On the afternoon of July 27, the movie "The Whisperer" held its national premiere at Xiaoxiang Youth Cinema in Changsha. Chief planner and producer Wang Han, director Feng Du, film protagonists Hu Xin and Wu Simu, producer Qin Xiaoyu and other main creators attended the post-screening meeting.
The main creative staff attended the national premiere
"The Whisperer" is China's first documentary film about Nüshu. Nüshu is inherited in Jiangyong County, Hunan Province. It is the only female script in the world and a national intangible cultural heritage. The film tells the story of generations of women gaining the strength of friendship and mutual support through this unique female text. Before and after the screening, the audience tried to write Nüshu calligraphy in the Nüshu experience area, and enthusiastically wrote "the spirit of Nüshu in your mind", extending the influence of Nüshu's inheritance and popularization of intangible cultural heritage from the movie to outside the big screen.
"The Whisperer" poster
Female wisdom from Jiangyong, Hunan
Nüshu is an authentic Hunan material cultural heritage. In the 1950s, Nüshu was discovered in Jiangyong County, Yongzhou City, Hunan, and was called "Jiangyong Nüshu". "Investigation Notes of Counties in Hunan" records this special writing that is only used by women: "Every fifth month of the year, women from all townships burn incense and worship, hold singing fans and sing in unison to commemorate him. The name of his singing fan The calligraphy on the book is very thin and looks like Mongolian. I have never seen a man in the county who can read such characters. "In 2002, Nüshu was included in the Chinese Archives and Documents Heritage List; in 2006, "Jiang Yong Nüshu" was listed. It was included in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage. "The Whisperer" chose Nüshu, a special subject with rich regional flavor, to create a documentary film, and entered the list of Malanshan's high-quality support projects. This film produced in Changsha and Malanshan was shortlisted for the 95th Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. It was praised by the media for "giving Chinese films a face" and "becoming a domestic star in the Oscars".
Wang Han, the chief planner and producer of "The Whisperer", is also the initiator of the Hunan Dialect Survey "Response" project. Wang Han said: "The biggest role of today (this movie) is to let society let the public know that there is a 'Nüshu'. She is so mysterious because of the wisdom of women. In a beautiful and small county like Jiangyong, such as The words created with the help of God are so amazing! I think the meaning of this film is that we turn something with inheritance value into a communication value. Of course, every audience on the scene cannot miss it during the communication process. Everyone’s mobile phones have become media. Please let more people know that in Hunan, in Yongzhou, in Jiangyong, in that magical land, there is a group of amazing and great women who use their wisdom to Their forbearance, their struggle, and all their lives together created a word, which is simply a miracle on earth.”
Wang Han
Telling the growth story of contemporary women
"The Whisperer" is based on Nüshu, but it does not adopt the conventional approach of historical science documentaries. Instead, it mainly tells the story of two contemporary Chinese women who are closely related to Nüshu, and how they face the inherent disciplines and traditional concepts of society. , a story about seeking self-breakthrough, independence and growth.
Hu Xin is the youngest inheritor of Jiang Yong Nu Shu. After the end of her marriage, she was conflicted between "traditional women" and "modern women".
Simu is an urban woman who taught herself to be an Nüshu artist and is active as a folk promoter of Nüshu. Simu grew up in an enlightened family atmosphere, which made her choose between love, practical considerations of life, and her own love and pursuit.
In addition, He Yanxin is the first generation of literate women who understand Nüshu and is also the last natural inheritor of Nüshu. The friendship between her and Hu Xin is touching.
The women in the film all have a new life and destiny because of their relationship with Nv Shu. In the end, the two protagonists of the film, inspired by Nushu, worked hard to grow into better selves at important junctures in their respective lives.
The film director Feng Du couldn't hide his excitement and burst into tears after the screening. He hugged and cried with Hu Xin, one of the film's protagonists and the inheritor of Nüshu. The audience gave them support and encouragement through waves of applause.
Director Feng Du burst into tears at the scene
Director Feng sincerely talked about his original intention of creating "The Whisperer": "In 2017, my daughter was 3 years old. At that time, I felt that I was at a crossroads in life. I had just become a mother, and I was playing a woman I had never imagined before. Roles, how to weigh all the roles in terms of childbearing, parenting, career, personal value, and social value. At that time, I felt particularly difficult and wanted to find a balance. At this time, I thought of Nushu. Thinking of these women, when they had no platform to express themselves, they created such a platform. Don’t we need to create such a platform? So I decided to make this documentary, and I also decided, This story cannot be told in a historical way, but the stories of current women. I am particularly grateful to the two heroines around me, who are particularly courageous and brave to present their stories... What I photographed is not 'women'. Book's feature film, I want to find our answers together in your stories."
Elephant Dianying continues to experiment with mass distribution
The main creative staff took photos with the audience
"The Whisperer" is promoted and distributed by the Elephant Screening team. Targeting at documentary films, a "niche" film type in the market, the film has outstanding features such as female themes and Hunan cultural heritage themes. Elephant Screening, which is good at special distribution, continues to select Focused distribution model: Through a series of themed screening activities such as "all-female screenings", "men and women's dialogue venues" and "intangible cultural heritage experience venues", we will create immersive, in-depth and all-round viewing for audiences such as intellectual women and lovers of humanities and history. Experience allows good movies to meet a more "right" and more matching audience, allowing the movie to gain a precise and in-depth reputation among the audience groups who love this type of movie, and have the opportunity to "break the circle".
This national premiere also announced the official start of nationwide advance screening of the documentary film "The Whisperer". Currently, more than 40 screenings are recruiting audiences, and the audience's enthusiasm far exceeds expectations.
The documentary film "The Whisperer" is produced by Hunan Elephant Partner Film and Television, and is jointly produced by Migu Video, Youku Humanities, Shanghai Zhijiu Film and Television Media, Shenzhen Xinian Culture, Guangdong Pumeng Culture Technology, and Guangzhou Pedestrian Culture. It will be released on August 31 Released nationwide.
