The 10th Beijing International Film Festival (BJIFF) that opened on August 22 has entered its sixth day, with the Beijing Film Market, screenings, forums and other activities under way. Now let's take a look at the key activities in the day.
1. Chinese Film Industry Summit Held
The 10th BJIFF Chinese Film Industry Summit took place on the morning of August 27. The forum, consisting of the morning session and the afternoon session, combines keynote speeches with topic discussions. The morning session, with the theme "'Content is King' – Tell Wonderful China Stories, while Exploring the Commercialization of Mainstream Films", was hosted by Liu Pan, researcher at the Film and TV Department of Chinese National Academy of Arts. Guests, including Ya Ning, Zhang Ji, Li Ning, Li Weiqiang and Gong Geer, exchanged views on the commercialization of mainstream films, Chinese language films and Chinese stories, and other topics.
The afternoon session, with the theme "Genre Trends of Chinese Films in the New Era", was hosted by Wang Yu, visiting lecturer to Beijing Film Academy and film producer. Guests, including Stanley Tong, Yin Xiangjin, Shu Huan and Jiang Defu aired their opinions on new opportunities for the new Chinese film market, the breakout of Chinese language genre films and other topics, to broaden thinking and provide new enlightenments for the development and creation of Chinese genre films.
2. Industry Conservation: Young Directors' Rise to Power
On the afternoon of August 27, the 10th BJIFF Beijing Film Market-“Industry Conversation: Young Directors' Rise to Power-New Filmmaker Dialogue" took place at San Sa Village. Larry Yang, director of Mountain Cry winning the Award for Projects with Greatest Commercial Potential; Gu Xiaogang, director of Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains winning the "Special Award" in the 8th BJIFF Project Pitches; Xu Lei, director of Summer Detective wining the Outstanding Award for WIP Category at the 9th BJIFF; Tian Li and Yu Qing, directors awarded in the 6th BJIFF Project Pitches were invited. They showed results in the Project Pitches, shared their growth and experience from the Project Pitches, and discussed the craftsmanship inheritance of Chinese filmmakers, the creation and growth of young directors, and other topics. This is the first industry conversation of the BJIFF in a boutique guest house in Huairou.
3. Events & Activities: "Hainan Love in Mountain" & AI Encounters Film & TV Screenwriting" Chinese Screenwriting Industry Promotion Forum Held
On the afternoon of August 27, two events & activities of the 10th BJIFF took place at the Beijing Yanqi Lake International Conference Center. With an IP project featuring the ingenious integration of film content with culture & tourism town as the case, "Hainan Love in Mountain" 3rd International Film IP Licensing and Derivative Industry Development Summit discussed the frontier topics of film IP licensing and derivative development. With the theme "How does the Screenwriting Industry Embrace AI", "AI Encounters Film & TV Screenwriting" Chinese Screenwriting Industry Promotion Forum probed into the impact of AI on the screenwriting industry, the reform and opportunities of the industry and other issues, and attracted 50 screenwriting groups and institutions including screenwriting teams of film & television hits like The Eight Hundred and Goodbye, My Lover.
4. New Special Effects Film Presentation: Fusion of Technology and Films
On the morning of August 27, the 10th BJIFF Science and Technology Section-New Special Effects Film Presentation took place online via Tencent Meeting. The activity released the information of new special effects films distributed between 2019 and 2020, to facilitate film selection by cinemas of science museums. At the meeting, representatives from 11 film & television production and distribution companies in countries and regions like the U.S., New Zealand, Canada and China introduced the progress of special effects film production and distribution in 2021.
5. Game-Based Animated Films Exhibition-"E-Sports Celebration for Filmmakers" LOL Star Tournament Opens
The 10th BJIFF-1st Game-Based Animated Films Exhibition-"E-Sports Celebration for Filmmakers" LOL Star Tournament took place on August 27. Four e-sports professionals participated in the tournament along with Zhang Binbin and Xu Lu, promotional ambassadors for the exhibition, as well as e-sports enthusiasts from the film & television circle like Wu Xize and Qian Daijun, to make up four teams-Poly Culture, Maoyan, New Film Association and Lianrui, to share the joy of e-sports with the audience in forms such as live streaming. Through intense competition, the team of Poly Culture claimed the title. The tournament vividly displayed the great charm of the integration of film & television with e-sports, and indicated a new direction for the innovation and breakthrough in the crossover integration.
