Zhang Yimou said that the threshold to become a director is very low now, but it is difficult to be a good director

Recently, Zhang Yimou won the Best Director Award at the 34th China Film Golden Rooster Awards for his film On the Cliff, which is his tenth Golden Rooster Award. In an interview backstage, Zhang Yimou said: "This award is actually everyone's credit, because it was really hard to shoot. I was a photographer by profession, and at first I paid more attention to modeling and color. Later, I changed to directing and have been learning slowly. Now I am an experienced director, and I feel that being a director is not easy."

Zhang Yimou said: "Now the threshold for being a director is very low, anyone can be a director. Anyone can be a director, but it is very difficult to be a good director. Letting the actors give full play to their abilities and letting the actors shape the characters well is the most important directorial task. I often tell any department of the crew that they must give way to the actors, must obey the actors' performance requirements, the entire crew must take care of the actors, and must not waste their performances."

"I can shoot 20 or 30 takes, and the actors will not look back, but you must know that this is because they trust you. Why do you have to shoot 20 times? As a director, the fewer takes the better." He also said, "Directing is not an acting job. The real job is to handle the working relationship with the actors, to be a mirror for the actors, and to shape each character well. This is the most difficult task for a director. The most important thing is to portray people, and to serve people. This is my experience of changing from a photographer to a director for 40 years."