The Golden Era () is a 2014 Chinese-Hong Kong biographical drama film directed by Ann Hui, written and executive produced by Li Qiang and starring Tang Wei and Feng Shaofeng. Tang portrays Xiao Hong, while Feng plays Xiao Jun, two of the most important writers of 20th century China. Other notable characters portrayed include Lu Xun (played by Wang Zhiwen), Duanmu Hongliang (played by Zhu Yawen) and Ding Ling (played by Hao Lei). The movie was screened out of competition at the 71st Venice International Film Festival. It was selected as the Hong Kong entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 87th Academy Awards, but was not nominated. The movie won Best Film and Best Director awards at the Hong Kong Film Awards. Cast Tang Wei as Xiao Hong Feng Shaofeng as Xiao Jun Wang Zhiwen as Lu Xun Zhu Yawen as Duanmu Hongliang Huang Xuan Hao Lei as Ding Ling Yuan Quan as Mei Zhi Tian Yuan Ding Jiali Wang Qianyuan Zhang Luyi Sha Yi Zu Feng Zhang Yi Feng Lei Yuan Wenkang Chen Yuemo Wang Ziyi Zhang Jiayi Wang Jingchun Yang Xue Jiao Gang Zhang Bo Zhang Yao Ke Lan Tang Yixin Wang Kai Production Development The idea for the film dates back to 2004, when Ann Hui and Chinese screenwriter Li Qiang discussed their interest in penning a story involving early 20th Century writers Xiao Hong (the pseudonym for Zhang Naiying) and Ding Ling. Research made by Hui and Qiang raised concerns over the possible censorship from the government because of Ding Ling’s open criticism of the Communist Party throughout her life. In 2007, Hui and Qiang decided to focus on Xiao Hong, after a suggestion from Beijing production company Cheerland Films, whose first project was Hui’s The Postmodern Life of My Aunt. Although initially uninterested in Xiao Hong’s work when she read them in the 1970s, Hui later reread her novels as part of better understanding the literary writer. Hui found it difficult to research Hong’s own life due to the mystery that parts of her life were shrouded in, but remarked that the resulting screenplay for the film is “as close to the truth as we can get”. Filming The Golden Era production cost ¥70 million and lasted five months, during which shooting took place on location in Harbin, Wuhan, and Shanghai. Ann Hui would later describe the process of filming The Golden