The Orphan of Anyang

The Orphan of Anyang is a 2001 Chinese film from Sixth Generation writerdirector Wang Chao. It is Wangs first feature film as director he had previously served as an assistant director to Chen Kaige, and is based on a novel written by the director. The film constitutes the first part of a loose trilogy on life in modern China, followed by Day and Night 2004, and Luxury Car 2006. The film was produced by the independent Beijingbased Laurel Films, founded by screenwriter Fang Li. International distribution was by the French company Onoma.

The film consisted primarily of nonprofessional actors with most coming locally from Anyang itself. Director Wang Chao took four separate trips to Anyang in preparation for the making of the film, three of which were devoted to the purpose of casting the leads. Wang gathered ten locals to audition for the role of Yu Dagang, the tender but lonely and desperate factory worker who finds himself the caretaker of a baby. The role would eventually go to Sun Guilin, who Wang chose in part because he possessed calm, but also with some personality and a little dignity and hope. Zhu Jie, the actor chosen to play Boss SiDe, the dying triad gangster and the father of the titular orphan, was another local actor found in Anyang.Of the three leads, only Yue Senyi, who plays the tough prostitute, Feng Yanli was hired from Beijing. Wang noted that she possessed slight stubbornness but a strong spirit, such that she could play the part of a prostitute without conveying misery. Extras, meanwhile, also came primarily from Anyang. Most of the thugs that surround Side, for example, were local criminals. Wang noted that he could never find actors who could walk in groups the way that real criminals could. ........

Source: Wikipedia