In search of light

Film scholar Wu Di has little appetite for stars, awards and special effects. He seeks a true reflection of society in Chinese cinema, he tells Sun Ye.

Film scholar Wu Di remembers a tap on his shoulder, 20 years ago. A fellow researcher from the Beijing Film Academy asked him: "Hey, brother, where have you been making money lately?" Wu was startled. He hadn't seen the person at the academy for a while, at a time when making a fortune had suddenly become a common vision, even among intellectuals in Chinese cinema.

"I was dedicated to my research. I was with my students. And I didn't get it," Wu, now a researcher at the China Film Art Center, says of the meeting.