On August 25, at the “Arthouse Film Forum—Cross the Borders” for the 10th Beijing International Film Festival (BJIFF), the Nationwide Alliance of Arthouse Cinemas (NAAC) held the theme release and launch ceremony of the “Reignition of Light of Art: National Screening Program for Excellent Chinese Arthouse Films”. Yang Wujun, Director of the National Film Industry Development Special Fund Management Committee Office, attended the forum, and Li Xiulei, member of the Party Leadership Group and Deputy Chief Editor of Beijing Radio & Television Station addressed the forum.

　　The BJIFF has always paid high attention to the dissemination and promotion of arthouse films, striving to play its part in the development of arthouse films. The Arthouse Film Forum, which became one of the six main forums of the BJIFF last year, continues to increase its significance and influence. In his speech, Li Xiulei, member of the Party Leadership Group and Deputy Chief Editor of Beijing Radio & Television Station and Deputy Secretary General of the Organizing Committee of the 10th BJIFF, strongly expressed his affirmation and expectation for organizing the Arthouse Film Forum. He believes the continuous growth of the film market has led to increased demand for the diversity of films, and the role of arthouse films is increasingly important.

　　At the forum, Sun Xianghui, Director of the China Film Archive and Director of the China Film Art Research Center, and He Mi, Vice President of Film and Performance Business, Alibaba Culture and Entertainment, made a theme release, respectively.

　　According to Sun Xianghui, guided by the China Film Administration and backed by the National Film Industry Development Special Fund Management Committee Office, the Nationwide Alliance of Arthouse Cinemas launched the 2020 “Reignition ? Light of Art: National Screening Program for Excellent Chinese Arthouse Films". The event will fund the publicity and distribution of 10 excellent Chinese arthouse films selected for screening in the special cinema circuits of the Nationwide Alliance of Arthouse Cinemas as well as 2 recent films through various forms like Theme Forum on Classic Films, inspiring the new generation of film workers to create more artistic and innovative masterpieces that can empower the audience with spiritual guidance and aesthetic enlightenment. To ensure that excellent films can selected into the funding system, the China Film Archive (China Film Art Research Center) has established the Arthouse Film Standards Committee and developed a scientific censoring and scoring system. The films which are currently under review and will be released in the special circuits according to the producers include Like the Dyer’s Hand, To Live To Sing, and Wisdom Tooth.

　　Li Xun, senior research fellow at the China Film Art Research Center, Austrian director Jessica Hausner, French producer Philippe Bober, and Patrick Mao, Founder of Flash Forward Entertainment, producer and distributor made keynote speeches, respectively. Li Xun shared his view on “Rediscovering the Arthouse Film”, discussed the “spectrum” of film art creation, and proposed to explore a new business mode of Chinese arthouse cinema based on the concept of “diversity and inclusiveness”—reaching more potential audiences with genre films and seeking the development of film art via Internet platforms.

　　The creation of arthouse films is generally region-based. Arthouse film creators also have new thinking about the observation of contemporary Chinese social landscape. For this, Xu Lei, director and screenwriter of Summer Detective, Gu Xiaogang, director of Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains, Liang Ming, director of Wisdom Tooth, Bao Xiaogeng, producer of Monkey King: Hero Is Back, Paths of the Soul and The River in Me, and Zhao Jin, producer of Midnight Blur Films conducted group talks centering on the theme of “New Chinese Filmmakers and Their Hometown” as the first group, respectively telling their own thinking about the times, hometown and film aesthetics during the creative process.

　　Film publicity and distribution is developing more independently, with its influence that cannot be ignored. It has become an important bridge between the supply side and the demand side. In this regard, Zhang Wenzhen, Assistant Vice President of CMC Cinemas and UME, Tian Qi, President of Hero Film, Zhang Wenbin, Founder of MUWU STUDIO, Sha Dan, associate research fellow at the China Film Archive and a famous curator, and Wu Yanyu, Chief Editor of Dumou, Dushe Film conducted group talks surrounding the “Path of Workarounds of the Supply Side and the Demand Side” as the second group. They pointed out that the core demographic of watching arthouse films has had an upgraded aesthetic appreciation and turned younger and younger, so producers should give more consideration to the demands of the audience.

　　The success of this year’s Arthouse Film Forum provides a lot of valuable experience and ideas for the development of China's arthouse film market in the future, and broadens the vision of arthouse film development. The arthouse film will see more possibilities in the new era. The Arthouse Film Forum arrived in time for the Qixi Festival, traditional Chinese Valentine’s Day falling on the 7th day of the 7th lunisolar month on the Chinese calendar. Among the love stories between the film and the city, arthouse films have the most affectionate audience. To present the beauty of arthouse films is an eternal promise we have made to the audience of arthouse films!