) also had world premieres at the Venice Film Festival.
French philosopher Georges Didi-Huberman dedicated a long epilogue to Wang Bing in his 2012 book, Peuples exposés, peuples figurants. He reflects on the social fate of images thoroughly analyzing Wang's 2010 Man with No Name, writing that the director, as a humble portrait artist of a single rural worker, manages to represent the whole of China's people (as well as people from all over the World) "not through his past, nor his ideas, nor his name, nor his place in society, but through the simple gestures with which he works at his solitary life", as opposed to the common epic portraits of national identity based on military prowess, war heroes and manifest destinies.
His 2017's Mrs. Fang had its world premiere at the main competition of the 70th Locarno Film Festival where it won the Golden Leopard.
Wang's Dead Souls (2018), a 8-hour epic about survivors of the labor camps in the Gobi Desert in Gansu, had its world premiere out of competition of 2018 Cannes Film Festival, and was met with widespread critical acclaim.
After a 5-year hiatus, Wang released the Youth trilogy, Spring, Hard Times, Homecoming (2023âÂÂ2024). The documentaries had its world premiere at the main competition of the 2023 Cannes Film Festival, 77th Locarno Film Festival and 81st Venice International Film Festival, respectively.
In December 2023, alongside 50 other filmmakers, Wang Bing signed an open letter published in Libération demanding a ceasefire and an end to the killing of civilians amid the 2023 Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip, and for a humanitarian corridor into Gaza to be established for humanitarian aid, and the release of hostages.
Shortly after Wang's Youth (Homecoming) was selected for the main competition section at the 81st Venice International Film Festival, Chinese websites including Douban and Baidu Baike erased Wang's profile page and his entire filmography. News websites such as Sohu had previously reported on Wang's Golden Lion nomination, but the articles were subsequently taken offline. References to Wang on Chinese social media were also censored. At the 62nd New York Film Festival, where both Youth (Hard Times) and Youth (Homecoming) screened in the Main Slate, Wang told the audience that he did not care about China's official censorship. Previously at the 2023 International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam, where Wang was invited as the Guest of Honor, he stated that "I'm not particularly interested in politics (â¦) I don't want my films to become a political tool", and that he wanted to step away from "the big machine that runs in China, the process of basically making everything propaganda in a way".