Zhang Lu
1962 (62 года)Zhang was then a 38-year-old professor of Chinese Literature at Yanbian University when an argument with a film director friend led him to take a bet that "anyone can make a film." With no technical training but with the support of film industry friends such as Lee Chang-dong, he set out to direct his first short film Eleven (2001), a fourteen-minute nearly silent vignette of an eleven-year-old boy's encounter with a group of soccer players his own age set in a post-industrial wasteland. Eleven was invited to compete at the 58th Venice International Film Festival and several other international film festivals, and this unexpected success made Zhang decide to become a full-time filmmaker.
The Serpent Queen
Zhang Lu
Lianji Liu, Bo Jin
Considered an immigrant, common and plain, Catherine de Medici is married into the 16th century French court as an orphaned teenager expected to bring a fortune in dowry and produce many heirs, only to discover that her husband is in love with an older woman, her dowry is unpaid and she’s unable to concieve. Yet, only with her intelligence and determination, she manages to keep her marriage alive and masters the bloodsport that is the monarchy better than anyone else, ruling France for 50 years.
The Serpent Queen
춘몽
Zhang Lu
Han Ye-ri, Yang Ik-june
They're losers, but nice ones. Every day they sit at Yeri's bar, smitten by the young Chinese-Korean woman. Yeri doesn't have a preference. To her, they are equally sweet: Jongbin, a milk-drinking epileptic, Ikjune, a former petty criminal, and the introverted Jungbum, who fled from North Korea.
A Quiet Dream
망종
Zhang Lu
Lianji Liu, Bo Jin
Cui, a young Korean mother living on the outskirts of Chinese society, has a husband in jail and a son to support. She barely makes a living selling kimchi to workers along the side of a bleak, industrial road. A love affair with a fellow Chinese-Korean leads to tragic consequences as Cui struggles against the vulnerability of her position.
Grain in Ear
두만강
Zhang Lu
Cui Jian, Lan Yin
Chang-ho, 12, becomes friend with a North-Korean immigrant about the same age who just crossed the Dooman river, border between North-Korea and China. His mute sister and his wise grand-father will get along with him in a series of misfortunes.
Dooman River
필름시대사랑
Zhang Lu
Park Hae-il, Ahn Sung-ki
People have varying perceptions and definitions of love and movies. One must overcome differing opinions and disregard insignificant factors in order to achieve the end product in each aspect. However, it is these trivial features that matter in the end and leave their imprint on our souls. Whether it is for love or for movies, we must continue to question and attend to the subtle inscriptions upon our emotions.
Love And...
Hyazgar
Zhang Lu
Osor Bat-Ulzii, Dong-ho Shin
In a vast desert area somewhere at the border between Mongolia and China, Hungai lives together with his wife and child. Dutifully, Hungai plants little trees in the desert. After his wife embarks on a long trip to a hospital in the capital Ulaanbaatar to have their sick son examined, Hungai starts to drink out of loneliness. One day, a North Korean fugitive and her son ask for shelter in his home.
Desert Dream
후쿠오카
Zhang Lu
Kwon Hae-hyo, Yoon Je-moon
A bookseller from Seoul travels with a young woman to Fukuoka in Japan to meet a former friend from university. While their reunion is haunted by the conflicts of the past, his travel companion floats through the plot as if moving through a dream.
Fukuoka
군산: 거위를 노래하다
Zhang Lu
Park Hae-il, Moon So-ri
Yoon-young fell for Song-hyeon when she was married to his friend. When she gets divorced, he takes her on a trip to Gunsan, where they stay at a guest house run by a middle-aged man and his autistic daughter.
Ode to the Goose
중경
Zhang Lu
Ke-Yu Guo, He Guofeng
In China, Xuie lives an impoverished life with her father who is far from helpful. She is living in Chongqing. One day, her father gets arrested because of prostitution and she is called to the police. One policeman comes closer to her and her mind is taken by him.
Chongqing
이리
Zhang Lu
Yoon Jin-seo, Uhm Tae-woong
30 years after the explosion at Iri station (Iksan, South Korea) the city has changed its name, rebuilt itself, but the people still carry the scars. Jin-seo is one of them. She is mentally impaired due to the explosion her mother experienced while giving birth to Jin-seo. She lives with her cab-driver brother, Tae-woong. The men in the town takes advantage of Jin-Seo's mental impairment and her mild manner nature. Tragedy soon strikes Jin-seo again...
Iri
Shiyi sui
Zhang Lu
Liu Kai
Eleven, which played at the 2001 Venice Film Festival, is the first short film of director Zhang Lu. He is a forty-year-old writer whose works engage with issues of cultural difference stemming from his own background as a member of the Korean cultural minority in China. Eleven is a fourteen-minute long vignette, virtually silent, of an eleven-year-old boy's encounter with a group of soccer players his own age.
Eleven