China begins film fest by releasing documentary on Party history

A documentary on the achievements of the Chinese communist party was released Friday, including scenes on China's development of its first atomic bomb and hydrogen bomb.

"The Backbone", a major tribute to the 85th founding anniversary of the Communist Party of China (CPC), focuses on the history of the party, which was founded in July 1921, and depicts how the leaders, including Mao Zedong, led the nation in developing modern industry, agriculture, science, technology and education.

"The Backbone" tells how the New China reclaimed control of its customs, which had been held by "imperialist powers", such as the United States and Great Britain since 1861, after the feudal and corrupt Qing Dynasty government lost major wars against and signed unequal treaties with them.

It also describes how John Leighton Stewart, the U.S. ambassador to the then ruling Kuomintang government in the first half of the 20th Century, "fled" from China before the communists seized power in 1949.

The documentary was produced by the Party History Research Center of the CPC Central Committee, the state broadcaster China Central Television and the Central Newsreel and Documentary Film Studio.

Liu Shusen, deputy general manager of the Huaxia Film Distribution Co., Ltd, the film's distributor, told Xinhua Friday that the documentary will be screened at urban cinema chains, schools, government organizations, factories and in rural regions across the country.

"The screenings have been guaranteed by the official watchdog the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT), which requires theaters across the country to allocate a time space for the movie," he said.

"The Backbone" is among 26 domestic-made films released in China between June 20 and July 10 to commemorate the anniversary, which was initiated by the Chinese Film Circulation and Projection Association, China Film Producers' Association and the City Cinema Association of China, and supported by the SARFT.

To make way for these movies, "The Da Vinci Code" has been pulled from Chinese cinemas, but there are still three U.S. films -- "Ice Age 2: The Meltdown," "Poseidon" and "Sahara" -- showing during the three weeks.

"It's a good chance of expanding the influence of the homemade movies in the domestic market to show them on such occasions," said Yang Buting, board chairman of the China Film Group Corporation, the biggest film production and distribution company in China.

Source: Xinhua