There is such a family in Shenzhen, where a body art photographer and his finance-obsessive wife went separate ways and reunited with each other years later. Their son, the rebellious and entrepreneurial third generation, is dedicated to developing photography software for cellphones and fights fiercely with his dominant mother. A series of family crisis eventually led to the secret love story of the grandfather spanning over 40 years…

Director Zhang Wei led scriptwriters and main crew to interview more than one hundred photo shop owners, photographers, young entrepreneurs and etc. With the increasing understanding of historical facts and the details of ordinary people's lives, the scripts were altered by 17 manuscripts until the stage script was completed.
In order to restore the city of Shenzhen in its early days, the art and prop team inspected a large number of historical images and pictures, and spent a lot of money on scene construction and costume props configuration.

Xie Gang as    Cai Xiangren
Liu Mu     as    Cai Anguo
Kang Lei  as    Cai Zhengxiong
Juanzi      as    Chen Wenjuan
Produced and Directed by Zhang Wei
Screenplay by Zhang Min, Li Dan, Chen Ruirui, Ge Lou, Lian Xiufeng, Yang Haibo, Chen Yong, Li Yanbo, Chu Jianfu, Du Zhihua, Yu Gezi, Fu Yin, Lei Chengyun, Dai Bing, Wang Yi, Chen Kangtai, Chu Zheng
Art Direction by Zhang Nan
Photography by Kerry Lam
Editing by Zhou Xinxia
Music by Laozai
Sound by Gu Changning

THE PHOTOGRAPHER tells life stories of three generations in a common Chinese family in the past forty years, a period witnessing the most rapid economic development. A group of scriptwriters and I conducted primary research (field observation and in-depth interview) on more than one hundred photographers and eventually finalized the script after seventeen revisions. Using a narrative approach, I intend to depict Chinese struggle and endeavor in the changes of time. I deliberately focus on common citizens’ happiness and sorrow in the context of historical events, rather than using millionaires, politicians and role models as heroes in this film. I wish that this film shows a contemporary China through the lens of an ordinary family in Shenzhen.