When Emmy Award winning documentary filmmaker Bill Einreinhofer arrived in China 30+ years ago, he had no idea that it was the first of many visits. Or would create dozens of nonfiction stories in and about China. China: Frame by Frame explores what he discovered, what he learned and the dramatic changes he witnessed. “Sometimes it’s difficult to put modern Chinese history into words, so I am relying on the pictures.” Those pictures include original interviews and scenes shot throughout China, as well as little seen historical footage found in perhaps the most unlikely of places: America’s National Archives and the Library of Congress.
This documentary is also a detective story spanning three decades, a search that lead to the rediscovery of remarkable archival footage in musty old film vaults, and their digital equivalents. The first half of the 20th Century in China saw the collapse of Imperial rule, the rise of so-called Warlords, the onset of the Chinese Civil War, invasion, and occupation by Japanese military forces, followed by a renewed Civil War between the Nationalist and Communist parties, leading to revolution. And it all happened in less than 50 years. Today America and China have deep, fundamental differences. In fact, it’s no exaggeration to say relations are terrible and threaten to get even worse. How did we reach this point? The answer to that question can, in part, be found in historic film footage, much of which was lost, stolen or at the very least misplaced for decades.
Over the years, Bill Einreinhofer interviewed countless men and women who – regardless of where they were born or would eventually live – considered China their home. “A number of them were kind enough to share their personal stories with me. When I travel through China, I often have other people’s memories in my head. Sadly, many of those people are now gone. But their stories live on, through me.”
