Biografia

Father of Yan Xie.

Member of the jury at the Venice Film Festival in 1989.

His six-decade career began in pre-Communist China. He was a predecessor of the "Fifth Generation" of Chinese directors well-known in the West, including Zhang Yimou and Chen Kaige.

In 1948, his parents wanted him to go to the United States to complete his studies, as the Communists were about to take over the country. He decided to remain in China, because his teachers were staying to help build New China.

Xie was targeted during the Cultural Revolution. His film "Stage Sisters" was denounced by the government because it "advocated the reconciliation of social classes".