Japanese film editor seeks root in Jilin
2016-05-24
Fumiko Kishi, a 96-year-old Japanese film editor, says she felt all kinds of emotions welling up inside her when she visited the Changchun Film Studio Museum, in the city of Changchun, Jilin province, on May 17, and remarked simply "Nothing has changed."
?Kishi was referring to some old photos of the days back when she was working with Chinese colleges to develop country's movie industry in the immediate aftermath of World War II at the Northeast Film Studio, Changchun Film Studio’s predecessor in the 1946-55 period.
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Fumiko Kishi at a film-shooting site at her early 20s. [Photo provided to ejilin.gov.cn] |
She took a careful look at every photo and was especially attracted by one of a house under construction, noting, "I use to live there."
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Fumiko Kishi, Japanese film editor, who worked in the 1940s and 1950s for Northeast Film Studio, Changchun Film Studio's precursor, visiting her old work place, now part of a museum, on May 17. |
The Japanese film editor was involved in the production of 11 movies, including White-Haired Girl which is based on a Chinese folk tale, right after the establishment of the new China and helped train seven Chinese women as movie editors before returning to Japan in 1953. Kishi worked with her husband and brother for a short-lived Japanese film producer in the Manchukuo puppet state before joining the Northeast Film Studio, which had a total of 84 Japanese staff members by the end of 1946.
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Kishi looking at historical photos. [Photo provided to ejilin.gov.cn] |
She also wrote a memoir with stories about her film-making experience in Manchukuo and with Northeast Film Studio after World War II for the Changchun Film Studio. During her visit, Kishi also got a look at the site where her office stood, where she did most of her editing work and recalled the spatial arrangement of the place very well, since it is being restored.
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Kishi involved in the production of 11 movies including White-Hared Girl, a classical tale. [Photo provided to ejilin.gov.cn] |
Zhang Guanglin, deputy Party secretary of Changchun Film Studio said, "Fumiko Kishi is our teacher and our family member and she has made a great contribution to China's film-making. Let's hope all the best for her."
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Fumiko Kishi holding hands with Liu Xueyao, a film designer from Kishi's time who was also involved in Bridge, the first film produced in the new China. |
