The 14th BJIFF Beijing Film Market came to a successful conclusion. It adopted the slogan "At the Beijing Film Market, Just Say No to Self-Entertainment!" to demonstrate the determination of the BJIFF to boost the Chinese film market through various themed activities. Hard work never fails, and good news has ushered frequently by means of various activities this year, which further proves that the BJIFF Beijing Film Market can grasp of the current market trends to improve its influence year by year. 

▌New Forces Make Big Waves

From April 19 to April 20, the Final-round Project Pitching of Beijing Film Market concluded successfully. When we look back on the journey of a hundred days for the initial 769 registered projects, after the first-round review of 8 companies and second-round review of 3 filmmakers with different orientations, the final-round jury with director Stanley Kwan as the head and four young filmmakers, Da Peng, Liu Haoran, Derek Tsang and Zhang Mo, as the members, finally selected the projects winning the eight honors.  

 

 

 

 

 

　　Final-round Project Pitching of Beijing Film Market

The core of Project Pitches is to explore potential young filmmakers for the market, to bring fresh blood to the current market, and to expand the boundaries of Chinese film creation and find more possibilities with the thoughts and ideas of the young. Over the years, many excellent works have come out of Project Pitches. To respond to the theme of "homecoming" proposed by the Beijing Film Market this year, they brought back their experience abroad, including the nutrients for the realization of creativity, which was the best incentive for young filmmakers in the process of creation.  

 

 

 

 

　　Larry Yang, Gu Xiaogang, Xu Lei, Bai Zhiqiang, Li Pu

The cascading waves are driven by generations of filmmakers, with the predecessors as the navigators and the successors charging behind. We expect the eight projects honored grow and return to the BJIFF as full works. We also wish that all the participating projects this year will tirelessly find their own opportunities and reunite with the BJIFF. 

In the history of film development, young filmmakers collectively showing up on the stage are often called the "New Wave", and Project Pitches also hopes to become a part of the New Wave with its own strength. A journey of one thousand miles can never be made without the accumulation of every single step. The waves also need to be gradually replaced by different layers, so let's wait for the next New Wave.

 

 

▌Unlimited Opportunities, Explosive Potentials

From April 19 to April 22, the Exhibition, which finally resumed on-site ticket purchase, was successfully held. A total of 165 institutions and companies participated in the exhibition with their business covering the whole film industry. At the forum themed “The Development Status and Outlet of Chinese Small and Medium-sized Cost Art Films" at the 13th BJIFF, Mr. Wang Hongwei proposed that the films with small and medium costs in commercial market should be encouraged to meet the opportunities and challenges of the global economic recovery and the relatively low level of film production. His words "woke up the dreamers". This year’s BJIFF Exhibition focuses on the films with small and medium budgets and production companies to find an opportunity to face the market, to help them develop in a smoother way in terms of financing, publicity, distribution, and other issues. 

Looking at the global film market through the "Beijing Film Market", it is not difficult to find the potential of small and medium budget films, which are the vitality factor of global film market, which not only provides young filmmakers with the opportunity to create works, but also becomes a testing ground for the diversification of film genres. The successful narrative innovation in one type of film can result in a new path of creativity and the revitalization of an "assembly line". 

The films with small and medium budgets are a worldwide topic, and thus the film and television companies from Brazil, South Korea, Malaysia, France, Japan, and other countries were invited to participate in the Exhibition to realize the vigor that an international film festival should have. The vitality also attracted the enthusiastic coverage by media in many countries, which became a boosting pump for the film market. An exhibitor specializing in film production said excitedly that they had found a number of high-quality funders within one day and had agreed on the schedule, so they should be able to sell some of their shares very soon. An exhibitor with an overseas distribution business finalized an overseas distribution partnership with an animation company. Another overseas enterprise said that they have reached a film remake cooperation with a domestic leading enterprise through the Exhibition this year and the contract will be signed very soon. 

 

 

 

　　The Exhibition of Beijing Film Market

The Beijing Film Market has set up the platform. So long as you have a dream of planting, you can cultivate a field of your own, so that the audience can enjoy the flowers blooming on the screen, and Chinese film market can reap fruitful results and collect seeds for the next year. In this virtuous cycle, the acreage slowly expands for the vigorous development of the film market. 

