First Session of Tiantan Award Judges’ Media Conference for 12th BJIFF Held in Beijing, with Li Xuejian Talking about What Good Actor Is
Conversations on love for films were conducted in the energetic autumn. On the afternoon of August 15, the press conference for the international jury of the Tiantan Award, the Competition section of the 12th Beijing International Film Festival (BJIFF), was successfully held in Beijing. Attending the conference in person were Li Xuejian, a famous Chinese actor and the jury president of the Tiantan Award for the 12th BJIFF, as well as other jury members including Chinese director Frant Gwo, British director Malcolm Clarke, Chinese actress, director and screenwriter Qin Hailu, and Chinese director and actor Wu Jing.
At the event, the sincere, humorous and connotative answers from the five jury members made all the media friends present satisfied with fruitful results.
As Li Xuejian, president of the Tiantan Award international jury and also an established performing artist with extensive experience in acting, together with the other four jury members, walked into the scene, the reporters on the spot all stood to give a big hand. Such a standing ovation contained the respect for Li as a veteran actor. “Only with the marriage of moral standing and work can an actor be a good one,” said Li, whose speech is not only his advice to young actors, but also a guideline for more than 40 years of his working in the field of art.
Li Xuejian’s discourse was sincere and full of love and respect for the film industry, albeit with being a little hoarse because of a damaged vocal cord. When asked if he will continue his acting career, Li also replied sincerely, “I will keep acting until I can’t act anymore.”
What stirred the field reporters most is that director Frant Gwo leaned forward and conveyed to Li Xuejian every time Li was asked a question. According to Gwo, Li Xuejian is also one of the actors of The Wandering Earth II. Li said that it was because of a director like Frant Gwo that he chose to join the film. At the end of the event, he called on everyone to support The Wandering Earth II. Upon hearing this, Frant Gwo was moved and got up to give Li a warm hug in return.
It is obvious to all that China has been on a fast track to the industrialization and commercialization of the film over the past decade. In this regard, Frant Gwo said, “Our film industrialization and commercialization as a whole is now more rapid than before. Of course, there are also shortcomings, so we need a plethora of creators to continuously build a well-established film industry process. But I’m a firm believer that our industrialization process will be fast and fruitful.”
British director Malcolm Clarke, a newcomer to the BJIFF and a member of the Tiantan Award international jury for the first time, exclaimed to the field reporters over the diversity, international identity, and richness of the award—of which he spoke approvingly. “I am very happy to see that the BJIFF is growing bigger and stronger and enjoying worldwide fame, hence making it a global film festival,” said him frankly.
As a famous, experienced actress, Qin Hailu gave her answer to what a good actor is, “Good acting comes without upfront design. Since all of us have different life experiences in various environments and produce different feelings, the point where each person is moved varies.” Asked with the trending topic of “actors and market demand”, Qin smiled and asked rhetorically, “Why should actors cater to the market?” In her view, “For an actor, if you ground yourself on the fundamentals of creation and the art itself and do your own thing right, it is a natural thing that the audience will know what you are doing.” Sincere performances and production in good faith are her answers—and are also what she pursues in film creation all the way.
Although it is the second time for him to participate in the BJIFF, Wu Jing had a different experience due to the change in his “identity” this time. “As an audience, I hope to watch a film that can make me laugh, cry, touching, and ponder; as a jury member, maybe my criterion is the control of a story over the balance and a fine line between truth and fiction,” revealed Wu when talking about his selection criteria for the Tiantan Award.
Speaking of his meeting with his “long-term partner in filmmaking” Frant Gwo at the BJIFF again, Wu Jing said: “I do not communicate with him on the selection criteria, because everyone’s understanding of a film is different, and we both have something we’re good at individually.” He also made a joke that “every time I partner with Gwo in a film, there is always an insufficient budget”, which led to Frant Gwo’s immediate response, “You will definitely be paid from The Wandering Earth II!”
At the conference, the five jury members of the Tiantan Award shared their insightful views on the film industry, the development of Chinese cinema and the selection criteria of the Tiantan Award, which the reporters at the scene were highly impressed with and also full of expectation and confidence in the results of this year’s Tiantan Award.