Fang Gangliang

Fang Gangliang was born in the Southern East part of China, Jiangsu province (a rich area), in 1972 and grew up in the Northern West part of China, the Xinjiang province (a poor area). The contradistinctive combination of locations and life experiences made him embrace the different things and perspectives in life. He studied direction at the Beijing Film Academy where he directed two short films: ELEVATOR and SON’S FIRST LOVE. After his graduation at the Academy he worked as a teacher there. In 2001 he directed a tv-movie, LET YOURSELF GO. Between 2002 and 2003, he devoted himself to TV play series HAPPY IS ENOUGH – MAN HAVE NO TROUBLES and HOUSE HUSBANDS.

Director’s statement

“In 2001, Pierre Haski, a journalist from the French newspaper Liberation, came to the villages in the west of China—the countryside. A girl’s mother gave him the diary of her daughter, and a letter she had written explaining that “she’d cry for the rest of her life if she couldn’t get back to school.” The diary changed the fate of its young author, thanks to the efforts of the French journalist, who brought the girl’s words to the rest of the world. She has then returned to school and her family's life has been greatly improved”.