On 27th October, the China Film Archive held a special screening at its Art Cinema of Laborer’s Love, the earliest surviving Chinese film, and launched the movie’s merchandise    in celebration of the World Day for Audiovisual Heritage

This year marks the centenary of Laborer’s Love. To make this Chinese cinematic classic more widely known, the China Film Archive developed a series of commemorative activities as early as the beginning of the year. Up to now we have done a 4K restoration of the film, showcased it at international film festivals, screened it with live music in Beijing and organized a special screening for students in Anxi county, Fujian province. Moreover, a NFT digital collection of the film has also been released and physical merchandise launched, thus injecting new vitality into this film cultural heritage.

The special evening began with the launch of a variety of merch that celebrate the centenary of Laborer’s Love,including three movie charater-based mystery boxes, movie-themed sweatshirts and jackets, Fun Sticker velcro and a redesigned series of hand-drawn posters. Taking to the stage, Sun Xianghui, director of the CFA, gave a brief introduction to Laborer’s Love ;and shared key activites around the film throughout the year as well as the inspiration for the merch. Raffle prizes were then given to lucky members of the audience.

With a focus on the film’s romance, the merch are designed to resonate with a broader public.“The movie shows a 100-year-old love story in such a witty and romantic way. It makes us want to get two pairs of sweatshirts and pants as matching outfits”, said a couple.

“Creating the merch for Laborer’s Love represents both a bold attempt and a sincere effort on our part. Going forward, we will endeavor to deliver more quality products that stand out, so that our fan base will continue to expand and more audiences will get to know film archiving thanks to our cutural and creative products”, added Xue Ning, who leads the merchandising team.

The launch event was followed by a screening of the 4K restoration of Laborer’s Love and Children of Trouble Time, a posthumous film by Chinese director Fei Mu.

The World Day for Audiovisual Heritage at CFA

Sun Xianghui, director of CFA, introduces commemorative activities around Laborer’s Love

Mystery boxes featuring the movie’s three protagonists

Members of the audience get a commenmorative stamp on their tickets