Chinese directors Chen Kaige and Zhang Yimou to make web series!

Known internationally for their critically acclaimed films, Fifth Generation Chinese directors Chen Kaige and Zhang Yimou have decided to venture into new territory - the long-form web series.

In the west, it is old news that television, the long-form episodic format, is experiencing a renaissance and film directors have to flocked to the medium that was once condescendingly derided by cineastes. 

From Cary Fukunaga (True Detective) to David Fincher (House of Cards; Mindhunter) to Jane Campion (Top of the Lake) to David Lynch (Twin Peaks), film directors have discovered, in the medium of television, freedom that they couldn't have in studio-controlled movies and the potential for large canvas storytelling.

It comes as no surprise, therefore, that in the East, we are slowly witnessing more film directors cross over to television.


Getty Images

One of the big names in contemporary Asian cinema to move into television is Wong Kar Wai. Last year, Amazon announced that it has greenlighted Tong Wars, a 10-episode straight-to-video American historical crime drama series to be directed by Wong. Set against the Tong Wars of 19th century San Francisco, the series follows the rags-to-riches journey of Vicky Sun, who goes from a slave girl at the turn of the century Chinatown to the wealthiest woman in San Francisco. 

In an interview with French journalists at the Lumiere Festival in Lyon last year, Wong said that “The format of a TV series just provides filmmakers to have a bigger canvas to tell their stories.” It's the only proper way to tell such a sweeping generational story.

And now, arguably the two biggest names in Asian cinema are making their virgin forays into teleivison. 


Matt Carr/Getty Images

For Chen Kaige, who won the Palme d'or in 1993 for his film Farewell My Concubine and most recently directed the China-Japan co-production period fantasy film The Legend Of The Demon Cat, he is set to executive produce and direct The Eight, a period drama that follows a young man's descent into the criminal underworld, set against China's early 20th century Republican era.

The series is commissioned by China's leading streaming service iQiyi, known as the Netflix of China.


Chris Weeks/Getty Images

Meanwhile, his compatriot Zhang Yimou has entered into a lucrative agreement with Huanxi Media. For RMB100,000,000, which is nearly 21 million Singapore dollars, Zhang has signed on to direct three web series in the next six years. It is part of Huanxi Media's long-term plan to overtake iQiyi as the top streaming service in China.

There are no further details on the web series.

Zhang is also busy with his upcoming feature film, Shadow.

Starring husband-and-wife team Deng Chao (The Mermaid) and Sun Li (The Lost Bladesman) as the main leads as well as Zheng Kai (The Great Wall) and Guan Xiaotong, Shadow is a historical martial arts epic, set in the period of the Three Kingdoms. The film employs a unique style inspired by Chinese ink painting. Deng Chao will play two characters, an ailing general and his body double who has been secretly trained since childhood, while his wife Sun Li will play the general's wife. 

Production started last year and the film, currently in post-production, is slated to be released later this year.

Zhang's latest film, The Great Wall, received one of the most negative receptions of his career. Whether Shadow will be his comeback film, we wait with bated breath.