Film production began to recover in the 1980s, when China opened up to the outside world and the political atmosphere was relaxed. At that time, Kaige Chen, Yimou Zhang, Xiaogang Feng, Zhuangzhuang Tian, and other so-called fifth generation directors used new film language to express their relationship with the society. Their strong personal style and bold artistic pursuit became the symbol of Chinese films in the 1980s.
Then a group of young people make films with different styles. Besides, their film themes mostly involve in humanity care and social issues. They have won awards repeatedly in international film festivals. People also call the films they make “underground films” or “indie films”. Representatives are Zhangke Jia, Xiaoshuai Wang, Yang Zhang, etc.. They are also known as the sixth generation directors.
Then, the economic grows rapidly and the censorship system is still strict. Most Chinese films thus put more emphasis on entertainment and the so-called blockbuster era comes. Many of these blockbusters have achieved huge box office success on the mainland, but not all of them are popular among overseas audiences.
Orient Indie Films is still exploring the taste of overseas audiences. We will try to let you watch the kind of Chinese documentaries & indie movies you would enjoy online. We also welcome your feedback.
Note: There may be other kinds of Chinese content such as TV series or web series in this attribute.
Watch Chinese documentaries and indie movies online with English subtitles:
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- Documentary
The Ninth Grade – Jiang Nengjie
- $2.99 – $199.00
- A group of students are at a crossroads in life preparing for the High School Entrance Exam, and most of them are left-behind children. Can they get good grades to change their own destiny?
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- Documentary
Children at a Village School – Jiang Nengjie
- $2.99 – $299.00
- This documentary is about a school in the mountainous area of Hunan and focuses on left-behind children in three families. Due to contradiction between backward rural appearance and urban development, the fate of the three generations interwoven together.
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- Documentary
Lost Mountain – Gu Tao
- $2.99 – $279.00
- Gelibao, a former hunter, raises more than 100 Oroqen hunting horses in the traditional way. One day, his horse is shot by poachers. The sky of Wulubutie has turned to grey...
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- Drama
Journey to the South – Wiseman Wang
- $2.99 – $169.00
- This film describes a Chinese gasoline tanker truck driver driving all the way south. On the way he encountered various AMAZING schemes to make him pay, which forces him to strike back.