In the late 1950s, during China’s Great Leap Forward, Shanghai housewives participated, supported by Dai Mama from the neighbourhood committee. Liu Mama opposed her daughter-in-law Wang Caifeng’s involvement, wanting her to stay home, but her son Liu Genfa supported Caifeng. Zheng Baoqing also opposed his wife Cai Guizhen joining the production group, but Cai ignored him, organised her household, and led the sewing group. Dai Mama helped persuade Zheng Baoqing to change his mind. Lu Afeng joined the sewing group out of fear they would borrow her machine but felt ashamed when they made coats for the children’s welfare home.

Shot in gorgeous color, this fascinating communist flipside to fifties Hollywood music biopics chronicles the life and tragic early death of Nie Er, the composer of the PRC’s national anthem.

In this delightful comedy, a cheerful farmer's wife (post-Revolution superstar Zhang Ruifang) in a village commune puts her marriage in jeopardy when she takes her cadre spirit a little too far.

The "Gang of Four" wants to stop a troup from performing the "Yellow River Cantata".

Unfortunate events beset a poor Chinese girl as she escapes from invading Japanese forces, narrowly avoids being raped, and seeks solace in a neighboring village.

History of filmmaking in China from its beginnings in the 1920s to 1982, featuring Shanghai cinema of 1930s; the progressive filmmakers; the organisation of filmmaking under the post-war communist government; the impact of the Cultural Revolution; the work of Xie Jin.

Based on the famous novel of the same name by well-known author Ba Jin, this movie traces the decline of a large, wealthy family in the early part of the twentieth century. The story focuses on three brothers and how they respond to the expectation that they will each marry women whom their grandfather has selected for them. The lure of family money on the one hand and modern individualism on the other plays out differently among the young men. Critics consider this movie an indictment against feudal ideas.