DESPITE its high rating (8.4 out of 10 points) on douban.com, “Song of the Phoenix” took in less than 2 million yuan (US$306,600) in four days since its opening May 6, partly due to competition from Hollywood blockbuster “Captain America: Civil War.”

    Based on a novel by Xiao Jianghong by the same title, the film was late Chinese director Wu Tianming’s last directorial work. He died of a heart attack in Beijing two years ago at 74, just one month after finishing the film.

    Fang Li, the film’s producer, fell on his knees to plea with theater managers Thursday during a live broadcast on Sina Weibo, hoping they would allocate more showings for the film.

    Industry insiders, including directors Ang Lee, Xu Zheng and Han Han, all voiced their support for the film.

    “Such art movies should be given a longer running time, say half a year,” Xu said Friday. He and Han also called for theaters dedicated to showing art movies in China.

    Lee has released a video to support the film. “In the market where competition is so fierce today, it is very thought-provoking to be able to see a film like ‘Song of the Phoenix,’” Lee said in his video.

    The film revolves around an elderly double-reed horn performer who tries to pass on the art form despite its falling popularity in modern China.

    Wu was the man behind the rise of directors like Zhang Yimou and Chen Kaige. He took helm of the Xi’an Film Studio in 1983 and helped young filmmakers — known as the fifth-generation directors in China — flourish and thrive.(Debra Li)