▌Approach Film and Access to Screen

The market is not only a place to trade films, but also a bridge to bring films closer to the audience. The Beijing Film Market focuses on different ways for audiences to find immersive pleasure in films beyond the watching experience. 

Did you spend this weekend at Langyuan Station? More than 20 film and game IPs, 60 cultural and creative arts, and 20 food and beverage brands participated in the Movie Plus Energy Aggregation to create the film and TV crossover bazaar themed with “BJIFF for Everyone”. In the cozy spring, the bazaar attracted many visitors. The aim of the film and TV crossover bazaar aims to look for all kinds of possibilities beyond the screen out of the cinema. Film is a white light shining on the screen, as if being separated by a layer of impenetrable fog. The crossover bazaar is just to remove the fog and create an immersive entertainment experience in a variety of forms, so that everyone can get closer to the film and access to the world of the screen.

 

 

　　Site of Movie Plus Energy Aggregation

The outdoor cinema held in the evening is a perfect way to get closer to films. Everyone gathered outdoors to enjoy the beams of light from the screen. Many film fans came early to stand in line for an hour or two. After the screening, the cast and crew came to the site to interact with the audience, introduce their process of creation and analyze the mysteries of art. 

At the end of the outdoor screening of Post Truth, Da Peng heard the fans complain a bit cold outdoors, he immediately took off his jacket and stayed with them with only a short-sleeved shirt. Seeing the fans coming with lighted signs, Da Peng took the initiative to invite them to the stage for a photo. A child asked whether the cake in the film was mango-flavored, and Da Peng agreed with him that the cake appearing in the next film would definitely be mango-flavored.

At the screening of Center Stage, many audience stood by the rails to watch the two-hour film only hoped to ask questions after the screening. Prof. Dai Jinhua said he thought the image of Ruan Lingyu would only appear in art theaters, but he didn't expect so many people insisted on enjoying the film outdoors. After the screening, there was a long line of fans looking for the autograph of director Stanley Kwan.

Director Gu Xiaogang enjoyed the world premiere of As Spring Comes Along very attentively, and he was touched that so many people still came to enjoy Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains five years later. At that time, it was a slight pity that the film was released directly on streaming media instead of in the cinema. But it is a big fortune to enjoy Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains and As Spring Comes Along on the big screen. Despite his busy schedule during the BJIFF, director Gu Xiaogang shared much of his creative experience on and off the stage in front of an enthusiastic audience.  

The BJIFF activities should be participated by all people instead of being “isolated”. The different sections set up by the BJIFF fully display the intention of enjoying the fun by films and enriching their lives while staying close to the screen. 

 

 

 

　　Site of Outdoor Cinema 

▌Vitality of Pearl River, Quotes of Hong Kong 

From April 19 to April 20, the BJIFF Beijing Film Market hosted two activities focusing on the film industries in Guangdong and Hong Kong under the cultivation of Lingnan culture. 

Lingnan culture is an important part of Chinese culture. In 2023, BJIFF opened a film promotion section for local communities for the first time, which gained a very good social response. The Light of Guangdong Films—China · Guangdong Film Promotion Conference this year will continue to be upgraded to show the all-round development of film industry in Guangdong. The Conference introduced the current development of Guangdong's film industry from creation to cinema, and the current policies to support film production. For example, Huizhou has attracted a lot of films to be shot in recent years with its six advantages of natural endowment, geographic location, working environment, living cost, historical precipitation, and service guarantee. The film I Love You, to the Moon, and Back shortlisted for the competition section of Tiantan Award at this year's BJIFF was shot in Huizhou. Not only the whole city fosters the film industry, but every region also "shows their own advantages". The film authorities of Zengcheng District of Guangzhou City promoted two film platforms in the district -- the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Film and Television Culture Exchange Platform, the Zengcheng Film and Television Data and Copyright Transaction Platform, and three film bases -- the Guangzhou (Zengcheng) Film and Television Industry Incubation Base, the National Popular Film and Television Shooting Base, and Zengcheng Film Science-Industry-Education Integration Base. All film practitioners from all over China are welcome to Zengcheng District to jointly make this place the "Modern Film Capital of South China”. At the conference, ten Guangdong film masterpieces with different themes and genres also debuted to present the innovation and diversity of Guangdong film industry in the new era.

