The tenth year marks a key turning point that connects the pathway of growth in the past and a new beginning for the future. The Decade-long Devotion to Films—BJIFF 10th Anniversary Forum planned by the Organizing Committee of the BJIFF was held on August 23 at the Beijing Yanqi Lake International Convention & Exhibition Center. Guests shared their insights into key topics such as how the BJIFF will adjust its position for future growth, how science and technology will empower the BJIFF's growth, how to align foundation and value orientation of awards with market trends, how to optimize the direction for cooperation, as well as the significance and prospect of the Online BJIFF, and created infinite possibilities for the BJIFF.

Decade-long Devotion to Films—BJIFF 10th Anniversary Forum

  Guests of the forum included Wang Jiequn, Deputy Director of the Beijing Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China, Director of the Beijing Municipal Film Administration and Vice Chairman & Secretary General of the Organizing Committee; Xu Tao, Member of the Party Leadership Group and Deputy Chief Editor of Beijing Radio & Television Station, and Executive Deputy Secretary General of the Organizing Committee; James Wang, Vice Chairman of Huayi Brothers Media Corp.; director Chen Sicheng, Lu Chuan and Wen Muye; Li Xun, senior research fellow of the China Film Art Research Center; Sha Dan, curator of the BJIFF Beijing Film Panorama and renowned film critic; Yan Bingyan, the first winner of the Tiantan Award for Best Actress; Larry Yang, winner of the award for Projects with Greatest Commercial Potential in the Project Pitches of the 4th BJIFF, and Wang Zitian, a movie fan. 

Decade-long Devotion to Films—BJIFF 10th Anniversary Forum

  The ten-year-old BJIFF won't stop its way forward, and will continue to strive for a higher starting level, a bigger blueprint and a new wave. The Decade-long Devotion to Films — BJIFF 10th Anniversary Forum embraced all good advice and absorbed the best, and guests made witty remarks and answered questions. In this way, the forum continued to help filmmakers fulfill their film dreams, had a detailed in-depth analysis with respect to the way forward for the BJIFF, and offered practical and feasible advice. The exchanges and sharing by filmmakers on the site convinced the audience that the BJIFF and the film industry hold firm faith in making breakthroughs, innovation, and stunning transformation together. 

Decade-long Devotion to Films—BJIFF 10th Anniversary Forum

  The BJIFF 10th Anniversary Forum delivered a thorough discussion about the role and future of the BJIFF and how it can tackle challenges from the perspectives of "shared dream", "above and beyond" and "endeavor". Guests with broad horizon put forward clear-cut views regarding issues such as BJIFF's support to rising filmmakers, the possible disruption of BJIFF's ecology amid the pandemic, and the power of technology in driving the transformation of the BJIFF. There were an emotional recollection of the BJIFF in the past decade, and sincere motivation for the future.

Shared Dream | BJIFF Has Become an Important Incubator

  Wang Jiequn, Deputy Director of the Beijing Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China, Director of the Beijing Municipal Film Administration, and Vice Chairman & Secretary General of the Organizing Committee, addressed the forum at the beginning. According to her, the BJIFF's growth over the past decade is closely tied with the prosperity of Chinese films. As an important platform for international cultural exchanges, the barometer of the film market, an incubator of new filmmakers and projects, and a remarkable identity of urban culture, the BJIFF has become the most globally influential film culture exchange event in China. And it has gained wide attention and popularity from domestic and international film institutions, filmmakers, film fans and the public.

Wang Jiequn, Deputy Director of the Beijing Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China, Director of the Beijing Municipal Film Administration, and Vice Chairman & Secretary General of the Organizing Committee

  Wang Jiequn, Deputy Director of the Beijing Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China, Director of the Beijing Municipal Film Administration, and Vice Chairman & Secretary General of the Organizing Committee

  The year 2020 marks the ending year for China's commitment to building a moderately prosperous society in all aspects, and completing poverty alleviation. It is also the year that connects two centenary goals, and is therefore of major significance to realizing the Chinese dream of national rejuvenation. Against the backdrop of regular pandemic prevention and control, "We are gathering here at the 10th BJIFF to summarize our past, reach consensus, and join our hands to explore opportunities amid the crisis and restart under disruptive circumstances. Let's help the BJIFF embark on a new journey for the next decade, and contribute to China's transformation from a large film country into a film power. Stars shine on those walking in the night."  

  For ten years, the BJIFF has served as a bridge to help Chinese filmmakers, especially young directors, fulfilled their film dreams and strengthened their faith in their journey of films. Renowned actress Yan Bingyan and young director Larry Yang felt very relatable of the above point. They attended the "Shared Dream" session, had a retrospective of their BJIFF experience, and showcased development of the BJIFF and Chinese films based on their own growth over the past decade.

