Stars converge, welcoming spring in their stride.

The Forward Future Section of the 15th Beijing International Film Festival (BJIFF) will take place from April 18 to 24, 2025. For the purposes of “discovering the new filmmakers around the globe in China's view and encouraging originals on the new wave of films in the world”, the Forward Future Section strives to highlight the cultural connotations of films in various forms and boost the exchange and communication among young filmmakers all over the world. All the first or second feature films are welcomed regardless of genre, type or style.

This year's Forward Future Section received over 500 submissions from nearly 90 countries and regions worldwide, marking exceptionally fierce competition. To select the most outstanding works, we have assembled an international jury of five distinguished film artists. They will select seven honors from the final selection of films: Most Popular Feature Picture, Most Popular Director, Most Popular Screenplay, Most Popular Actress, Most Popular Actor, Most Popular Artistic Contribution and Jury Special Mention.

This year, the Organizing Committee invited the famous Hungarian director Béla Tarr to serve as the Jury President of the 15th BJIFF Forward Future Section. Chinese actress Jin Chen, Japanese director Sabu, Chinese actor Song Yang, and Swiss director Cyril Schäublin will serve on the jury for the 15th BJIFF Forward Future Section.

15th BJIFF Forward Future Section

Béla Tarr, Jury President of the15th BJIFF Forward Future Section

Hailed as the soul of the “Hungarian New Filmic Wave”, Béla Tarr's name has always been closely tied to classic moments in film history. From documentary-style realism to more modernist cinematic practices, his works are renowned for their stark black-and-white imagery, poetic narrative structures, and profound social critique. He has had a long association with BJIFF. When the 4K restored version of his masterpiece Kárhozat was screened at BJIFF in 2022, film fans went wild over his philosophical images of social allegories. His works have been repeatedly shortlisted for the main competitions of the Berlin and Cannes Film Festivals, the French Cultural Award at the Cannes Film Festival, the Special Mention Award at the Locarno Film Festival, the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Tokyo International Film Festival, and so on. The Turin Horse won the Jury Grand Prix-Silver Bear at the 61st Berlin International Film Festival, Best Film in the FIPRESCI Prize Competition unit, and was nominated for the main competition, the Golden Bear Award.

With 40 years of dedication to arthouse cinema, this “poet of monochrome” will now channel his visionary lens to assess the pulse of future images for the new generation. As Jury President of the 15th BJIFF Forward Future Section, Béla Tarr will undoubtedly bring the world's top film aesthetics and judging standards to this section, as well as his extensive experience and profound insights in screening new film forces.

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Jin Chen, Jury Member of the 15th BJIFF Forward Future Section

Jin Chen, whose representative films include No More Bets and Honey Money Phony, has accumulated a total box office of over 4.5 billion yuan across all her films. Two years after its release, No More Bets remains the top-grossing crime film in mainland China to this day, making Jin Chen the actress born after 1990 with the highest single-film box office. This year, her leading role in Honey Money Phony also topped the box office for romantic films during the New Year's holiday season.

Jin Chen has worked with many emerging directors, and her acting skills have been widely recognized. She has consistently delivered box office success, achieving both popularity and critical acclaim. Jin Chen serves as a jury member of the 15th BJIFF Forward Future Section. Drawing from her extensive acting experience and market insights, she will share insights with young filmmakers on how to balance commercial viability with artistic pursuit, contributing to the growth of the next generation in the film industry. 

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Sabu, Jury Member of the 15th BJIFF Forward Future Section

Sabu is a Japanese director, screenwriter and actor.

Sabu, a pioneer of Japan's new generation of directors, established the early style of his directorial career with his debut film Dangan Runner in 1996. His works are diverse in genre, featuring dynamic narratives and absurd black humor. It distinguishes him in the film industry. His representative works include Monday (2000), which won the FIPRESCI Prize at the Berlin Film Festival; Blessing Bell (2002), which won the Asian Film Critics Association Award at the Berlin Film Festival, and Mr. Long (2017) and Chasuke's Journey (2015), which were both shortlisted for the Berlin Film Festival's main competition. His other works, including Postman Blues, Miss Zombie, Dangan Runner, and Drive, have also won multiple international film awards.

Director Sabu serves as a jury member of the 15th BJIFF Forward Future Section. He will bring the distinct aesthetic style and pioneering and innovative spirit of Japanese films to his jury work. He will promote cross-cultural integration and mutual learning in accordance with the “Cinema as a Bridge” philosophy.

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Song Yang, Jury Member of the 15th BJIFF Forward Future Section

Song Yang is a Chinese actor.

Song Yang, an accomplished Chinese actor and graduate of Beijing Film Academy, has crafted many iconic screen roles with his exceptional acting skills. In 2023, he earned a Best Actor nomination at the 36th China Film Golden Rooster Awards for his performance in Kong and Jigme. In 2017, he won the Best Actor Award at the Macao International Film Festival for Wrath of Silence. His other representative films, such as Evacuate from the 21st Century, The Sword Identity, The Final Master, and Judge Archer have also won many awards at home and abroad.

Song Yang was invited to be a jury member for the 15th BJIFF Forward Future Section. With his strong performance foundation and deep understanding of film art, he offers professional advice to young actors and directors on performance and creation from the judging perspective of “performance as a medium”.

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Cyril Schäublin, Jury Member of the 15th BJIFF Forward Future Section

Cyril Schäublin is a Swiss director and screenwriter.

Cyril Schäublin studied at the Central Academy of Drama and later studied film directing at the German Film and Television Academy Berlin. His diverse background adds a distinct flavor to his films. His debut feature film in 2017, Those Who Are Fine, received a Special Mention Award for Best Directorial Debut at the 70th Locarno International Film Festival. His second feature film in 2022, Unrest, won Best Director in the Encounters section and received a Best Film nomination at the 72nd Berlin International Film Festival.

Schäublin, who returned with Best Director in the Encounters section of the Berlin International Film Festival, has a special connection to China - his studies at the Central Academy of Drama have infused his lens with Eastern aesthetics. Schäublin, as a jury member of the 15th BJIFF Forward Future Section, will bring fresh inspiration and thinking to the new forces in the film industry through his unique multicultural perspective.

With the help of five seasoned film artists, the 15th BJIFF Forward Future Section will undoubtedly discover more outstanding new film forces. Let us look forward to it together!