The 8th BJIFF
Giant Screen Film
Backyard Wildeness
Director: Andrew Young /Susan Todd| Canada| Chinese | 2018 | 42 min
Backyard Wilderness will surprise and entertain viewers with the unexpected wonders of nature that are right under our noses—in our own backyards. Spanning a seasonal year around a suburban home, the film displays a stunning array of unique wildlife images and behavior—all captured by cameras mounted inside dens and nests, and moving along the forest floor and pond bottom, to reveal its inhabitants in rare and breathtaking intimacy. We follow Katie, a young girl, and her modern family living next to the woods who are blind to the real-life spectacle around them, absorbed by an array of electronic devices in their busy lives. The film reminds us that Wi-Fi is not the only connection that matters and that sometimes in ordinary places, you can uncover extraordinary things that could transform you forever—you just need to step outside.
The Search for Life in Space
Director: Stephen Amezdrozt| Australia| Chinese | 2017 | 32 min
Journey from the depths of the Pacific Ocean into the far reaches of space on a quest to find something that changes everything ..signs of life, somewhere else in the universe. With cutting-edge imagery from the world's most powerful telescopes, The Search for Life in Space takes of Jupiter audiences from the surface of Mars and the icy moons and deep Saturn, to the extreme lava fields of Hawaii and thermal vents beneath the sea. In these harsh environments, astrobiologists look for the life takes hold. As this immersive adventure into clues to how universe reveals the possibility of planets like ours, The Search for Life such fundamental questions as: in Space will make you re-examine “Where did from?”, “How did we get here?” and “Are we come alone?
Planet Power
Director: Pascal Vuong|Ronan Chapalain | France| Chinese | 2018 | 40 min 40 seconds
Planet Power tells the story of electricity, from the first spark created by man's hand to Solar Impulse, the first solar-powered plane capable of perpetual flight. Today, electricity is indispensable to mankind. Energy of choice for innovation and development, electricity is also the energy of our future, as long as it is produced in a cleaner and more sustainable way. By mixing traditional animation and CGI to spectacular aerial shots, Planet Power shows how renewable energy can help us fight climate change while improving our quality of life and protecting the environment.
America's Musical Journey
Director: Greg MacGillivray | America| Chinese | 2018 | 40 min
Narrated by Academy Award? winner Morgan Freeman, "AMERICA'S MUSICAL JOURNEY" celebrates the unique diversity of cultures and creative risk-taking that characterize America, as told through the story of its music. The film follows Grammy Awards -nominated singer and songwriter Aloe Blacc as he traces the roots of America's music through the colorful locales and cultures where it was born. Visiting iconic cities such as New Orleans, Chicago, New York City Nashville, Memphis, Miami and more, "AMERICA'S MUSICAL JOURNEY" explores the collision of cultures that gave birth to America's diverse musical heritage. "AMERICA'S MUSICAL JOURNEY" is a MacGillivray Freeman film produced film.
Oceans
Director: Mark Brownlow/Rachel Bulter | Britain |Chinese | 2018 | 40 min
Oceans: The Blue Planet takes us on a global odyssey from the edge of our known world, the coastal shallows, into ever deeper, more mysterious worlds, revealing the untold stories of the ocean's most astonishing creatures. From the freezing shores of Antarctica to the balmy waters of the tropics packed with coral reefs, we share extraordinary new discoveries. Beyond the rich coastal seas we enter the giant void of the big. Here we meet its extraordinary survivors before finally descending into the frontiers of our understanding-the abyss-home to real-life aliens and monsters.
Baby Animals
Australia| Chinese | 2017 | 40 min
The film uses high-quality video material and humorous narration, high definition shooting, high production cost, and shows the super cute side of baby animals. From the animals' most adorable pups, we can see the richness of the animal kingdom. This visually stunning program reveals our unique relationship with these adorable baby animals in the world.
Genious-Steve Jobs vs Bill Gates
Britain | Chinese | 2016 | 40 min
It tells the story of the inventors who changed our lives. They are heroes, they have great creativity, they give us airplanes, television, guns, bombs, and ipods. And behind every great genius there is an equally great rival, who breaks through innovation and changes our world. Look at the confrontation between the smartest people in history. But behind every great genius there is a great adversary, an adversary with incredible vision, determination, and unstoppable ambition. They stood out in the struggle, made a breakthrough, and became a sharp weapon in the fierce battle between competitors. In this amazing documentary, the story of how rivals compete, lose everything or win. The age of genius reveals the decisive factor behind the fiercest innovation competition, and the most brilliant idea in history for the future competition.
The Story of Earth
Director: Russell Scott| Australia| Chinese | 2018 | 40 min
This is the story of a remarkable planet, unlike any other we know. Born from dying stars, it was sculpted by violent collisions in space. Yet this hostile ball of molten rock was destined to transform itself into a nurturing environment that gave birth to life forms that have not been found anywhere else in the universe. That planet is not millions of miles from where you are. It is the planet you are on right now. It is earth.
Australia’s Wild North
Director: Nick Robinson| Australia | Chinese | 2018 | 40 min
Far Northern Australia is a land of extremes. Huge bushfires ravage the ancient landscape in the dry season and the world’s biggest thunderstorms bring torrential rain and flooding in the wet season. These almost Jurassic conditions have created some of the richest wetlands on Earth. The coast, rivers and waterholes are haunted by sharks. The plains are guarded by territorial buffalo and venomous snakes but the apex predator here is a living dinosaur the salt water crocodile. Crocodiles are the ultimate predators. They attack with stealth, are extremely aggressive and can grow up to 7 meters in length. This film will carry the viewers across the whole Top End of Australia, from the wild Kimberly coast through mysterious and rarely seen Arnhem Land and then deep into the world’s oldest rainforest in Cape York.
Aliang's Long March
Director: Jin Tiemu| China| Chinese | Chinese | 2016 | 40 min
Aliang's Long March is a documentary film about the?Red?Army's?long?march. It tells the story from a little Red Army soldier, intensively showing the scenes about the Red?Army crossing the snow mountains and the marshy grasslands, Battle of Luding Bridge and Xiangjiang River.
The Loess Plateau
Director: Jin Tiemu| China| Chinese | Chinese | 2017 | 40 min
This film follows the expedition of German geologist Richthofen,which brings up the rises and falls of the Loess Plateau. According to the natural and humanity history of the plateau, it has fully revealed the underlying reason and the magnificent sight of the grand landscape.