Xinhua Film Company
| Company type | Film production company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Film |
| Founded | 1934 |
| Founder | Shankun Zhang |
| Defunct | 1942 |
| Fate | Merged into Zhonglian (China United Productions Ltd.) |
| Headquarters | Shanghai , China |
| Products | Films |
The Xinhua Film Company, also known as the New China Film Company (), was a significant studio that emerged during the leftist cinema movement in 1930s Shanghai, following the footsteps of studios such as Mingxing and Lianhua. It bears no connection to the contemporary Xinhua News Agency. Operating between 1934 and 1942, Xinhua eventually became part of the Japanese-controlled conglomerate Zhonglian.
Business history
Established by Shankun Zhang (张善琨), who shifted from a career in Peking opera to film production, Xinhua was launched in 1934 after Zhang secured sufficient funding. Within three years, the company expanded rapidly from a minor entity into a leading force in the film industry. Following the 1937 Battle of Shanghai, Xinhua stood as the only major studio active during the "Solitary Island" era—when Shanghai's foreign concessions functioned as isolated zones under Japanese occupation. Subsequently, it was joined by rivals such as Guohua Film Company, formed from the remains of Mingxing, and Yan Chuntang's Yihua Film Company, which resumed operations in 1938.
In 1938, Xinhua divided into two branches, Huacheng and Huaxin, due to distribution franchise arrangements. The following year, Zhang integrated Xinhua into an American-owned corporation named Zhongguo Lianhe ("China United Pictures") to evade Japanese control. This maneuver allowed Xinhua to produce twenty-four films in 1939 alone, securing its position as Shanghai’s leading production company. Nevertheless, by 1942, Xinhua was consolidated into the Japanese-operated Zhongguo Lianhe Zhipian Gufen Gongsi (China United Productions Ltd. or Zhonglian) through a Japanese-driven merger of twelve Shanghai studios led by producer . Zhang’s collaboration with this entity resulted in his arrest by Chinese Nationalist authorities near the conclusion of the war, following an earlier detention by Japanese forces over loyalty concerns. After his release by the Nationalists, Zhang moved to Hong Kong.
Important Xinhua productions
- Song at Midnight (1936), directed by Ma-Xu Weibang
- Diao Chan (1938), directed by Bu Wancang
- Mulan Joins the Army (1939), directed by Bu Wancang
- Family (1941), directed by Bu Wancang, Li Pingqian, and others
See also
References
- Fu, Poshek. Between Shanghai and Hong Kong: The Politics of Chinese Cinemas. Stanford University Press, 2003.