CCTV whets appetite with series on cuisine
Print Edition
“WE want more people to observe the Chinese traits of resilience and frugality by introducing delicious Chinese food,” said Chen Xiaoqing of his new documentary series “A Bite of China II.”
The series, produced by China Central Television as a sequel to 2012 hit “A Bite of China,” airs on Fridays, starting yesterday.
Cuisine holds a significant position in Chinese culture, according to Chen, chief director of “A Bite of China II.”
“We hope that, through the sequel documentary, more people around the world will have a better understanding of Chinese tradition and social changes,” he said during an interview alongside members of his production team.
In 2013, the team visited more than 150 locations, covering a distance of over 400,000 kilometers.
Chen estimates that every one minute that viewers will see has been refined down from 150 minutes of footage, a process which was “both physically and intellectually challenging.”
“A Bite of China II” includes eight episodes covering the stories of more than 150 people and over 300 types of food. Each episode was filmed by a different team composed of four to five people led by a sub-director.
Liu Shuo, sub-director in charge of the “Realm of Mystery” episode, said that all the filmed places are mysterious — they were difficult to reach and in many cases full of hardship.
“A big challenge was to capture changes in the weather on camera. We were constantly in the hands of various natural forces,” she said.
She revealed that before filming even begun, they had to travel extensively to research stories, as not only the food but the people making it had to fit the theme of the show.
“I had to forget myself and my gender as it was common to live without taking a shower for a week,” Liu said of her experiences on the road.
The effort seems to have been worth it for the international recognition garnered by the series.
For Chen, the reward came when he saw “A Bite of China II” appear as the most prominent poster at Mipcom, the annual TV and entertainment trade market in Cannes, France.
That moment was all the more sweet because it was a visit to Mipcom in 2011 that inspired Liu Wen, chief director of the CCTV documentary channel, to up the game of Chinese documentaries.
Liu wanted a Chinese production to gain the same plaudits as the Korean documentary featured on the show’s main poster that year.
“Now, organizers of international documentary exhibitions would lose face if there were no Chinese-made works displayed,” said Chen.
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