Manchukuo Film Association Ltd. (Chinese: 株式會社滿洲映畫協會) also known as the "Manchuria Film Production", was a Japanese film production company in Northeast China in the 1930s and 40s. It is one of the most controversial company in the history of Chinese cinema, since the company can be seen as a cultural expansion for Japan or a cultural invasion for China. Approximate extent Northeast China (Simplified Chinese: 东北; Traditional Chinese: 東北; pinyin: Dōngběi; literally east-north), historically known as Manchuria, is the name of a region (ca. ... The history of Chinese-language cinema has three separate threads of development: Cinema of Hong Kong, Cinema of China, and Cinema of Taiwan. ...

Early History

The company was initiated by the Japanese in Manchukuo. The Japanese spent 5 years on the R&D beginning in 1937. By August 14, 1937 the puppet government of Manchukuo announced the company as a legal and official entity. Japan began the financial sponsorship from August 21st of the same year. Manchukuo Film Association's original address was the "Wool Fabric Weaving Club" at 55 Main st at the Jilin Architectural Institute (吉林省建筑设计院) in Jilin Province, China. The studio base was borrowed from a warehouse. The Tokyo architect Matsutani (增谷麟) modeled the studio design after the German's Universum Film AG studio. On November 1939 the construction was finished at 20 Red Flag St. In 1939 the head of Manchukuo's Ministry of Civil Affair (甘粕正彦), known in Japan as Masahiko Amakasu, became the head of the Manchukuo Film Association. At the time the production was limited to 3 types of films categorized by "People's story", "Educational" or "Documentary". At the height of the studios production, the actress (李香兰) was considered one of China's biggest star. She made 108 films, a lot of which is considered propaganda material today. She operated under the name Li Xianglan and made no association to her Japanese name "Yoshiko Otaka" for political reasons. The Japanese government continued to finance the association in an effort to speak as positively about the Manchukuo government as possible. Manchukuo (1932–1945), Manchu country, was a former state in Manchuria and eastern Inner Mongolia created by former Qing Dynasty officials and Imperial Japan in 1932. ... The phrase research and development (also R and D or R&D) has a special commercial significance apart from its conventional coupling of scientific research and technological development. ... Year 1937 (MCMXXXVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... August 14 is the 226th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (227th in leap years), with 139 days remaining. ... Year 1937 (MCMXXXVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... Jilin (Chinese: 吉林; pinyin: Jílín; Wade-Giles: Chi-lin; Postal System Pinyin: Kirin), is a province of the Peoples Republic of China located in the northeastern part of the country. ... UFA logo Universum Film AG, better known as Ufa or UFA, was the principal film studio in Germany, home of the German film industry during the Weimar Republic and through World War II, and a major force in world cinema during its brief existence from 1917 to 1945. ... 1939 (MCMXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1939 (MCMXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... Li Xianglan李香蘭 Yoshiko Otaka (Japanese: 大鷹淑子) was born Yamaguchi Yoshiko 山口淑子 on February 12, 1920, to Japanese parents, (father, Yamaguchi Fumio 山口文雄) who were then settlers in Fushun, northeast China (then called Manchuria). ...

Separation

In 1945 the Japanese surrendered as part of WWII, and the studio was disintegrated. The head of the association, Masahiko Amakasu, committed a suicide by taking poison pills. In August 1945 the Communist Party of China and the Kuomintang fought over the rights to the company. Soon the northeast movie actor union and the Northeast Film Studio began merging together with the association. By April 1946 the Communist Party of China officially took control of the association, making it China's property. In May of the same year, Jinshan (金山) became the new chairman. The collection of studios would be consolidated into the Changchun Film Studio making it the central point of movie production for the new generation. Year 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1945 calendar). ... German soldiers at the Battle of Stalingrad World War II was the most extensive and costly armed conflict in the history of the world, involving the great majority of the worlds nations, being fought simultaneously in several major theatres, and costing tens of millions of lives. ... The Communist Party of China (CPC) (official name, though almost universally known in English as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)) (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: Zhōngguó GòngchÇŽndÇŽng) is the ruling political party of the Peoples Republic of China, a position guaranteed by the countrys... The Chinese Nationalist Party (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: ; Hanyu Pinyin: ; Tongyong Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Chung-kuo Kuo-min-tang), commonly known as the Kuomintang (KMT), is a centre-right political party in the Republic of China on Taiwan, and is currently the largest political party in terms of sitting Legislative...

Archive

Due to the geographical location of where Manchukuo sits in relation to where Manchuria is today, the film association was as much owned by China as it was to the Soviet Union at the end of the 1940s. As much as half of the companies information was lost in the transition to the Soviets. In May 1995, Japan repurchased the films that were in the lost segment. Initially Japan recreated the films at 30 episodes to be sold in Japan at 300,000 yen. The people of China were complaining about the legitimacy of the matter, since the films were reproduced without China's consent. Japan agreed to give the film (晚香玉), (皆大欢喜) and some documentaries back as compensation. Some are preserved today in China's film archive, others are preserved in the Changchun Film Studio. Manchukuo (1932–1945), Manchu country, was a former state in Manchuria and eastern Inner Mongolia created by former Qing Dynasty officials and Imperial Japan in 1932. ... Manchuria (Manchu: Manju; Traditional Chinese: 滿洲; Simplified Chinese: 满洲; pinyin: MÇŽnzhōu, Russian: ) is a vast territorial region in northeast Asia. ... 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

See also

• Cinema of China
• Politics of Manchukuo
• List of Japanese Secret Agents

The history of Chinese-language cinema has three separate threads of development: Cinema of Hong Kong, Cinema of China, and Cinema of Taiwan. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ...

External links

• Chinese Wikipedia: Manchukuo Film Association original info