 

On the morning of April 20, the Hong Kong Film Development Council—Release Conference on "Film Financing Scheme for Mainland Market” was held. Hong Kong films are the screen memories of different generations, and film has become the most representative of Hong Kong's cultural and artistic industry. However, the Hong Kong market has certain limitations and it should “go out” for further development. Over the years, Hong Kong films have been actively investing in film productions together with the film and television enterprises in Chinese mainland to increase exchanges and nurture more film talents capable of development in Chinese mainland. The market of Chinese mainland is huge, and the scale of production and technology are also constantly improving, fully demonstrating the pursuit of film art and creation. And the film festivals in Chinese mainland have become an important platform for promoting film and cultural exchanges, in which Hong Kong filmmakers have actively participated in to provide valuable opportunities for Hong Kong films. Six Hong Kong films were screened at the BJIFF this year, four of which were new films by new directors that have not yet been released in Hong Kong, China. By taking film as a bridge of exchange, it is hoped that new generation of Hong Kong filmmakers can increase their understanding of the market in Chinese mainland, enrich their vision and experience, help more Hong Kong films to obtain opportunities and bring more outstanding Hong Kong films to more audience of Chinese mainland. 

The focus on the local film industry aims to excavate the role of local leader, tale the local high-quality industry as an example and template to learn from the excellent experience of the film industry, to ultimately realize the mutual integration of cultures and industries in many places, the diversification of film creations, and further promote the complete development of the industrial chain. 

▌See the Market, Face the Market

In market screening, 21 films were screened for the people in the industry and more than 38.1% were foreign films and 85.7% were screened for the first time in the domestic market. The cast and crew of 18 films showed up on the site and the average attendance rate was more than 70%. 

Some "homecoming" films were also included. Chinatown Cha-Cha, which participated in the WIP projects last year, returned to the market screening this year, which completed the closed loop of the BJIFF Project Pitches. It went out here and came back to look for a broader opportunity here. They brought the canvas bags, the periphery products of the film, and handed out to the audience on the site. It’s said that it was planned to be released next summer. 

The market screening provides a good communication platform to promote the connection between the film creators and the guests in the industry. The filmmakers of Old House deeply felt the strong artistic atmosphere of the BJIFF and the smooth communication after the screening. It was the first time for Vigil Beneath the Lens to participate in the marketing activities of the BJIFF, and it felt the sincerity of the festival in supporting the films with small and medium budgets.  

Beijing Film Market has also received international attention. The Second Secretary of the Philippine Embassy in China came to the screening site of the film Firefly to promote the excellent films produced in the Philippines and the contact of the intended partners for the screening was also added on the spot. He attached great importance to this activity and prepared his speech before and after the screening. He hoped that more Chinese audiences could have the opportunity to enjoy excellent Philippine films through the Beijing Film Market.

 

The cast and crew of the Indian film The Sentence, which was shortlisted for the BJIFF Forward Future this year, also came to the site. They were very serious about the screening and specially checked the venue one day in advance. They also hoped to establish a deeper connection with the attending guests on the site. After the screening, the producer of The Sentence had in-depth discussions with the attending guests on the film content. Some audience took the initiative to act as translator to facilitate a dialogue between the director and other audiences. Perhaps, we will see this film released in China in the near future.

Many producers highly praised the screening venue and equipment, and the working staff did their best to serve them and the audience to achieve the best watching effect. After the screening of When the Bottle Turns, the producer talked about the need for color grading of the footage, and the screen displayed a reference for color grading and editing of the WIP projects. The producer of My Way used to worry that the light ratio of the camera was too small, so they rushed to test the film in advance until the anxiety was eliminated when they saw the screen. The audience was so enthusiastic that working staff had to add seats temporarily on the screening site. However, there were still more than ten audience sitting on the floor although eight seats had been added for the screening. 

 

　　Site of Beijing Film Market 

Beijing Film Market provides a platform for the people of the industry to see and face the market directly, where the producers can communicate directly with the people from other industry chains and find opportunities for their works from this screen.

▌Industry Dialogue, Leading the Market

The special events created by Beijing Film Market attract people from different fields to have profound exchanges and dialogues focusing on film and find common ground for the integration of different fields to further promote the diversified development of the film industry.