6. 6th Class of Online BJIFF: Andrey Tarkovsky: A Cinema Prayer Tells Stories of Masters
The 10th BJIFF has launched a series of "Decade Moments Cinema" franchise classes online. A total of 11 classes are presented by experts and scholars from the China Film Art Research Center and Beijing Film Academy regarding the classic films screened in the Beijing Film Panorama of the 10th BJIFF, renowned filmmakers and behind-the-scene stories.
The class today introduced Andrey Tarkovsky: A Cinema Prayer. The documentary directed by Andrey Tarkovsky's son shows Tarkovsky as both a film creator and a father. The film connects Tarkovsky's creative background and life experience with eight segments. There are a lot of rare documentary videos recounting Tarkovsky's life and work in the film. The director who is Tarkovsky's son passionately shares with us his father's memories, view of art, and philosophical reflections on the world. The film is an exclusive archive that can never be missed by movie fans.
7. TV Screenings: Brilliance with Hits
Apart from domestic hits like Operation Mekong, American Dreams in China, The Final Master and Operation Red Sea, the 10th BJIFF TV Screenings presented El Motoarrebatador, a film screened in the Directors' Fortnight section at the 71st Festival de Cannes. Miguel, an unemployed man in Argentina, pursues his career of robbery. He snatches the purse of an old woman on a motorbike along with his partner. The woman will not let go, is dragged a long distance and ends up in a hospital. Afterwards Miguel worries the woman may be injured and the woman has lost her memory when he goes to the hospital for her. The film provides a probe into kindness and redemption.
8. Online Screenings: Chinese and Foreign Films Available Online
The 10th BJIFF Online Screenings presented The Names of the Flowers, a Bolivia-Canada-U.S.-Qatar co-production and River's Edge, a Chinese film. Both films were screened at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival and the former won the Special Jury Prize in the First Feature Competition. The Names of the Flowers tells a story between Julia, an old countryside teacher and Che Guevara. River's Edge depicts the reconciliation between a father and son after the son passes away.
9. Meet-and-greet with Cast & Crew of Over the Sea
On August 27, Over the Sea was screened at Broadway Cinematheque. Director and screenwriter Sun Aoqian appeared in the meet-and-greet.
Over the Sea is the directorial feature debut supported by the "A.R.T" Project and shortlisted for the New Currents section of the Busan International Film Festival.
The film uses many non-professional actors and presents territorial beauty without avoiding the life in the bottom. During shooting, he was naturally inspired by film masters and did not evade it intentionally. In the future, he will continue to accumulate experience and keep exploring ways more agreeing with self-expression.
After being screened at the cinema, the film will be exclusively screened on Huanxi Premium streaming platform.
10. Meet-and-greet with Cast & Crew of Wild Swords
On the night of August 27, Wild Swords was screened in "The Power of Chinese" section of "Beijing Film Panorama" in China Film Archive and a meet-and-greet came after the screening. Director and famous film critic Li Yunbo, producer Liu Wen and leading actress Liu Yongxi were present.
Set in the Ming Dynasty, Wild Swords is a Rashomon-type film that unfolds with a bloodbath of Wumingmen. It is also Li's second feature film. Following the shooting of Something in Blue, he switched to genre films with the intention of directing an unconventional swordsman film and a literary genre film focused on a character strategy. Inspired by the works of Akira Kurosawa, Jin Yong (Louis Cha Leung-yung) and Gu Long (Xiong Yaohua), he finally created this unique swordsman film. He revealed that his third film will be a literary sketch.
11. Outdoor Screenings: Summer Night with Laughter
Today "Outdoor Screenings" took place at the Inside-out Art Zone, Nanluo Bookstore and Maple Garden Drive-in Cinema, presenting three Chinese and foreign hits-Looking for Fun, Shower and Undine. The first two are domestic comedies that aroused bursts of laughter among the audience.
