Science and technology is an important driving force for the development of human civilization, which affects the development of many industries including politics, economy, and culture. It guides the pace of human exploration and discovery and serves as an indispensable part of the world history. As a cultural industry with a history of more than 120 years, the film industry has been continuously advancing with the progress of science and technology, and has renewed its vitality and vigor again and again.
With the rapid development of China's film and television industry, the integration of technology and film has become closer and closer, and more and more special film forms are entering into people's vision. The Science and Technology Unit of Beijing International Film Festival will be the main display and projection platform for special effects movies and a platform for Chinese and foreign exchanges, which will continue to promote the integration of film and technology.
On April 15th, the opening ceremony of the 8th Beijing International Film Festival Science and Technology Unit and the 8th China Science and Technology Museum Special Effects Film Exhibition was grandly held in China Science and Technology Museum. The event was hosted by China Science and Technology Museum and the Chinese Association of Natural Science Museums Special Effects Theatre Committee. The theme of the event was “Film Makes Technology More Charming”. Based on the screenings of such special effects movies as ball screen movies, giant screen movies, 4D movies, and dynamic effect movies, it focuses on the promotion and facilitation of special effects movies for science communication. It aims to make the integration of technology and film closer, vigorously develop film technology, and increase the innovation capability of science films.
The opening ceremony is divided into two parts. One is the opening ceremony of the Science and Technology Unit and the other is the premiere of the BBC giant screen movie Oceans. The opening ceremony of the Science and Technology Unit was attended by Yin Hao, Director of China Science and Technology Museum, Pang Xiaodong, Deputy Director of China Science and Technology Museum, Bian Jianguo, Deputy Inspector of Beijing Municipal Press, Publication, Broadcasting and Broadcasting Bureau and Deputy Secretary-General of Beijing Film Festival Organizing Committee, Sun Lijun, Vice President of Beijing Film Academy, Ji Shengjun, Vice President of Orient International Group, Lan Jun, director of science and technology film and television center of China Science and Technology Museum, Liu Tonghai, vice chairman and secretary general of China Science Film and Video Association, Chen Hu, deputy secretary general of China Science Film and Video Association, and Sha Jinfei, associate researcher of China Research Institute for Science Popularization. The second part of the opening ceremony was the premiere of the BBC movie Oceans. You Daren, General Manager of BBC Studios Greater China, Jonathan Williams, Business Manager of BBC Earth, Mr. Zhu Jidong, Shanghai Foreign Trade Co. under Oriental International Group, Neil Nightingale, director of Oceans, and Ji Guanlin, a Chinese dubbing actor, attended the ceremony. In addition, more than 100 representatives of science and technology popularization museums from various provinces and municipalities in China and representatives of nearly 70 related companies also participated in the opening ceremony.
China Science and Technology Museum has carefully prepared for the Science and Technology Unit and has done a lot of fruitful work in the aspects of forum innovation and event organization. The purpose is to bring forth more exciting science and technology movie experiences to the public, create an industry exchange platform for special effects movies, and display the achievements of global special effects film. This coincides with Mr. Bian Jianguo’s point of view. During the opening ceremony on behalf of the Organizing Committee of Beijing International Film Festival, he stated that this year’s Science and Technology Unit will fully demonstrate the latest achievements in international film science and technology, which will inject science and technology elements into Beijing International Film Festival, and bring about a broad science and technology perspective and an ultimate viewing experience for the audiences.
This year's Science and Technology Unit has set a total of five major activities, including special effects movie screenings, science popularization events, selection of good works, presentations & exchanges, and academic forums. Among them, the selection of good works aims to encourage special effects filmmakers to be more creative and motivated, enrich and prosper the special effects movie market, and increase the production level of Chinese special effects movies. This year’s Science & Technology Unit will invite 200 public jury members to select candidates of the Best Film for Science & Technology Popularization, the Best Film for Creativity, the Best Film for Special Effect Design and the Best Films Recommended by Audiences, and invite five senior experts to rate nominated films under five categories (i.e. science & technology education films, sci-fi films, animation films, special effect theatre and science & technology popularization). These high-quality works from various countries will effectively broaden the artistic and technological horizon of Chinese science and technology films and improve their production standard.
Chen Hu, chairman of the expert jury, said in his speech that the special effects movie has the charisma of exploration and encouragement, and has a unique and indispensable role in the dissemination of scientific spirit and scientific knowledge. At the opening ceremony, he also made an oath on behalf of the expert jury: Select the recommended films and implement the duty of jury in accordance with the principle of respecting science, arts, fairness and justification.
During the Science and Technology Unit screening of Beijing International Film Festival, more than 30 domestic and foreign special effects films from 10 countries including China, the United States, Canada, and Belgium will meet face to face with the Chinese audiences, 19 of which will be shown for the first time in China. Among these outstanding special effects movies, more than half of them are science popularization films. As the opening film of that day, Oceans co-producer Orient International Group Co., Ltd. Vice President Ji Shengjun delivered a speech at the opening ceremony and gave an overview of the giant screen film Oceans and the “In-depth education of popular science films” project carried out around it. He also introduced the gradual transfer from popular science films featuring knowledge points pooling to knowledge points breakdown, lecture of in-depth knowledge exploration and step-by-step implementation of knowledge point utilization experiment.
Beijing International Film Festival has always been committed to running professional and international film events. Beijing International Film Festival’s Tech-Spectacles Out-of-Competition Section has officially changed its name to Science and Technology Unit and is included in the relevant activities of Beijing International Film Festival. It will add more public-spirited science features and beneficiary cultural elements to Beijing International Film Festival. Targeting at this, Yin Hao, director of China Science and Technology Museum said that China Science and Technology Museum will use special effects cinema’s advanced film technology to enable the public to appreciate the shock of the perfect combination of science & technology and art, popularize scientific knowledge, promote scientific spirit, disseminate scientific ideas, and advocate for scientific methods to the public.
The screening of Science and Technology Unit of Beijing International Film Festival began on April 5, 2018 and will continue until May 6. In addition to the colorful special effects movie screenings, the Science and Technology Unit will also hold special effects movie development forums, film evaluation & awards ceremony, giant screen laser show, science fan parent-child salon, dome screen open class, and many other academic exchanges and science popularization activities.
In 2018, China Science and Technology Museum ushered in its 30th anniversary of opening. As one of a series of activities for the 30th anniversary, the 8th Beijing International Film Festival Science and Technology Unit will thoroughly implement the theme of “Film Makes Technology More Charming”. Focusing on the promotion and facilitation of special effects movies for science communication, we provide abundant and exciting special effects movie resources for the general public in a bid to further promote public understanding of science and let them feel the charm of science and technology.