Peking Opera on big screen

An ongoing project to turn performances of an ancient art form into movies is getting a boost with plans to make more such films. Xu Fan reports.

For two days in a row recently, Peking Opera master Du Jinfang used a hearing aid to listen to speeches about the struggling art form at the ongoing 7th Beijing International Film Festival. After the speeches, the 85-year-old artist was a bit tired, but she was excited about the progress made by the Peking Opera Film Project, which brings together top opera companies and movie studios to convert classic shows into feature-length movies.

"I began to learn the opera as a 6-year-old, and took leads at 16. But most of the performers nowadays are in their 30s. We are short of replacements," she says.