  In 2013, Yan Bingyan won the first Tiantan Award for Best Actress in 2013 for her outstanding performance in the Feng Shui. The film was named the "Best Chinese Movie of 2012" because of its emotional complexity and humanity. BJIFF's recognition of the film shows its unique artistic values, encouraged low-budget art films, brings out its professionalism regarding meta film factors, and hugely motivates filmmakers.

 Yan Bingyan, first winner of the Tiantan Award for Best Actress

  As a native of Beijing, Yan Bingyan felt it was a great honor and encouragement for her to win the first Tiantan Award for Best Actress. In terms of the 10th BJIFF, she expressed her interest in master classes by prestigious directors such as Ang Lee, "I think such master classes seem very interesting for film fans and filmmakers. I'm sure will check them out”.

Larry Yang, winner of the Award for Projects with Greatest Commercial Potential in the Project Pitches of the 4th BJIFF

  Larry Yang won the Award for Projects with Greatest Commercial Potential at the 4th BJIFF Project Pitches for his works Mountain Cry. The director who rose from BJIFF's Project Pitches has become a renowned director. In his view, for the major part of the year, every filmmaker is struggling on their own, "the hosting of the BJIFF as planned is like food supplements, which not only convinces filmmakers that Chinese film remains vigorous, but also infuses them with the firm faith that they should hang in there and Chinese film will surely regain its previous glory."

Above and Beyond | BJIFF Embraces Changes and Pushes Back Frontiers

  The past decade has witnessed BJIFF's fast growth. Its growing cohesiveness, international influence, industry-wide coverage and forward-looking guidance on the industry demonstrate the festival's power and vitality.

  Meanwhile, the BJIFF has been keeping abreast of the development of China's and international film industry, updating its cognition and improving itself. Over the past decade, China has become the world's largest film market, and transformed from a large film country into a film power. New formats of works, phenomena and hot topics keep emerging and forming a new pattern. Chinese films are getting on healthy, active and sustainable track. In parallel, the BJIFF is constantly making progress and innovation, and contributing to improving the creative space of Chinese films and the charm of Chinese culture in films in a global context. 

Xu Tao, Member of the Party Leadership Group and Deputy Chief Editor of Beijing Radio & Television Station and Executive Deputy Secretary General of the Organizing Committee

  Breakthroughs generate growth momentum and vitality for the BJIFF. In the "Above and Beyond" session of the BJIFF 10th Anniversary Forum, Xu Tao, Member of the Party Leadership Group and Deputy Chief Editor of Beijing Radio & Television Station and Executive Deputy Secretary General of the Organizing Committee, delivered a fabulous speech. According to her, the 10th BJIFF is quite extraordinary. "It is extraordinary not only because it is the first decade, but also because many people were unable to go to movie theaters for a long time during the Covid-19 outbreak. However, during that tough period, films never abandoned us. Just like the weathering of storms, life continues. The hosting of the BJIFF under such circumstances signifies that the curtain will never come down on films, neither will dreams."

  Xu Tao added that the Outdoor Screenings of the 10th BJIFF would screen excellent movies such as The Captain, and Romance on Lushan Mountain. She hoped the audience would spare some time for a movie, sit on a stool, fan themselves while drinking soda, and thus traveling back to the age of innocence. She said, "It is the moment timelessness of movies. Frankly speaking, no matter how long time is, it is made up of one moment after another. No matter how short a moment is, as long as it is special, a sufficient number of such moments would be life changing. As some fans might quote the BJIFF's mission—enable fans to watch the world's best movies in Beijing, and think it is just one single moment. However, it is more like a timeless love letter, promise and commitment of the BJIFF to global film fans. Please bear in mind that as long as there are films, love and us, the BJIFF will always be there for you."

Endeavor | Resilient Filmmakers

  The BJIFF remains young. At its tenth anniversary, BJIFF is hugely impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak. However, Chinese films withstood the ordeal. While China has managed to contain and mitigate the pandemic, along with the reopening of movie theaters around China, the hosting of the BJIFF would not be possible without concerted efforts and contribution by numerous people. 

  At the forum, James Wang, Vice Chairman of Huayi Brothers Media Corp.; director Chen Sicheng, Lu Chuan and Wen Muye; Li Xun, senior research fellow of the China Film Art Research Center; and Sha Dan, curator of the BJIFF Beijing Film Panorama and renowned film critic, talked about the changes and challenges of filmmaking professionals' life and work since the outbreak, and recalled their engagement in and impression about the previous editions of the BJIFF. The guests thought it was of unique significance for the festival to be held now, and expressed their great expectation for the future of the BJIFF.

