
Directing
Zheng Dasheng
Shanghai, China
Acting credits
6.6In the 1990s, a group of students on the campus of the Chinese Southern Academy of Arts are pursuing their studies and preparing to face the world. China is opening up to the West and the students’ lives are a tangle of love stories and friendships, artistic research, ideals and ambitions brought about by new influences. Caught between tradition and modernity, they have to decide who they want to become.
Art College 1994
2025
5.0A group of losers trying to kidnap the famous conductor Herbert von Karajan.
Kidnap Karajan
1988
Behind the camera
NRA secret archive documenting the earliest revolutionary work of the Chinese Communist Party—the "Central Archives"—was successfully protected through the resilience and sacrifices of its guardians (both Party members and non-members) amid the turmoil and bloodshed from 1931 to 1949.
Hideaway: The Dossiers
2026
5.5Tells the story of a Communist Party's early history during the turbulent era, examining the remarkable Chinese revolutionary leaders' zeal and contrition for the ascension of the Chinese people.
1921
2021
NRNo synopsis available yet.
A Tao
2000
NRThe second film directed by Dasheng Zheng.
Falling City
2012
4.0This is a story about a determined woman and a group of young teachers who have just graduated and led more than a hundred girls to successfully change their lives against the odds. It is about love, youth, passion and destiny... The film is adapted from the true deeds of Zhang Guimei, the principal of Huaping Girls' Senior High School in Lijiang, Yunnan.
Beyond the Clouds
2023
6.0ZHENG Dasheng's "Tianjin Xianren" (A Useless Man) portrays the characteristic figure of an idler roaming the streets of Tianjin shortly before the Sino-Japanese War. Director Zheng skillfully interweaves the traditional storytelling performance with a humorous, and somewhat absurd narrative which blurs the distinction between life and performance, illusion and reality. Deeply rooted in local Tianjin culture, the films authentic depiction of the atmosphere of the city is filled with wisdom and energy. Insightful and highly entertaining, the film is a brilliant technical tour-de-force.
Useless Man
2012
NRA documentary following Zhou Yuanquiang, a cultural worker in Jingdezhen, China who makes movies with untrained local actors.
DV China
2002
NROverseas Chinese making a life for themselves in Chicago. A Chinese-U.S. joint production, shot in 1993 and released in 1996.
The New World
1996
7.0The story of "Electric Wave" takes place on the eve of the liberation of Shanghai, and is based on the true story of the martyr Li Bai. It is a city card born from the red genes of Shanghai. There is no dialogue in the dance drama film, and the emotional explosion is vividly expressed through the body, conveying the strong love between the two through their dance, eyes, and body movements. The emotional struggle and compromise, as well as the mutual empathy between them, are more intense and lasting than any line of dialogue. The film is adapted from the original dance drama of the same name.
Red Radio Over Shanghai
2024
No synopsis available yet.
The death of Wangbo
2000
5.0No synopsis available yet.
The Inspector and the Prince
2009
6.8Life on a small village in China during the last years of the Cultural Revolution takes a different course when the people is asked to prepare and perform a classic opera for government officials, entangling past, present and fiction.
Bangzi Melody
2017