Sundance 2024 Interview with ’14 Paintings’ Filmmaker Dongnan Chen

In her latest documentary short film 14 Paintings, which premiered in the Documentary Short Films Program at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, award-winning director Dongnan Chen (The Trail From Xinjian 2013, Singing in the Wilderness 2022), invites her audience to not only look at the 14 paintings highlighted, but to think about the artists of the famed Dafen Village, who dedicated hours of painstaking effort to create them.

“Art is subjective” and “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder” are two very old sayings used to describe situations where the creation of art in all its infinite variations and forms are either found wanting or complete.

Located in China’s Guangdong province is the suburb of Shenzen, and located within it is Dafen Oil Painting Village. Formed in 1989 by a businessman with a love for painting who wanted to create a collective for young artists to work, Dafen became home for thousands of painters from all across China.

Though you may have never heard of Dafen, you’ve more than likely seen at least one of the famous reproductions of oil painters like Van Gough, Rembrandt and many others of different eras and styles because at one point in time Dafen artists were responsible for producing up to 60% of all oil paintings sold globally. That’s over 6 million oil paintings sold to private entities such hotels, and major corporations like Walmart in the U.S.

In 14 Paintings, Chen touches on the history of Dafen, its’ artists – some of whom despite exhaustive research efforts remain anonymous – their impressions on their own work and how it’s perceived, and the ways in which their industry is changing with the involvement of the Chinese government, which seeks to rebrand this unique industry hub into a tourist attraction – which of course has benefits for the community, but also as an avenue of public messaging.

Following the film’s screening at Sundance, I spoke with Chen about her creative influences and style as a documentary filmmaker, how she was inspired to delve into the history of Dafen Village, and the importance of letting the art and artists speak for themselves amidst the hustle of busy city streets, or the unsettling quiet of an MRI lab. In our discussion we also touched on the pros and cons of commercialisation from the perspective of artist and consumer.

Carolyn Hinds

Freelance Critic, Journalist & Podcaster
African American Film Critics Association Member, Tomatometer-Approved Critic
Co-Host & Producer So Here’s What Happened! Podcast
Bylines at http://Authory.com/CarolynHinds
Phone: (647)216 – 5283
Twitter & Instagram: @CarrieCnh12

#DongnanChen #14PaintingsDocumentary #DongnanChenDirector #kcrushatSundance #kcrushinterview #documentarfilmmaker #historyofDafenVillage #SundanceFilmFestival2024 #DafenArtists #oilpainting #DefenOilPaintingVillage #kcrushamericamagazine #SEO #kcrushtopasianamericanentertainmentmagazine #ChinasGuangdongprovincesuburbofShenzen #DafensuppliesartworktohotelsandWalmartintheUS #kcrushnews #TheTrailFromXinjian2013 #SingingintheWilderness2022 #DafenOilPaintingVillage.Formedin1989 #Sundance2024InterviewwithDongnanChenDirectoroftheDocumentary14Paintings #kcrushvideointerview #kcrushfilmmakerinterview #DongnanChenInterviewWithKCrush

Sending

User Review

5 (1 vote)

KCrush ‘In Flames’ Interview with Actresses Ramesha Nawal and Bakhtawar Mazhar

KCrush ‘In Flames’ Interview with Actresses Ramesha Nawal and Bakhtawar Mazhar Carolyn Hinds Freelance Critic, Journalist & Podcaster African American Film Critics Association Member, Tomatometer-Approved Critic Co-Host &... Read More

KCrush ‘In Flames’ Interview with Filmmaker Zarrar Kahn

For his feature directorial debut In Flames, Canadian-Pakistani filmmaker Zarrar Kahn, gives audiences a densely layered psychological horror story of how trauma and the secrets we keep can end up imprisoning us in a life of uncertainty, fear, and... Read More

The Queen of My Dreams – Interview with Writer and Director Fawzia Mirza

Written and directed by Fawzia Mirza, The Queen of My Dreams takes a technicolor look at the relationships between mothers and daughters and how their cultures, histories, and even political histories intertwine to create the most complex of bonds.... Read More

KCrush Interview with GREEN KIDS

From the streets of Iwata City, Shizuoka to the world, GREEN KIDS takes the cultural stereotypes bull by its horns. This 6-member hip-hop group has become a voice of the people in its journey of pioneering a fresh and holistic perspective on... Read More

Episode 6 of Candid Conversations with KCrush: Alice Chun

Welcome back to Candid Conversations, in this episode I had the pleasure of speaking with Alice Chun. She is the founder and CEO of Solight Design, the inventor of the SolarPuff lantern and the co-author of “Ground Rules in Humanitarian Design.”... Read More

KCRUSH INTERVIEW With WhySoCerealz’s Designer Steve Lee

Do you have a philosophy or story behind your brand name, because it seems to evoke interest and possibly have a hidden story behind it, right ? There was a period of time when I used to be very edgy and “way too serious”. This was actually the... Read More