Producing a film is a massive undertaking. That’s true with any film but particularly so when the production takes place in one of the planet’s largest film industries like China. Yuqi An has overseen films in both Hollywood and her home country of China and will quickly confirm that there are some major differences. As co-producer of Golden Warrior, one of 2019’s most acclaimed films in China, she successfully delivered the production to a primetime airing on CCTV, the highest platform for movies and TV dramas in China. While Golden Warrior was also available in theaters and on Youku, the CCTV broadcast presented this film to over one billion viewers.
In comparison, the Super Bowl typically gets a little over one hundred million viewers. As co-producer of Golden Warrior, Yuqi felt the pressure of nearly ten Super Bowls with one film. While she concedes that the process is taxing, making films is her passion in life and Ms. An would not choose any other path. Golden Warrior is a film of struggle, sacrifice, and commitment; concepts all present in Yuqi’s contributions to this captivating production.
Golden Warrior derives its name from the mission of China’s 32nd Guerrilla Division and their mission during the second Sino-Japanese war. Occurring as part of the WWII era, this war saw China’s army attempting to recapture its gold which had been seized by the invading Japanese forces. The story of the 32nd Guerrilla Division’s sacrifice and willingness to die for their homeland is immortalized in this film. China’s resistance to this Japanese aggression eventually led to their victory.
A production like Golden Warrior has similarities to planning a military campaign. Yuqi An spent two years as executive producer and a producer amassing a production team, conducting on-the-spot investigations of filming sites in the Zhaoyuan Gold Mine and along the Bohai Corridor, and researching. From budgeting to copywriting and every other detail in-between, Yuqi established the tactical approach that would successfully reach the goal of a larger-than-life cinematic spectacle for this film.
Because the film depicts so many combat scenes, controlled explosives and armaments were used and conducted under the strictest safety protocols. This alone was a highly detailed undertaking as Ms. An describes, “Chinese law requires all firearms and ammunition to travel on road no matter how far the distance. Explosives are also rigorously controlled. My film’s weapons were seized by a police officer who made a highway inspection while we were en route with it. Four heavy machine guns, six light machine guns, one hundred and twenty 38-type rifles, seventy-nine medium-sized rifles, sixteen pistols of various types, and seven mortars were confiscated.
Our entourage did show all the legal documents but the police on duty at that time were not experienced in these procedures. On top of this, the Guangxi Studio had fired a gun by mistake during the preparation of these armaments. The number of bullets for a gun on the transportation certificate did not match the number in the gun- 6 instead of 8. In the end, only this gun was taken away. The officer opened our car door at that time and saw our vehicle was full of more weapons. Before long, we were surrounded by even more police.
All of us were brought to the local detention center. Aside from the obvious, this is a very big problem because our use of firearms has a time limit and if they are not transported within the allotted time frame, we will be unable to use them on set. In the end, two of our producers flew to Changsha, Hunan Province (the place of detention) by plane overnight. While everything was worked out in time for filming, achieving this was quite an undertaking and unforgettable experience.”
Filming in cold winter exteriors and fifteen-hour-long days also doesn’t create a jovial environment for cast and crew. Yuqi concedes that the creation of Golden Warrior was not particularly comfortable but notes that you cannot argue with the film’s fantastic final form and the viewing audience’s embrace of it. Golden Warrior’s premier on CCTV-6 was heralded as an instant classic.
Writer: Coleman Haan