The 15th Beijing International Film Festival has officially announced that the renowned Chinese-speaking actress, director, and writer Joan Chen will serve as a jury for the Competition Section. From a well-known actress both at home and abroad, to a creator behind the camera, and then to a writer who conveys delicate emotions through words, Joan Chen has always been crafting poems of female narratives in multiple identities.

This year, this artist with multi-dimensional creative experience will start a new dialogue as a jury for the Competition Section of the BJIFF. With a compound perspective that connects creation and appreciation, she will select masterpieces of this era for the audience.

In the history of Chinese film, Joan Chen's artistic career is like a magnificent scroll slowly unfolding. From a fresh-faced debutante to a seasoned thespian, Joan Chen has spent nearly fifty years delivering many timeless moments on screen.

In the late 1970s, she was the character Little Flower from the eponymous film, with a youthful face but resolute eyes, becoming a classic image in the memory of a generation. In 1987, she portrayed the role of Empress Wanrong in The Last Emperor, directed by Bernardo Bertolucci, vividly bringing to life the tragic fate of the last aristocratic woman. In 1994, she portrayed the character of the Shanghai woman described by Eileen Chang in Stanley Kwan's Red Rose, White Rose, exuding charm in every gesture.

Entering the new century, Joan Chen's performances have become even more polished. In the 2019 film Sheep Without a Shepherd, she had neat short hair and wore a straight police uniform. One look conveyed the contradiction between the majesty of the police chief and the motherly love. In the 2023 film Hachiko, her busy figure in the kitchen wearing an apron portrayed the Chinese mother's hard words but soft heart to the core.

After transitioning from acting to content creation, Joan Chen incorporated unique humanistic insights and social thinking into her stories. In 2000, she directed the film Autumn in New York in the United States, becoming the first Chinese female director to lead a Hollywood movie with a budget of 50 million US dollars. The film Hero, co-directed by her, Li Shaohong, and Sylvia Chang, is one of her works in which she uses cinematic language to express her inner world. The film tells a heartwarming story from a female perspective about how ordinary people persist in pursuing love and hope in difficult situations, showing the tenacity and warmth of human nature.

In 2024, Joan Chen released her first collection of essays, Catfish, and her delicate prose depicted the resonance of memories and reality. In her book Catfish, Joan Chen reflects on her collaboration with Bernardo Bertolucci on The Last Emperor: “The moment our paths intersected within the Forbidden City stands as the most luminous moment in both his directorial journey and my acting career. Bathed in the afterglow, we found ourselves in a place where words were unnecessary.”

What Joan Chen captured is an actor's most precious personal emotions. For the audience who appreciate this work, the dual narrative of text and image evokes a profound spiritual and aesthetic synaesthesia with the two creators. From being a well-known actress active on the big screen, to transitioning into the roles of director and writer, Joan Chen has been constantly challenging herself and breaking through boundaries in pursuit of multi-dimensional self-exploration.

As a distinguished guest at international film festivals, Joan Chen's jury experience spans many countries and regions: In 1996, she served as jury member for the Competition Section of the Berlin International Film Festival, where she found the joy of creation beyond acting, and since then she has begun many explorations in her personal directorial creation. In 2014, Joan Chen was invited to become one of the juries for the Main Competition of the Venice International Film Festival, which undoubtedly shows that she has a very important position in the film industry.

Joan Chen also has a deep connection with the BJIFF. In 2018, she appeared as an award presenter at the Tiantan Award ceremony; in 2024, Joan Chen served as a guest of the BJIFF Workshop & Masterclass, sharing her mental journey in creating multiple characters. Her sincere self-analysis also won the applause of the audience; in the same year, Joan Chen participated in the movie Dìdi, which was screened for the audience.