Life丨Documentary highlights true Olympic ideal

2023-05-22 16:29

During the Beijing Winter Olympics last year, Japanese figure skater Yuzuru Hanyu held a news conference a few days after missing the podium for the men's singles free skate competition, taking fourth place.


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▲ Beijing 2022, the official film of last year's Winter Olympic Games, revisits some of the cherished moments of top athletes, such as snowboarder Su Yiming. CHINA DAILY



Sitting alone behind a long, white table, the sports star faced a group of reporters taking photos or videos of him. Hanyu held his hands behind his back, interlocked his fingers and stirred them.


The scene was captured from an unusual angle for the documentary, Beijing 2022, officially produced for the Winter Olympic Games.


Debuting as the opener for the 13th Beijing International Film Festival, which ran from April 22-29, the feature promises to take audiences to revisit the grand competition. It went on screen domestically on Friday.


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▲ Beijing 2022, the official film of last year's Winter Olympic Games, revisits some of the cherished moments of top athletes lJapanese figure, such as skater Yuzuru Hanyu. China Daily



For director Lu Chuan, the movie marks a return to his interest in recording realistic human moments after tracing the footprints of wild creatures for the Disneynature documentary Born in China seven years ago.


Beijing 2022 was prepared and shot over a period of nearly three years between 2020 and 2023, with more than 1,000 crew members involved in the production. They were divided into different teams and sent to several countries, following the training and family moments of involved athletes, such as the Hungarian-born short-track speedskating brothers Sandor Liu Shaolin and Liu Shaoang, and American snowboarder Chris Corning.


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▲ Snowboarding prodigy Su Yiming. China Daily



A total of 700 hours of video footage was shot, which was ultimately edited down to the 103-minute film.


The content has been interwoven into three chapters, respectively titled Ji (Fast), Yong (Brave) and Rong (Merging).The font of the three Chinese characters is derived from ancient inscriptions, as Lu hopes to interpret the modern spirit of sports in the manner of Chinese classical culture.


Sports fans can relive the exhilarating moments of athletes winning medals, ranging from snowboarding prodigy Su Yiming's victory lap to claim first place in the Big Air freeski, to short-track speedskating icon Wu Dajing's final run in the mixed team relay that earned China its first gold medal at the Beijing Winter Olympics.


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▲ Beijing 2022, the official film of last year's Winter Olympic Games, revisits some of the cherished moments of top athletes, such as speed skaters Ren Ziwei and Wu Dajing. China Daily


The movie not only showcases the highlights, but also sheds light on the often-overlooked contributions of unsung heroes such as medical staff, volunteers, and journalists.


"Winning Olympic champions are just the visible tip of an iceberg, while the ordinary people who work tirelessly behind the scenes form the larger, hidden part underwater. Their contributions may not be as celebrated, but they still play a critical role in the success of the event and deserve recognition," says Lu.


The director expressed gratitude for the strong support that his team received from the main operation center of the Beijing Winter Olympics Organizing Committee. The crew members were given permission to set up cameras in Olympic offices and venues, which enabled them to document China's efforts to hold the Games during the COVID-19 pandemic.


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▲ A poster for the film. China Daily



However, Lu and his team also faced a lot of unexpected challenges, struggling to convince ideal candidates to accept being shot for the documentary.


"We had a meeting every night at 10 pm to discuss what footage we had captured. Sometimes, it entirely depended on luck," says Lu.


Even with the consent of athletes to follow them from their accommodations to competition venues, Lu said he still had his own concerns. "We feared that the cameras might distract the athletes and hinder their chance of winning," he explains.


As the saying goes, "when one door closes, another opens". For Lu, this proved to be true. Although the filming plan did not go as originally envisioned, they were still able to discover the shining moments of ordinary people.


These stories include a barber who gave up time with his family during the Spring Festival holiday to serve the event, as well as a group of doctors who played sports with improvised "equipment", such as mineral water buckets, to entertain themselves during their stay at the Olympic Village for over 80 days.


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▲ Director Lu Chuan, Olympic stars Wu Dajing and Su Yiming at the 13th Beijing International Film Festival's opening ceremony on April 21. Zhu Xingxin/China Daily


A renowned director known for critically acclaimed movies such as City of Life and Death, Lu has also paid close attention to the domestic film industry, saying that he hopes the industry's recovery will also benefit his upcoming documentary, even though documentaries are still considered a niche market.


Recalling his attendance at the opening ceremony of the Beijing film festival, where he was surrounded by throngs of people, Lu says he has been prompted to reflect more deeply on the role of cinema and its future.


"The spring of Chinese cinema has returned, and everything is moving positively in the right direction," he says.


Reporter：Xu Fan






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