After his graduation from the Beijing Film Academy, Wang spent some time working under the PRC studio system before starting out on his own. His first film, "The Days" (1993), was an independent feature shot on the weekends in Beijing and starring Wang’s friends as two artists. The film did well overseas, where it announced Wang as a major new voice, but it also caught the wrath of the Chinese authorities, who included Wang in its sweeping ban on six filmmakers (including Tian Zhuangzhuang, Zhang Yuan, and He Jianjun) in April 1994. As a result, Wang followed up "The Days" with another foray into the art world of Beijing using the moniker "Wu Ming" (literally, "no name" or "anonymous"). Entitled "Frozen", the film was shot in 1994 but not released until 1997.