The jury lineup for the 15th Beijing International Film Festival (BJIFF) Project Pitches has been gradually unveiled. Zhang Zifeng, a post-00s actress known and loved by the audience for her works such as Sister and Upcoming Summer, will serve as the Final Jury member for the BJIFF Project Pitches. As a representative of the new generation of Chinese actresses who possess both artistic flair and strong market appeal, Zhang Zifeng will provide young filmmakers with a creative outlook combining both humanistic warmth and resonance with the times, by virtue of her emotional perception of contemporary youth and inter-generational narrative touch.

　　

Zhang Zifeng, Final Jury member of the 15th BJIFF Project Pitches

Zhang Zifeng has a long-standing connection with the BJIFF. As early as 2017, she served as a promoter for Chinese films at BJIFF, leveraging her influence to draw young audiences' attention to domestic cinema. Afterwards, several of her films, including Go Brother!, Farewell, My Lad, and Sister, have been screened at the festival, sparking widespread discussion. In 2023 and 2024, Zhang Zifeng attended the BJIFF twice with The Volunteers series, recommending this deeply emotional war epic to audiences. In 2024, the film I Love You, to the Moon, and Back in which she starred was shortlisted for the festival's Competition Section, Tiantan Award.

　　

As a young actress of the generation born in the 00s, Zhang Zifeng has always impressed audiences with the depth of her performance beyond her age and her precise control of complex characters. She gained her first recognition in 2010 at the age of eight with her role of “young Fang Deng” in Aftershock, delivering an overwhelming crying scene that won her the Best Newcomer Award at the 31st Hundred Flowers Awards, making her the youngest recipient in the award's history. In 2015, her eerie smile at the end of Detective Chinatown became a classic shot in Chinese suspense films, showcasing her potential to portray complex characters. In 2021, in Sister, a film focusing on societal discussion of women's living predicament, Zhang Zifeng's portrayal of An Ran, a character torn between traditional ethics and personal aspirations, won her the Outstanding Actress Award at the 19th China's Huabiao Film Awards. In The Volunteers series across 2023 and 2024, she played Li Xiao, a young girl who transforms from an innocent youth into a true warrior - a contemporary interpretation of personal narratives within historical cinema. In 2024, her outstanding performance in I Love You, to the Moon, and Back achieved her breakthrough in the romantic genre, earning her another nomination for Best Actress at the Golden Rooster Awards.

　　

A still from I Love You, to the Moon, and Back

Beyond acting, Zhang Zifeng has always been concerned about the creative ecosystem for young people. In 2020, the movie Farewell, My Lad starring her was released. The film was incubated through Project Pitches. Zhang Zifeng shared her experience and insights in the incubation of film through Project Pitches at an event. She affirmed “every creator's love for their work” and emphasized the importance of holding fast to emotional authenticity in storytelling despite the overwhelming influence of the wave of online popularity. This kind of thinking aligns deeply with the BJIFF Project Pitches' philosophy of fostering vibrant young voices in cinema.

　　

A still from Farewell, My Lad

As the film market is craving for “youthful expressions”, Zhang Zifeng's role as a Jury member of the BJIFF Project Pitches will undoubtedly infuse the selected films with more genuine emotions and generational perspectives of the times. We believe in the power of Project Pitches. One day, it will surely be able to drive more inter-generational exchanges and value resonances within Chinese cinema, enabling countless young voices to become the youthful footnotes of screen artistry.