Wen Pulin

Highlights the rebellious young generation of artists in China fighting for political emancipation, artistic freedom and creating a cultural golden age during the 1980s - a significant decade of transformational change. Interweaving six main characters' memories with the director's personal narration, the film embarks on an emotional journey and tells a story of being passionate and idealistic before dreams are dashed to pieces.

In 1989, a group of avant-garde artists who had collaborated in private for years received permission to organize their own exhibition at the National Art Museum of China. However, one of the terms was to exclude performance artists from participating. The seven artists who were left out took action. At the opening ceremony, their lives changed as the sounds of gunfire rang out.

In 1989, a group of avant-garde artists who had collaborated in private for years received permission to organize their own exhibition at the National Art Museum of China. However, one of the terms was to exclude performance artists from participating. The seven artists who were left out took action. At the opening ceremony, their lives changed as the sounds of gunfire rang out.

Wen Pulin documents the social conditions, customs, and spiritual life of Tibetans in Lhasa.

A documentary film showing the oldest street in Lhasa, Bajiao St., also called Bakhor or Baghor), located in the town center. In the past, Bajiao was only used as a ritual circumambulation route, "a saint road" in the eyes of the Tibetans. Now it's developed into an old shopping district with colorful Tibetan houses lining the street, and the ground paved with man-made flagstones, preserving its ancient look. The film also shows the social conditions, customs, and spirtual lives of the Tibetan inhabitants.

The Wen brothers, as director and photographer of the film, documented their 10 years of journey in Tibet, from 1989 to 1999. Their film investigates the social conditions, customs, and the spiritual life of Tibetans.

A documentary about politically-charged Chinese performance art -- contains footage of the most significant performance art activities that took place in Mainland China during the 1980s and 1990s.

The Wen brothers lived and traveled together with the living lama, Bajia, in Beijing and to his homeland in Ganzi Zangzu Zizhizhou in 1990s. This film documents that period. With the Wen brothers' help, Bajia made his dream come true -- building a Buddhist temple in his homeland.

Documentary about the lives of a group of Tibetan religious dance performers.

Short documentary with English narration that was prepared for the Inside Out: New Chinese Art exhibition at Asia Society in New York City, which ran from September 15, 1998 to January 3, 1999.

Third short film on Tibet, 'Murals and Stone Carvings of Lama Temple,' from Wen Pulin's Archive of Chinese Avant-Garde Art.

Short film on Tibet #1, 'Tibetan Artist Visit,' from Wen Pulin's Archive of Chinese Avant-Garde Art.

A biographical film of the the Karma-pa XVI and XVII of Tibet. The film also presents the spiritual life of Tibetan Buddhists in 1990s through interviews.

A documentary on the XVII Karmapa of Tibet. The film also presents the spiritual life of Tibetan Buddhists in the 1990s through interviews.

In 1993, on the 100th anniversary of Mao Zedong’s birth, Wen Pulin mobilized the “Sun 100” series of artistic activities, staging programs at official institutions featuring avant-garde artists in Mao’s hometown, Shaoshan. The film "Sun 100" was intended to be a document of that work, representing the country and the nation thinking about a specific quandary: What is the spiritual heritage that's been left behind by Mao Zedong, if there is any at all? Wen planned for the film to show at the 1994 Hong Kong Film Festival, but withdrew it, and has never finished it, stating that his own views on Mao have shifted. 17 discs worth of footage (roughly 28 hours) from the unfinished film are included in the Wen Pulin Avant-Garde Art Archive held at Cornell University in the U.S.

Qingpu is a famous sacred mountain in Tibet, where countless monks have practiced for thousands of years. In 1989, Wen Pulin and Duan Jinchuan followed several monks up the mountain and took video of them. After three years, they revisited the same people and got a little closer to understanding their lives. As an in-depth dialogue with down-to-earth, rural people in Tibet, the film strives to understand Buddhism both as a philosophy, but also as a personal choice of lifestyle, as a transcendence of the chaos of life.

A Wen Pulin and Jiang Yue co-directed documentary about Tibet.

The Wen brothers, Wen Pulin and Wen Puqing -- as director and cinematographer, respectively -- document the social conditions, customs, and spiritual life of Buddhist nuns in Minqiong mountain near Lhasa, China in the 1990s.

This documentary follows the whole process of a celestial burial ceremony in Tibet. It shows Tibetan religious customs, arts, and many vanishing life styles.

On the Tomb Sweeping Day, in 1987, a film crew set out for the monument of the Tangshan earthquake to shoot a memorial ceremony for the victims of the earthquake. This marked the beginning of the documentary film "The Great Earthquake." The artists, like Shaman sorcerers, were capable of foreseeing that, what had been dormant in the universe was to be awoken. And the rock and roll music on the Great Wall that night became a coming-of-age ceremony for the youths that were present and some even called it the "Chinese Woodstock."