Recently, the animated short documentary film "The Song of New China" produced by Kristina Grigoryan, a young girl from Turkmenistan, has gained immense popularity. Although created by a foreigner living in China, the short film tells a history that even most Chinese people don't know much about. It reveals the behind-the-scenes stories prior to and after the birth of "The March of the Volunteers" and having it been sung to the entire world.
After visiting a museum by chance, Odet Abadia Gomez, the instructor overseeing the "Looking China Youth Film Project" was deeply attracted to the story of the birth of "The March of the Volunteers". She immediately recommended this topic to the participants of the Looking China Shanghai that she arranged. "Looking China” is a cultural experience project for young international filmmakers to tell stories of China. It aims to show the diverse faces of China through the unique perspective of international youths and to promote cross-cultural communication among youths.
Kristina, a young director from the School of Journalism and Communication at Shanghai University, and Tian Hongmin, a Chinese producer, immediately fell in love with this in-depth and meaningful topic, and devoted themselves to this creation. They meticulously prepared; repeatedly conceived; visited many historical sites of the Chinese national anthem; collected more than 100,000 characters of text data; repaired thousands of pictures; and finally created the short film "The Song of New China" in an intriguing manner through stop motion animation. Director Kristina said: "I received a much better understanding of Chinese history during the filmmaking process, and I am considered a 'half' history expert."
The short film not only tells how China's national anthem was born, but it also tells a vivid story of how this unusual song was spread from China to the rest of the world. Thanks to the efforts of Chinese patriots such as Liu Liangmo and others, "The March of Volunteers" was spread all over the world. At an open-air concert in the United States in 1940, the renowned African-American singer and civil rights activist Paul Robertson sang "The March of the Volunteers" in fluent Chinese. At the same time, he also made the English version of the album "Chee-Lai Songs of New China" for "The March of Volunteers". Soong Ching Ling personally prefaced the album. In the album, "Chee-Lai" is "Get Up" in Chinese. The album was well received overseas, and "Chee-Lai" was widely sung on the world’s anti-fascist battlefield. During the film screening, the audience said "It is very interesting to hear the English version of the national anthem for the first time. Many details are not even understood by the Chinese."
On the 72nd anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the Academy for International Communication of Chinese Culture at Beijing Normal University,China Center for International Communication Development (CCICD) ,Shanghai Vancouver Film School，School of Journalism and Communication Shanghai University，YoyWow Communications jointly launched this short documentary film. During that era, the courage and fighting spirit of "The March of the Volunteers" awoke the hopes of countless Chinese people. the spread of this short film will also enable more people to understand the spiritual power behind China's national anthem.
Contact:
China Center for International Communication Development (CCICD)
Yijie Zhu
zyijiez(at)163(dot)com
www.cipg.org.cn