Zhang Yimou

Zhang Yimou was born in Xi'an in 1951, on 14 November according to Senses of Cinema. His father, a dermatologist, had been an officer in the Nationalist army, and the family was viewed with suspicion. During the Cultural Revolution he worked in the fields and then in a cotton mill, and sold his blood to buy his first camera. Admitted in 1978 by special exemption to the cinematography department of the Beijing Film Academy, he graduated in 1982 and became a cinematographer, then moved into directing at the Xi'an studio. He staged the ceremonies of the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008.

In the catalogue 1

• CinemaRed Sorghum紅高粱Zhang Yimou · 1987Cinema