Chinese documentary has been a major—albeit unrecognized—force in changing film culture in China. However, because of the scholarly bias toward full-length feature films, the documentary’s influence has been underestimated and sometimes even gone unnoticed. Documentarians have greatly contributed to reshape film culture by reviving the concept of individual authorship, searching for authenticity rather than realism, and emphasizing the importance of audience.
Contemporary Chinese documentary is China-centered and global-oriented. On the one hand, documentary filmmaking (or, more precisely, videomaking) is rooted in the domestic production of TV entertainment and news. Since the mid-1990s, TV reforms have allowed an increasing number of locally-produced investigative reports and news broadcast that have recorded changing Chinese realities. On the other hand, documentary has also actively searched for a global recognition both in terms of sponsorship and distribution. This is especially the case of the so-called “independent” documentaries which often participate in international festivals and have even succeeded in being broadcast abroad.
Like their feature film colleagues, documentarians have already found themselves “trapped” in another western-originated debate which tries to categorize any Chinese cultural product within the dichotomy of official propaganda vs. counter culture. Such dichotomy still views dissent as mainly politically defined and fails to look at the changing identities of those who “make culture” in China.
Refusing to be framed in such a dichotomy and by looking at “independence” as a state of mind, documentarians have resented the whole notion of dissent as a limiting and misrepresenting category. Instead they have chosen a pragmatic approach in their search for funding and outlets for distribution (which include national TV) and have managed to redefine Chinese localities, gain new public spaces also outside China, and contribute to the development of cinema, beyond feature-length films.
中國紀錄片一直以來，雖未得到承認，是一支改變中國電影文化的主要力量。然而，由於學術界對電影故事片的偏愛，紀錄片的影響一直被低估，甚至有時忽略不計。紀錄片通過復興個人著作權，探索真實性而不是現實主義，以及強調觀眾的重要性對重塑中國的電影文化有著極大的貢獻。
當代的中國紀錄片以中國為中心，並而向全球。一方面紀錄片的錄製（或更確切地說，攝制）根植於國內電視娛樂和新聞的生產。自九十年代中期以來，電視方面的改革已允許越來越多數量的由地方錄製的調查報告和新聞節目，來記錄變化的中國現實。另一方面，紀錄片也開始積極尋求國際上的資助和以行，以獲得承認。這方面的典型例子是所謂的「獨立」紀錄片，它們經常參加國際性的節目並且已在國外成功的地播放過.
同他們的故事片導演同行一樣，紀錄片導演發覺自己陷在了另一個源於西方的爭論：即試圖將任何中國的文化作品放在「官方宣傳針對反對文化」二分法中進行分類。這種二分法依然認為異見是主要從政治角度來定義的，而沒有看到那些正在「製造文化」的人們的身份正在改變。
紀錄片製作人拒絕將自己套入這種二分法並將「獨立」視為一種思維狀態，他們不喜歡有關異見的整個概念，認為是有限的錯誤表達的分類。反之，他們在尋求資助和發行量（包括國家電視台）方面已採用一種實用的方法，努力重新定義中國地點，從國外獲取新的公共空間，並且在硌片之處對電影的發展作出貢獻。
by Dr. Paola Voci
Lecturer, Chinese Program
University of Otago
New Zealand
