Documentary to reveal Deng Xiaoping's historic trip to US on the big screen

Promotional poster for Nine Whirlwind Days featuring Deng Xiaoping (L) and Jimmy Carter Photo: Courtesy of Lü Muzi

For most people, one particular set of nine days in their lives wouldn't be much different than the many other days of their lives. However, for one 75-year-old man, nine days in the year 1979 didn't just change the fate of the relationship between two major nations in the world, but also the overall balance of diplomatic power across the globe. In 1979, the historic nine-day visit by then Chinese Vice Premiere Deng Xiaoping to the US from January 29 to February 5 swept like a cyclone across a country which had just established official diplomatic ties with China on January 1 that year.

This week it was announced that Nine Whirlwind Days, a documentary attempting to break down those nine days and show what happened during Deng's visit, had started filming both in China and the US and is expected to reach theaters during the 2015 Chinese Spring Festival holidays.

"Although some historic files have been declassified, what happened during Deng's historic visit is still mostly unknown to the public," said Fu Hongxing, director of the documentary, explaining his motivation for making the film.

A look back at a historic visit

Former president of the China Film Archive, Fu is widely known for his work documenting significant historic events. His work Zhou Enlai Waijiao Fengyun (Zhou Enlai's Diplomacy Legends) in 1998 earned 50 million yuan ($8 million) at the box office, a rare success for a documentary at the time.

"Thirty-five years is not a long time. However, what happened 35 years ago will help guide the country today and in the future," said Fu.

As this year marks the 35th anniversary of official diplomatic relations between China and the US, as well as the 110th anniversary of the birth of Deng, the "Chief Architect" of China's reform and opening up, Nine Whirlwind Days is a dedication to these anniversaries that also looks to use this trip as a means to show audiences today Deng's diplomatic skills.

Although only the vice premier of China at the time, as the first leader from China to visit the US since the foundation of the People's Republic of China in 1949, Deng and his wife Zhuo Lin received a reception of the highest standards during their visit. "No matter if you look at it economically or politically, the establishment of official ties between China and the US in 1979 brought tremendous changes to Chinese society," Fu told the Global Times.

Behind the scenes

For years domestic works about the visit only drew upon materials within China to examine the event, therefore giving a limited view of its historic impact. However, according to Lü Muzi, the producer of the documentary, the documentary team has purchased plenty of video and photographic material from the US, mainly from those hundreds of institutions that witnessed and reported on the visit at the time.

"These purchased documents will greatly make up for the lack of knowledge about the visit within China," Lü told the Global Times.

With better access to the various difficulties and dangers Deng encountered during the visit, the documentary will show the thrilling side of his journey, a side most people have long been unaware.

"Dangers like assassination. Assassins including gunmen from Italy, the Ku Klux Klan and Taiwan independence separatists, actually filled his seemingly peaceful nine-day visit," said Fu.

Based on what Fu has revealed, the documentary may attract young audiences as a documentary-style version of Bodyguards and Assassins, the 2009 film with a star-studded cast that told the story about a group of people including merchants, beggars, pedicab drivers and students trying to protect Sun Yat-sen from assassination while he was in Hong Kong in 1906.

In order to appeal to audiences who like films like Bodyguards and Assassins, a star-studded cast will also be a necessary element for the documentary as well.

To better capture the cyclonic nine-day trip, according to Fu, a group of historic figures who personally experienced the event will also appear and share their memories and feelings in the documentary, to include Jimmy Carter, Zbigniew Kazimierz Brzezinski - the US national security adviser at the time and whose home Deng had his first dinner upon arriving in the US - and former Secretary of State Henry Alfred Kissinger.

Commercial success

Covering a subject of great historic significance, the documentary was listed as an important film by relevant government agencies this year. Backed on the academic front by Beijing Normal University, and commercially sponsored by several leading domestic film making companies including Le Vision Pictures, the documentary is expected to hit commercial theaters just like any other blockbuster.

"I believe the Chinese film industry has grown large enough to digest such a documentary," said Fu, explaining that their box office estimates currently sit between 100 million to 200 million yuan ($16-32 million); a relatively conservative estimate, according to Lü.

However, when you look at the gloomy market reception that Chinese documentaries have received over the past few years, that estimate might be a little bold.

"Recently, few Chinese documentaries have been very profitable," said Sun Lijun, vice president of the Beijing Film Academy.

Additionally, opting to take the documentary to commercial cinemas instead of selling it to TV stations also increases the risk of failure.

It's a path few documentaries are willing to take. Even outstanding documentaries like the popular series A Bite of China has followed the traditional path of heading to TV screens and earning profit off of advertising and copyright fees.

"A Bite of China just proves that there is a massive Chinese audience for documentaries, and we are going to tap into it," said Lü.

In foreign countries, documentaries have long been able to turn a profit in commercial cinemas. Subjects relating to important historic events have performed exceptionally well. While Bowling for Columbine (2002), Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004) and Sicko (2007), all films by American director Michael Moore, have earned success equal to many Hollywood blockbusters.

"All those documentaries by Michael Moore have managed to turn a profit," said Lü.

With filming expected to finish before the end of August, there are still several months left before the film finally hits theaters. It's quite possible this film will be able to carve a new path for documentaries in China. After all, documenting a world altering visit between two of the biggest economies in the world today, as well as a hugely influential Chinese leader that changed the lives of everyone in China, who would want to miss it?