Nanjing Calling: Battle for Brocade

Battle for Brocade was filmed in Beijing and Nanjing and edited in Singapore. With the help of our Mandarin Film team, Discovery Asia and Beach House Productions in Singapore, Battle for Brocade was successfully delivered in August 2014. 

It was broadcast in Discovery Asia and more than 20 channels in China.  Discovery Channel is very happy with the film, and audience too. 

After being selected as one of the 5 winners of "Nanjing Calling: Discovery’s First Time Filmmakers” in March 2014, Mandarin Film’s senior producer Mandy Li had only 4 months to direct and produce a 1 x 24 minute documentary for Discovery Channel on the ancient royal art of Nanjing - the Cloud Brocade.

After in-depth research and countless script drafts, Mandy decided to focus on the tension between the craft's tradition and innovation; the old school masters and new school thinkers. Battle for Brocade showcases the unique challenge of taking the city's brocade-making skills into the future.

Used to make golden dragon robes for Chinese emperors, Nanjing brocade is one of the most expensive fabrics in the world. As China modernizes, the old school masters and new school thinkers at the Nanjing Brocade Museum are having a debate - should the Nanjing brocade adhere to its ancient tradition and be 100% purely hand-made, or should it be digitized and mass produced for modern consumers? The story also follows Laurence Xu, one of China's top fashion designers, whose work blends Western haute couture with ancient Chinese brocade designs.