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Time flies, time flies. In the blink of an eye, the midsummer is gradually moving away, and the golden autumn of October 2022 is coming as scheduled, and the 77-year-old director Feng Xiaoning is still fighting at the forefront of the film and television industry and becoming a leader in the fifth generation of directors.
Looking back on his illustrious and legendary career, his most popular classics – The Lost Atmosphere, War Meridian, Red River Valley, Yellow River Love, Super Typhoon and Falling Mountains, among others, have demonstrated his extraordinary directorial talent and unique artistic vision.
Among them, it is particularly worth remembering director Feng Xiaoning's "Falling Passage Mountain" in 2013, which is known as China's first cave-themed masterpiece and has left a strong mark on the history of Chinese cinema.
At that time, the crew was filming in the Zhijin Cave in Zhijin County, Bijie City, Guizhou Province, and originally only planned to shoot a few scenes of magnificent mountains and steep mountain roads, but due to the weather, they had to wait for more than ten days.
In the face of the rapid consumption of the budget, Director Feng and the entire team can only spend every day carefully. Seeing her husband's hard work, Director Feng's wife Liu Xiaowei stepped forward and generously offered to use her salary to buy ingredients for her crew colleagues and cook delicious meals for everyone.
What's even more touching is that Liu Xiaowei also actively participated in the work of the props team, assisting in the repair of damaged props, and doing his best to save money for the crew.
In this process, director Feng Xiaoning, as a person who has loved art since childhood, has extremely high requirements for color composition, which undoubtedly brings great challenges to shooting.
However, it is this rigorous and serious work attitude that has made his works win many awards.
Back in time to the sixties and seventies of the last century, in that special historical period, Feng Xiaoning had just turned 15 years old, and had to interrupt his studies to work as an ordinary sand turner in the Machinery Factory of Beijing Yanshan Petrochemical General Plant.
His father, Feng Yusun, was an outstanding expert in the petroleum industry of New China, but unfortunately died young; His maternal grandfather, Fu Chongsun, was a famous mathematician in mainland China who served as the president of Beijing Normal University.
Although the director Feng Xiaoning was born in an ordinary family, fate gave him a turning point and realized the magnificent epic of "turning over from the bottom". After hard work every day, he immersed himself in the ocean of knowledge alone, studied books, carefully recorded his reading experience, and stood out in the first college entrance examination after the reform and opening up, and successfully entered the door of Beijing Film Academy, and became classmates and friends with talented directors such as Zhang Yimou and Chen Kaige, and opened a new chapter in his life.
At the age of youth, Feng Xiaoning entered the palace of marriage, and his wife Li Ling is also a classmate of Beijing Film Academy, and the two have a deep emotional foundation and a common dream of artistic pursuit.
At that time, Feng Xiaoning must have had a beautiful and romantic vision for his future partner.
However, life after marriage is not always smooth sailing and sweet. As a dedicated director, Feng Xiaoning often needs to spend long hours outside for filming work, and the time he spends with his wife becomes scarce for months.
His obsession and obsession with his artistic career often led him to neglect contact with his family. Sometimes, he didn't even call his wife, Li Ling, for a week to ask about her current situation.
As a result, Feng Xiaoning changed from a former lover and lover to a lonely walker. After falling out of love, his friends have matched him and introduced new partners, hoping that he can regain his confidence in love and marriage.
However, Director Feng, who has a calm heart, seems to be careless and perfunctory in dealing with these emotional entanglements.
Deep down, it seems that he has given up on finding a new partner. After all, my college classmates and friends are now going their separate ways, and it is really difficult to find a true confidant and friend who can walk side by side with you and spend life together.
Feng Xiaoning is almost mentally prepared to die alone.
Until 1995, Feng Xiaoning directed the movie "Red River Valley", and when choosing the heroine, a young girl named Liu Xiaowei caught his attention.
During the audition process, Liu Xiaowei showed her innocent and kind character traits, took the initiative to share cosmetics, and discussed the inner world of the character with other actors, giving people a sense of calmness, tranquility, freshness and naturalness, which made Director Feng have a deep affection for her.
Although Liu Xiaowei did not succeed in winning the title of heroine of the movie "Gadamerlin" at that time, her unique and elegant style has long been deeply engraved in the heart of director Feng Xiaoning, as if it is destined for fate!
Time is like an arrow, and six years have flown by in the blink of an eye. In 2001, when Director Feng was preparing to shoot the movie "Gadamerlin", he accidentally read Liu Xiaowei's personal resume and immediately decided that she was the ideal candidate for the heroine "Peony" in the play.
Although Liu Xiaowei had faded out of the entertainment industry at that time, Director Feng still did not hesitate to go to Chongqing and inquire about her whereabouts. In this way, director Feng Xiaoning and Liu Xiaowei reunited again, and the fate made them feel like each other at first sight.
Compared with the entanglement of personal gains and losses, the firm pursuit of career is undoubtedly more important. In 1998, director Feng Xiaoning's masterpiece "Yellow River Love" won the Huabiao Award and the Golden Rooster Award for Best Film, which shows his love for art and unremitting pursuit of quality.
This enthusiasm for the cause is also reflected in the casting process. In 2001, Feng Xiaoning went all out to prepare for the filming of the epic masterpiece "Gadamerlin", but he was never able to find the perfect "peony" candidate in his heart.
Until one day, when he was tidying up the study, he accidentally found Liu Xiaowei's resume, and immediately became interested in the girl who had left a deep impression on him in "Red River Valley".
Liu Xiaowei was born in 1975 in Yangjiaping, Jiulongpo District, Chongqing, to ordinary working-class parents. After graduating from the nursing school of Chongqing Eighth People's Hospital, Liu Xiaowei developed a strong interest in acting, so he applied for the Xie Jin School of Film and Television Arts of Shanghai Normal University without telling his parents.
During her time at school, she participated in many film and television works, and won praise from the audience for her fresh and refined acting skills.
When auditioning for "Red River Valley", in the face of Director Feng Xiaoning's question, Liu Xiaowei replied with a calm smile: "What belongs to me will be mine after all, not mine, no matter how hard I try, I can't get it."
This calm and unhurried temperament left an unforgettable impression on Director Feng.
In order to confirm his conjecture, director Feng Xiaoning carefully planned a "test" - inviting Liu Xiaowei to take a train to Hulunbuir, Inner Mongolia to participate in the audition.
However, in the film "Gadamerin", the role of "Peony" needs to face many challenging scenes, and for Liu Xiaowei, a delicate woman from the south, how to effectively control these difficult actions undoubtedly makes director Feng Xiaoning worried.
As expected, an accident occurred on the second day of filming, and the tall and majestic green horse named "Bully Sheng" suddenly became irritable and threw Liu Xiaowei off the horse, causing her to suffer multiple injuries all over her body.
If it were to be replaced by another actress, the crew might have to suspend filming for up to a week. However, what is admirable is that Liu Xiaowei only went through a simple treatment and returned to the intense filming work without fear! Her hard work and professionalism, as well as her innocent and simple attitude, deeply touched Feng Xiaoning.
Since that accident, Feng Xiaoning has treated Liu Xiaowei like a family member. Every morning, he would personally prepare a sumptuous and delicious breakfast for her; Whenever she is about to appear on camera, he always carefully checks all the props and equipment to make sure everything is correct.
During the filming of the cold and biting Hulunbuir, Feng Xiaoning prepared a thick down jacket for Liu Xiaowei intimately, so that she could feel the warmth as much as possible, and Liu Xiaowei's deep affection for her husband was naturally melted, and the two gradually developed a deep relationship in the company of day and night.