  James Wang was excited to say that the world's weekend box office record in 2020 was set by Chinese films. He said, "Movie theaters in China were finally reopened on July 20. We were so excited about that moment. And I have proposed to the Film Administration that we would love to offer our excellent movies to be screened after movie theaters are reopened."

James Wang, Vice Chairman of Huayi Brothers Media Corp.

  James thought Chinese filmmakers are resilient and they are getting back on track real soon, "I think the Chinese film community is mobilized. There are already four or five non-mainstream movies that announced their date of release around the National Holiday, which proves our market will continue to recover and grow quickly."

  As Chen Sicheng indicated, when it comes to the pandemic, filmmakers should think about the big picture, such as how the pandemic has changed humanity, "We waited for opportunities. Compared to other countries, China's superiority stood out in the pandemic. We are doing the best in terms of prevention and control of the pandemic. And our film market is recovering gradually."

Renowned director Chen Sicheng

  When it comes to his part of creation in the My People, My Homeland, he said, "The movie presents five stories about the eastern, western, southern, northern and central parts of China, all of which are mainly about changes of people since the founding of the People's Republic of China. When we were assigned to the project, we were sure it is a comedy, and I chose Guizhou at last."

Renowned director Lu Chuan

  During the Covid-19 outbreak, Lu Chuan was creating his new works Unit 749. He said, "I witnessed so many lives and deaths in Wuhan during the outbreak, which influenced my creation of movies in many aspects. Movie production is also about growth. Everyone seems so small in front of the times. What you feel and think would be integrated into your creation. We tried really hard to draw lessons from the pandemic and infuse them into my works."

Adapt to New Trends | BJIFF Fully Supports Creation

  As regular guests of the BJIFF, do they feel the festival is supporting their creation? Lu Chuan said, "The BJIFF is a festival for filmmakers, films, and promotion of film culture. It is a great opportunity. The film is like a language that respects no border.”

Renowned director Wen Muye

  Wen Muye said he learnt a lot from the festival, "First off, the BJIFF helps me define a goal, at least an early goal of where I would like to display my production. In this way, I am not making a film without any purpose. Besides, the festival is like a carnival where movies are not just there for competition. It makes me happy."

  Li Xun talked about the BJIFF from the perspective of global film festivals and film study education, "The BJIFF is an all-round festival which offers a stage not only for films with commercial potential but also for art films and experimental films."

Li Xun, senior research fellow of the China Film Art Research Center

  The BJIFF has been committed to trying new technologies over the past decade, such as the vigorously built Virtual Reality Section and this year's online screenings. According to Li Xun, he has been part of the official selection of the BJIFF since the very first edition, and she thinks the festival is getting better and better, such as the frontier exploration in terms of section setup.

Future | Seek Co-growth of Internet and Traditional Movie Theaters

  At present, the development of the Internet is disrupting all the regular paces and boundaries. It is shortening the window period between cinemas and the Internet, and bringing new challenges for the future development of the BJIFF. For example, will the timeliness of the BJIFF's Panorama section be impacted? Will the festival play the same role? Where will its Competition Section and Panorama Section go? All of these questions need to be answered by the BJIFF with a new mindset in the new era.

  As James Wang said, the role and influence of the BJIFF will be somewhat exempt from the changes of theatrical and streaming services. On the contrary, the Internet will help promote the festival and enhance its influence. However, he acknowledged a shorter window period would influence theater screenings, transform moviegoers' habit and exert huge impact on cinema market.

  Lu Chuan said he was not against the Internet and he was even trying Internet projects. Chen Sicheng did not think the streaming media and movie theaters would fully fuse together. There will be so different works that the audience must go to movie theaters to enjoy unique cinematography.

  Wen Muye agreed with Chen Sicheng, "The audience must sit in a big theater to feel the soul-shocking energy. The big energy rather than big industrial project may only be embodied by the industry."

  According to Li Xun, highly commercial movies with super scale and great investment must be watched in commercial cinema circuits. However, as such technologies are universalized, they may reshape humans' life, and new approaches of expressions either in format, structure, characters or narration will be changed.

Message | Shoot and Present a More Stunning Beijing

Decade-long Devotion to Films—BJIFF 10th Anniversary Forum

  The future for the BJIFF is mixed with challenges and opportunities. The guests firmly believed that Beijing boasts unique advantages of hosting an international film festival as the commanding height of Chinese films. In future, the BJIFF will make the most of such advantages to serve the film industry, and build up its distinctive film festival brand.