Situ Huimin (Chinese: 司徒慧敏; pinyin: Sītú Huìmǐn; 16 February 1910 – 4 April 1987) was a Chinese film director, screenwriter, and actor, born in Kaiping, Guangdong.
Early Life and Political Involvement
Situ Huimin joined the Communist Youth League in 1925 and the Chinese Communist Party in 1927. In 1928, he went to Japan to study arts, where he developed an interest in filmmaking. After returning to China in 1930, he actively participated in the left-wing theater movement.
Career
He began his film industry career working as a set designer and sound engineer. His debut as a film director was Spirit of Freedom (自由神), produced by Diantong Film Company in 1935. He subsequently joined the Lianhua Film Company in Shanghai.
Following the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War, he moved to British Hong Kong, where he continued working in both film and theater, creating several anti-Japanese films. In 1943, he worked on newsreels in Chongqing, then the wartime capital of China. After the war, he helped organize the Kunlun Film Company. He later traveled to the United States to study film technology and management.
He returned to China in the 1950s and continued working in the country's film industry, holding numerous important government positions. He died in Beijing on 4 April 1987.
Selected Filmography (as director)
- Spirit of Freedom (自由神) (1935)
- Lianhua Symphony (1937) — a segment in an anthology film
- The Blood-stained Baoshan Fortress (1938, Hong Kong)
- Hometown Cloud (1940, Hong Kong)
- Song of Retribution (1941, Hong Kong)
