Jinhua, November 11 (Dong Yixin) At about 28 o'clock in the afternoon, in Dongyang City, Jinhua, Zhejiang, film projectionist Cai Huaping loaded the projector, screen, stereo, bench, etc. as usual, and he was preparing for the movie that would be screened more than two hours later. Like this person is ready to drive to the countryside to show movies alone, he has spent more than 3 years.
Cinematographer Cai Huaping sets up the curtain. Photo courtesy of Wu Liujing
Cai Huaping, 64, has been working as a film projectionist in the local area for 44 years, including more than 20 years as a mobile filmmaker. Today, he is in charge of screening films from dozens of villages under the jurisdiction of the city's Liushi Street and Jiangbei Street, at least more than 200 times a year.
"The reason why I do this (as a film projectionist) is because my dad also shows movies." Cai Huaping said that in his rural memories when he was young, his father always took him to 15 kilometers away to watch movies. Later, thanks to the introduction of policies such as "sending movies to the countryside for free", my father began to work as a projectionist in the village, and the villagers could also watch "fashionable" movies at their doorstep.
As a child, Cai Huaping was full of love for film projection. Today, that love has turned into a responsibility.
"The job of showing movies is to provide services and send culture. I first played on 16mm film, and then I moved on to 35mm film. In the beginning, the village was full of low houses, but now they are all small western-style houses. Cai Huaping said that over the years, he has not only witnessed the development of China's film industry, but also witnessed the changes in the living standards of villagers, and he feels quite proud of this career.
Cai Huaping, a film projectionist, writes a screening diary. Photo courtesy of Wu Liujing
As night fell, more and more villagers in Houli Village, Liushi Street, gathered in the square, and today they were showing opera films, which attracted the elderly in the village. "When he showed (the movie), the village was very lively, and many people came to see it." Villager Wang Jufang said.
Hu Dong, director of the screening department of Dongyang Wu Opera Art Inheritance Center, said in an interview with Chinanews.com that since 2006, when the country began to implement the "2131 Project" of rural films, Dongyang started to send movies to the countryside, and for more than ten years, an average of 7200,600 movies have been sent to the countryside every year, and about 13 have entered the campus, with a total of nearly <>,<> films.
"In my memory, there are a lot of people in Dongyang who go out to earn money, and there are many old people who stay in the village. After sending movies to the countryside, they especially like them, and if there are films that suit them, such as opera films, they will come to watch the movies, which is also to enrich their cultural life. Hu Dong said. (ENDS)