Documentary backdrop image for Cutting My Teeth (2020)

Documentary backdrop image for Cutting My Teeth (2020)

202030 minPGdocumentary

Cutting My Teeth

202030 minPGdocumentary

Two adolescent children receive primary education in Peking Opera at Shanghai Opera School, facing choices between their ideals and reality.

Genres

Director

Synopsis

Two adolescent children receive primary education in Peking Opera at Shanghai Opera School, facing choices between their ideals and reality.

People

Zhang Zhedirector

Synopsis

Two adolescent students at Shanghai Opera School receive primary education in Peking Opera. Throughout their training, they confront challenges between their dreams and the realities of their craft. The 30-minute documentary captures their development and the choices they face as they navigate this traditional art form. As they pursue their passions, the students learn to adapt and mature in an environment rich with cultural significance.

Comments

What are people saying?

Play More Like This

This 13-Year-Old is TEACHING His Fellow Students (2026)

This 13-Year-Old is TEACHING His Fellow Students

In Shanghai, the top-ranked city in the PISA assessments, students experience rigorous education focused on science and foreign languages to excel globally.

This 13-Year-Old is TEACHING His Fellow Students

China: What do young people dream of? (1/2) (2026)

China: What do young people dream of? (1/2)

In contemporary China, young people express a shift in values and aspirations, prioritizing personal fulfillment over traditional notions of hard work and economic success.

China: What do young people dream of? (1/2)

Philippines & China: The Hard and Dangerous way to School! | Investigate Asia (2026)

Philippines & China: The Hard and Dangerous way to School! | Investigate Asia

In Manila, Niessa and Nicol navigate a garbage-covered hill to sell beads for two hours daily before attending school, while in Guizhou Province, 13-year-old Shi Chunfu from the Dong minority cultivates rice in terraced fields.

Philippines & China: The Hard and Dangerous way to School! | Investigate Asia

Dangerous Ways to School in China | Episode 2 (2026)

Dangerous Ways to School in China | Episode 2

In Yunnan Province's Nu Jiang and Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, children Yu Qiang and Abduwale navigate challenging terrains to attend school.

Dangerous Ways to School in China | Episode 2

China: What do young people dream of? (2/2) (2026)

China: What do young people dream of? (2/2)

Young Chinese people express their evolving dreams and aspirations, challenging the traditional values of hard work and prosperity as China's economy stagnates.

China: What do young people dream of? (2/2)

Meet China's Incredible Child Athletes (2016)

Meet China's Incredible Child Athletes

At No 6 Middle School in Lanzhou, students train for up to 14 hours a day, balancing rigorous academics with their Olympic aspirations.

Meet China's Incredible Child Athletes

What Are We Going to Do With You? (2026)

What Are We Going to Do With You?

In a vibrant Paris primary school, children express their surprising awareness of social issues through play and creativity, highlighting the urgent need for educational reform.

What Are We Going to Do With You?

The K-pop Dream Factory (2024)

The K-pop Dream Factory

In Seoul's K-pop dance schools, aspiring idols like Heesu Chung and Sui endure rigorous training and immense pressure, with only 1% achieving stardom.

The K-pop Dream Factory

China's Young Athletes - China (2008)

China's Young Athletes - China

In July 2008, young athletes in China train hard for Olympic success amid great pressure.

China's Young Athletes - China

Explore Cutting My Teeth

Browse more like this

China: What do young people dream of? (1/2) (2026)

China: What do young people dream of? (1/2)

In contemporary China, young people express a shift in values and aspirations, prioritizing personal fulfillment over traditional notions of hard work and economic success.

China: What do young people dream of? (1/2)

No digital watch option in your country

Philippines & China: The Hard and Dangerous way to School! | Investigate Asia (2026)

Philippines & China: The Hard and Dangerous way to School! | Investigate Asia

In Manila, Niessa and Nicol navigate a garbage-covered hill to sell beads for two hours daily before attending school, while in Guizhou Province, 13-year-old Shi Chunfu from the Dong minority cultivates rice in terraced fields.

Philippines & China: The Hard and Dangerous way to School! | Investigate Asia

No digital watch option in your country

Dangerous Ways to School in China | Episode 2 (2026)

Dangerous Ways to School in China | Episode 2

In Yunnan Province's Nu Jiang and Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, children Yu Qiang and Abduwale navigate challenging terrains to attend school.

Dangerous Ways to School in China | Episode 2

No digital watch option in your country

China: What do young people dream of? (2/2) (2026)

China: What do young people dream of? (2/2)

Young Chinese people express their evolving dreams and aspirations, challenging the traditional values of hard work and prosperity as China's economy stagnates.

China: What do young people dream of? (2/2)

No digital watch option in your country

What Are We Going to Do With You? (2026)

What Are We Going to Do With You?

In a vibrant Paris primary school, children express their surprising awareness of social issues through play and creativity, highlighting the urgent need for educational reform.

What Are We Going to Do With You?

No digital watch option in your country

Bitter Rice (2025)

Bitter Rice

2025•1h44m•★8.0TMDB

Severe penalties and strict regulations define the Peach Reform School in China, where troubled teens face extreme measures of discipline.

Piano Dreams (2024)

Piano Dreams

2024•1h25m•★4.5TMDB

Three young piano prodigies from China face intense competition and family pressures as they pursue their musical ambitions in an 85-minute documentary.

Burning Dreams (2003)

Burning Dreams

2003•1h15m•★7.8TMDB

A college student in Shanghai spends her summer break connecting with boys from a nearby province who are passionate about hip-hop culture.

Curtain Up! (2020)

Curtain Up!

2020•1h9m•★8.0TMDB

A group of elementary school students in New York's Chinatown prepares for a theatrical production that reflects their cultural heritage.

Are Our Kids Tough Enough? Chinese School (2015)

Are Our Kids Tough Enough? Chinese School

2015•30m•★8.0TMDB

Fifty British teenagers undergo a rigorous educational experiment led by five Chinese teachers at a Hampshire school.

Are Our Kids Tough Enough? Chinese School

The Other Bank (1995)

The Other Bank

1995•2h20m•★4.0TMDB

Young students from various regions of China gather in Beijing to rehearse a play written by future Nobel Laureate Gao Xingjian.

Children of the Chinese Circus (2006)

Children of the Chinese Circus

Children as young as eight undergo rigorous training at Shanghai Circus school, pushing their bodies to the limits to become top acrobats.

Children of the Chinese Circus

Les Disciples du jardin des poiriers (1987)

Les Disciples du jardin des poiriers

Young students in China rigorously train in classical theater, blending literature, martial arts, and music in the aftermath of the Cultural Revolution.

Les Disciples du jardin des poiriers

Speaking Up 2 (2007)

Speaking Up 2

Around two dozen students from a primary school in Jiangxu share their views on personal issues, family, and society in a 30-minute film.

Bright Sun Mansion (2015)

Bright Sun Mansion

One legendary Peking Opera master emigrates to New York, where he works in a nail salon and seeks to preserve his art through an amateur production.

Bright Sun Mansion

Is this your film?

If you made this film or hold the rights to it, we'd like to talk. We can license it and pay you a share of what it earns.

License it with us →