The star-studded cast of the epic movie The Founding of a Republic gathered for a pre-premiere gala on Thursday night in Beijing.

The Founding of a Republic (or Jian Guo Da Ye in Chinese), boasting its stellar line-up of Chinese actors and directors, is expected to sweep across theaters nationwide as a blockbuster tribute to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.

Chinese mainland veteran actor Tang Guoqiang, who has played Mao Zedong - the first president of the PRC - in films and TV dramas several times before, is cast once again as the historic leader. Zhang Guoli plays Mao's political rival Chiang Kai-shek, former leader of the Kuomintang (or Chinese Nationalist Party).

Directed by China's film mogul Han Sanping, president of state-owned China Film Group Corporation, the feature chronicles the significant period of Chinese history from 1945 to 1949, when the Mao-led Communist Party broke with the ruling Kuomintang party and subsequently fought for control of the country, a fight that the communists eventually won in 1949.

The grand ceremony of the founding of the People's Republic of China was held on October 1, 1949 when Mao Zedong became the first leader of new China.

This period of history has been frequently explored in contemporary Chinese films.

Despite the appearance of some of China's highest-paid stars including Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Zhang Ziyi and Andy Lau, the film only cost 30 million yuan to make, relatively little compared with many of today's commercial projects. One reason for the low cost was that none of the main actors were paid, instead simply receiving a role in the film which they saw as reward. Even the well known directors Feng Xiaogang and Chen Kaige each played a character.

"The film is a birthday gift dedicated to the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic," says director Han Sanping. "It will strike audiences as a sincere work."

The film is scheduled to hit mainland cinemas on September 17 and its Hong Kong screening is set for September 20.

(CRIENGLISH.com September 11, 2009)