Let the world see China’s speed
Breaking Through, a licensed film of Beijing 2022, will be theatrically released in Kenya and Tanzania. Consulted by China’s first Winter Olympic gold medalist Yang Yang and her coach Xin Qingshan, the film is executive produced by Xu Zheng and directed by Wang Fangfang. Meng Meiqi and Xia Yu lead the cast, with Pei Kuishan, Sarina, Jiao Gang, and Zhang Guoqiang starring. Wang Zhebin and Liu Ruifang serve as producers with a screenplay by Wang Fangfang and Wang Zhebin. As the final chapter of the “China Olympic Trilogy”, the film is based on real event, recreating the battle for China’s first gold medal of Winter Olympics in 2002, and showing the unremitting efforts and glorious journey of generations of sportspersons to win the milestone gold medal.
A licensed film of Beijing 2022, Breaking Through tells the story that the Chinese delegation began to participate in the Winter Olympics in 1980, and missed the gold medal many times. Failure and regret hurt like needles. In order to achieve a breakthrough, Qin Shan (played by Xia Yu) formed the Chinese national short-track speed skating team represented by Yang Fan (played by Meng Meiqi), and was mandated to wash away the shame. Shan and Fan paired up and went after the gold medal, and the relationship between master and apprentice also faced fierce collisions and tests.
In the film, Yang Fan, who was fighting for her country, competed with athletes from various countries at high speed on the field, full of force and intension. When she was about to finish and win the game, Yang Fan was surpassed by foreign athletes, and the Chinese team lost the chance of winning the gold medal again. Behind every game there was the extremely difficult “devil training” for the short-track speed skating team. From super-intense physical training every morning, to soaking feet in ice water and practicing speed skating techniques, Yang Fan had been working hard for years. Nevertheless under pressure Yang Fan was still questioned by outsiders and by herself. Coach Qin Shan’s transformation from achieving gold medal for his country to helping athletes achieve personal breakthroughs reflected the historical mission of generations of Chinese sportspersons, and eventually became Yang Fan’s firm belief to “fight one more time for the country”.
The film was based on the true story of Chinese short-track speed skater Yang Yang. As China’s first Winter Olympic gold medalist, Yang Yang won the gold medal in the women’s 500m short-track speed skating with a time of 44.187 seconds at the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics. It was a major breakthrough for China to win the first ever Winter Olympics gold medal. Throughout her career of 23 years, Yang Yang has won 59 world championships, making her the Chinese athlete who has won the most world championships.
