The year of 2005 was one of glory for Chinese filmmakers, especially for auteur film directors. In succession they garnered accolades at the world's major international film festivals.

Gu Changwei won a Silver Bear Jury's Prize at the Berlin International Film Festival (Germany) for the film Peacock, while Xu Jinlei's Letter from An Unknown Woman was welcomed in Spain by winning in the Best Director category at the San Sebastian Film Festival. And Wang Xiaoshuai, formerly known as the "underground filmmaker," took home the Jury's Prize at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival (France).

In addition, in the latter half of the year, in Venice (Italy), seven Chinese films participated in the Venice International Film Festival, with two of them winning prizes at the festival.

However, while enjoying the honor of winning international recognition, back home, these award-winning films received a poor reception from their home audience. When these films were released in China, movie theaters saw only scant numbers of audience. Their box office gross were unsatisfactory or even poor.

The auteur filmmakers have made their voices heard in international film festivals and raised the international profile for Chinese cinema. But in the eyes of their fellow compatriots, their films seem to be seen as box office poison. Art-house films, or auteur films seem to be an unbearable heaviness for the current Chinese film market.

In March, Peacock, the highly acclaimed nostalgic film about the story of three siblings, had a poor box office performance that made director Gu Changwei's family weep in public over the result.

Jia Zhangke's eight-year magnum opus The World was his first-time nationwide release but its box office gross only reached 2 million yuan (US$247,892).

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