Liu Jiayin facts for kids

Liu Jiayin, born on August 20, 1981, is a talented filmmaker and teacher from Beijing, China. She is known for making special movies that mix real-life stories with made-up ones. Her most famous films are Oxhide (2005) and Oxhide II (2009). Both of these movies won awards around the world.

People in the film world have praised Liu Jiayin a lot. The Hollywood Reporter called her "one of the most exciting and unique talents" to come from China in the 2000s. Her film Oxhide was even called "the most important Chinese film of the past several years" in 2006. Besides directing, Liu Jiayin has also written scripts for TV shows. Today, she teaches screenwriting at the Beijing Film Academy.

Becoming a Filmmaker

Liu Jiayin knew she wanted to make movies when she was still in high school. In 1999, she started studying screenwriting at the Beijing Film Academy. For her master's degree project, she made her first full-length movie, Oxhide.

Making Oxhide

For Oxhide, Liu Jiayin used digital cameras. She filmed scenes for a long time without stopping, showing parts of her family's life. They lived in a small apartment in Beijing. Her mother and father played themselves in the movie. Her father was a skilled leather worker, and the film's name comes from the leather he uses. Liu Jiayin, who was 23 at the time, also played herself in the movie.

Oxhide was shown at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2005. There, it won two important awards: the FIPRESCI Prize and the Caligari Film Prize. The movie also won the Golden DV Award for best digital movie at the Hong Kong International Film Festival. At the Vancouver International Film Festival, Liu Jiayin received the top Dragons and Tigers Award for movies from East Asia.

Creating Oxhide II

In 2009, Liu Jiayin finished her second film, Oxhide II. This movie also focused on her family. It was made in a very simple way, using only nine long shots over more than two hours. The entire story of the film shows Liu Jiayin and her family preparing, making, cooking, and eating jiaozi (Chinese dumplings) in real time.

Oxhide II was very different from regular movies and even other independent films from China. It was first shown at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival. By the end of 2009, a film critic named Shelly Kraicer called Oxhide II one of the three best Chinese movies of the 2000s.

Filmography