Handan Chronicles premiered nationwide, with Ji Zhenhua, Liang Guyin, and Zhang Mingrong starring in the film during their eighties

"As Kunqu opera actors, I am accustomed to the beauty of freehand theatrical formulas and pay attention to realistic narrative language in movies, which is a great challenge for us actors." On September 19th, the latest live Kunqu opera film "Handan Chronicle" premiered at Shanghai Cinema. Ji Zhenhua, the leading actor, said, "Drama is the foundation, and film is the use. In the harmony between the virtual and the real, the traditional and modern characteristics, the film Handan Story retains the most valuable essence of traditional cultural and artistic life."

"Handan Chronicles" is the first 8K panoramic sound Kunqu opera film in China. It started in 2020 and lasted for three years. On the occasion of the 45th anniversary of the establishment of the Shanghai Kunqu Opera Troupe, this award-winning Kunqu opera classic finally made its debut on the big screen and is scheduled to be released nationwide by the end of the year.

As one of the representative works of Shanghai Kunqu Opera Troupe, "Handan Chronicles" has caused a sensation in the art world since its launch in 2005. In 2017, it was selected as a national stage art boutique project, helping Shanghai Kunqu Opera Troupe become the only opera troupe in the country to receive the honor of a boutique project drama for four times. With the support of the China Drama Association, the drama was selected for the "Digital Film Project of the China Drama Plum Blossom Award" in 2020.

In April 2021, on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of Kunqu Opera being selected as a UNESCO "Oral and Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity" and the 100th anniversary of the establishment of Kunqu Opera Training Institute, the film "Handan Chronicles" was launched at Hengdian Film and Television City in Zhejiang Province. From project initiation, the creative team led by Shangkun and director Teng Junjie carefully prepared for the film shooting for about a year and a half. Lead actor Liang Guyin said, "It is truly a comforting and memorable thing to be able to bring 'Handan Chronicles' from the Kunqu opera stage to the big screen, and to inherit and spread Kunqu opera for six hundred years in this way."

Ji Zhenhua and Liang Guyin Live Performed Exciting Fragments of "Handan Chronicles"

During the filming of "Handan Chronicles", the three veteran artists, Ji Zhenhua, Liang Guyin, and Zhang Mingrong, were all in their eighties and continued to practice their voices and body movements without the need for doubles throughout, performing classic works at their best. Unlike the one-time formation on stage, in order to achieve excellence in every frame and angle, artists shoot over and over again, integrating their lifelong artistic accumulation into the artistic re creation from stage to film, achieving innovation and breakthroughs. Ji Zhenhua's legs and feet were swollen after a day of filming; Liang Guyin restrained her eating just to present her best state; Zhang Mingrong not only acted himself, but also talked to the actors. Several young and middle-aged Plum Blossom Award winners from Shangkun have assisted, and the backbone of the band, stage design and other departments have made every effort.

Ji Zhenhua showcases the protagonist's different age groups in "Handan Chronicles"

Ji Zhenhua showcases the protagonist's different age groups in "Handan Chronicles"

Ji Zhenhua showcases the protagonist's different age groups in "Handan Chronicles"

Liang Guyin's "Record of Handan"

Zhang Mingrong's "Handan Chronicles"

Young and middle-aged actors from Shangkun join forces

Shanghai Broadcasting and Television Station's Magic D Film Studio is responsible for the entire production process of the film. 8K technology clarity and color gamut have put forward new requirements for the makeup, styling, and post production of the film. The production team puts on makeup for the actors with a "more refined standard than the bride's makeup". The post production of the film is also a huge challenge, requiring the processing of a large amount of 8K raw materials and the meticulous creation of special effects for the film. The technical team spent over half a year producing special effects that lasted for tens of minutes and hundreds of shots, and innovatively applied AI technology for the first time in the film.

Teng Junjie said, "In the repertoire of Kunqu Opera, the ancestor of the Hundred Dramas, which has been passed down to this day, there are many encounters of human nature and spiritual reconstruction, and many ups and downs of reflecting time and warning the world. Using contemporary films to accurately express the core art and expressive power of Kunqu Opera, which is both self consistent and mutually consistent, has become the top priority of my unremitting efforts with the artists and film team of Shangkun Opera during this period.".

"From the square inch stage to the mass screen, the movie" Handan Chronicles "records the wonderful skills, performance insights, and the beautiful stories of teachers accumulating for many years, and creating high-quality products in their old age, permanently freezing those precious moments." Gu Haohao, the full-time vice chairman of the Shanghai Federation of Literary and Art Circles, the head of the Shanghai Kunqu Opera Troupe, and the chief producer of "Handan Chronicles", said that the film combines the most outstanding performance of Kunqu opera with the most advanced creative concepts and technologies of contemporary cinema, and brews a new work with distinct characteristics of the times that is imbued with the artistic conception of Chinese classical aesthetics. This is a new work that has been upheld by the Shanghai Kunqu Opera Troupe for 45 years, adhering to the principle of "inheriting and inheriting". It is our responsibility to uphold the spirit of the Cultural Heritage and Development Symposium, and to inherit and innovate traditional classics with a new perspective. This is also another example of Kunqu Opera's 600 year old tradition of "following the rules of the ancients and opening up our own lives.".

Teng Junjie and Ji Zhenhua discuss performances

Ji Zhenhua's makeup in "Handan Chronicle" can withstand camera inspection

Gu Haohao and Teng Junjie strive for excellence and turn Guan into a film

In late October, "Handan Chronicle" will be invited to participate in the 36th Tokyo International Film Festival and the 19th China US Film Festival, singing the voice of China to the world and vigorously promoting excellent traditional Chinese culture.

This film was approved by Shanghai and co produced by Shanghai Kunqu Opera Troupe, China Dramatists Association, Shanghai Radio and Television Station, and Meihetang Culture and Art Co., Ltd.

Group photo of guests at the premiere of "Handan Chronicles"