As the 11th Beijing International Film Festival (BJIFF) is wrapping up, Wang Jiequn, Deputy Head of the Publicity Department of the CPC Beijing Municipal Committee, Director-General of the Beijing Municipal Film Administration, and Vice Chairman and Secretary-General of the Organizing Committee of BJIFF, said that BJIFF will strive to be more professional, international and market-based in the decade to come.
As BJIFF has ushered in its second decade, "New Opportunity • New Horizon" is the theme for this year. With celebrations of the 100th anniversary of the Communist Party of China as the main thread, various events were held during this year's BJIFF, including "Tiantan Award Ceremony," "Panorama," "Beijing Planning • Theme Forum", "Masterclass," "Beijing Film Market," and "Film Carnival." In this way, BJIFF puts forward the "Beijing Plan" for hosting an international film festival that meets the cultural needs of domestic audience and enhances global communication influence, thus realizing the transformation and upgrading of the BJIFF in the new decade.
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China and next year Beijing will host the Winter Olympics. Therefore, the BJIFF set more highlights for main melody films this year. "We made a lot of arrangements for celebrating the 100th anniversary of the CPC, including setting a thematic film forum on this special occasion, choosing The Battle at Lake Changjin as the opening film, and adding films on revolutionary history like Beyond the Skies to the list of films nominated for the Tiantan Award. In the Panorama section, we have special screenings for the centenary of the founding of the CPC, including such excellent films as Battle of Triangle Hill, The Eternal Wave, Yuan Longping, and The Captain. We also have a section for the Winter Olympics showing winter sports-themed movies, including Sisters on Ice, Little Tiger Team on the Ice, Ice and Fire, and Heart of Ice," said Wang Jiequn.
When it comes to the future development and positioning of BJIFF, Wang Jiequn said that the Festival will first expand the genres of the film entries, introducing more types such as animation, documentaries, new technology films, and debut films from new directors. Secondly, BJIFF will deepen international cooperation and interaction, bringing more films to overseas markets. As Wang Jiequn pointed out, "We will continuously deepen cooperation with foreign embassies and cultural institutions in China, enhance participation and exchange in international film festivals, expand cooperation with global peers and well-known brands, and seek comprehensive publicity in key foreign media and leverage word-of-mouth marketing by fans on overseas social media platforms." Finally, BJIFF will take the actual needs of the film industry into consideration and provide professional services. "For example, building an international copyright trading platform to provide one-stop solutions, establishing a special support fund to help outstanding film projects develop and newcomers grow, enriching the forms of cross-industry collaboration and fostering new movie-watching preferences by which the audience embrace all genres of films and consumption is thriving in all areas."
To mark the centenary of the founding of the CPC, Beijing has leveraged its literary and artistic resources regarding the revolutionary history, dig deep into the revolutionary culture, and coordinated and guided Beijing film and television production units to produce a series of excellent films such as Cliff Walkers, The Pioneer, The Battle at Lake Changjin and Snipers, which retell revolutionary stories, spread the revolutionary spirit and record the progress of the times. Among the films mentioned above, Cliff Walkers and The Pioneer have been screened and enjoyed a high reputation in the industry and among the audience. The highly anticipated revolutionary historical film The Battle at Lake Changjin will come out during the National Day Holiday. In Wang's words, it is the absolute historical responsibility of the Beijing film industry to eulogize the CPC, the motherland and its people, and the heroes.
In recent years, films produced by Beijing have become a shining symbol of Beijing's culture. When it comes to Beijing's experience in promoting the production of excellent films, Wang Jiequn said, firstly, we need to find the right topic to tell a good story and produce an excellent film. "Find topics from the great belief and tell the story of the revolution that blazed a new trail; find topics from historical events and tell the touching story of the heroes; find topics from our outstanding achievements and tell the story of independent development; find topics from our effective system and tell the story of development with Chinese characteristics; and find topics from people's good lives and tell the story of their endeavor to pursue and fulfill dreams." Secondly, we will plan ahead and provide guidance and assistance from the beginning to the end. Through well-organized creation and production, we will grasp the pivotal moments and key themes, to produce great works that are empathetic and full of revolutionary ideals, moving stories that closely bond families and the nation with film aesthetics, and inspiring movies with heroism and youth themes. Thirdly, we will focus on talent development, help young filmmakers grow and become successful, and create a talent training pattern that closely combines industry, teaching and research in the capital's colleges and universities and balances supply and demand.
(Reporter: Yuan Yuner)
