Kong Weiyi (L), leading actor, and film director Zhang Dalei (fourth from left) promote The Summer Is Gone in Hohhot on March 26. [Photo/northnews.cn]

A promotional meeting was held at a movie theater in Hohhot on March 26 for The Summer Is Gone, a new art film directed and acted by native Hohhot citizens. The film, directed by Zhang Dalei and produced by Zhang Jianhua, won the coveted best picture award at the 53rd Golden Horse Awards held in Taipei last November.

Set in the 1990s, the film tells the story of an ordinary family living in Inner Mongolia that has gone through a stormy period of transformation in China where national State-owned enterprises changed into modern market-oriented companies.

Kong Weiyi, a ten-year-old boy who starred in the film, also received a best new performer award for his leading role, and the film was awarded the FIPRESCI prize by a separate jury of critics. So far, The Summer Is Gone has been nominated in thirteen international film festivals with a total of 24 nominations.

Highly acclaimed for its nostalgic look and themes, cinematographer Lyu Songye shot the entire film in black and white.

Born in Hohhot in 1982, Zhang Dalei grew up around the Inner Mongolia Film Studio, the son of a renowned film editor. In 2000, Zhang went to Russia to study directing and cinematography at the St. Petersburg State University of Film and Television.

After graduation, Zhang participated in numerous film shoots and wrote screenplays; however, The Summer Is Gone is the first film Zhang has both written and directed.

The cast of The Summer Is Gone greet the audience and media at a Hohhot theater on March 26. [Photo/northnews.cn]

The cast of The Summer Is Gone is interviewed in Hohhot on March 26. [Photo/northnews.cn]