On the afternoon of April 18, the Forum on the 20th Beijing International Sports Film Week focused on the perseverance and innovation in the creation of sports and athletic content. After Beijing became the dual-Olympic city, BJIFF has focused on the development and construction of sports films, hoping to promote sports films to become a more complete and mature market.

How sports and films should be integrated is an important issue that needs breakthrough in current creations. Panelists from different fields have put forward their own insights on this issue. Focusing on the market, there are quite a few pioneers, from variety shows, TV dramas to films, who are excavating the subject of sports. In the process of creation, many difficulties and challenges are bound to be encountered. Mr. Yang Xiao, Senior Producer of VSPO, mentioned two key words, "Respect and Two-Way Specialty", to respect the subject, specialty, and the interests of both parties. The Two-Way Specialty means that the creator is not only professional in the field of film and television creation, but also has a professional degree of understanding of the subject of the filming.

 

 

　　Site of Forum on the 20th Beijing International Sports Film Week

At the Theme Forum, the promotion and distribution of sports films were also discussed, including how mobile media will carry out new exploration in the film and television distribution industry as well as the sports film industry. Taking the promotion and distribution as a transition, the second half of the forum focused more on the creation of sports themes. The panelists from different dimensions of vertical content, sports documentaries, professional sports communication and education, and sports-themed film and television development had a wonderful discussion with this regard. The discussion ended on the word "unsettlement”, which not only refers to the “unsettlement” of Chinese sports development, but also the “unsettlement” of the sports film development. It’s due to the “unsettlement” that there must be more opportunities waiting to be explored. 

The conference themed with “Intelligent Future with Film and Tourism Integration” was held on the morning of April 19. It focused on the most popular topics of digital industry as well as cultural and tourism industry nowadays. At the theme conference, three strategic agreements were signed.

BJIFF, Chengdu Cultural Industry Exchange and Beijing Yitian Culture Media Co., Ltd. signed a tripartite agreement to provide full-dimensional services such as copyright registration, copyright value assessment, project pitches for the BJIFF, and to build a Chinese-language sci-fi thematic section and create a new highland for Chinese sci-fi film and television. To implement the plan, the BJIFF, the Western International Film and Television Intellectual Property Trading Center and China Science Fiction Screenwriters Association further signed a cooperation agreement on Chinese-language science fiction screenwriters and awarding system.

The Western International Film and Television Intellectual Property Trading Center and CFLD signed a cooperation agreement on "LIYEYUN" for 500 film and television bases and 10,000 film and television cultural and creative parks in China. The "LIYEYUN" is a digital and intelligent platform for enterprises to select the sites under the CFLD which understands the industry. It gathers information of 2,700 development zones and nearly 100,000 industrial parks in China to provide professional, comprehensive, and real site selection suggestions for more than 50 million enterprises. The bilateral cooperation will open the digital era for the film and television industrial park in China.

After the signing of the agreement, it was the time for the forum themed with "Intelligent Future with Film and Tourism Integration—Frontier of Venture Capital and the Integration of Film, Television and Cultural Tourism Driven by AI. The attending panelists had a warm discussion on the hot topics of AI and cultural tourism. At the end of forum, the launching ceremony of the Great Wall Art and Culture Center Micro and Short Drama Industry Alliance was held, which started a new journey of the Great Wall Micro and Short Drama Industry Alliance and explored the possibilities of film and television creation of the Great Wall, a cultural landmark of China, in the new era.

 

 

　　Theme Conference “Intelligent Future with Film and Tourism Integration”

On the afternoon of April 22, the 2024 BJIFF MPA Film Workshop was held. After a wave of streaming media as well as the emergence of AI and other technologies in the global market, the film industry is facing unprecedented new challenges and new opportunities. In recent years, the high-quality development and international cooperation of Chinese films have become a topic of concern for the industry. The forum is themed as “Film and Television IPs and Sino-foreign Film Co-production and Cooperation”. The first and foremost task of promoting the high-quality development of Chinese films is to ensure the continuous and stable output of excellent content. Therefore, on the one hand, it is necessary for Chinese filmmakers to create original content with higher quality and richer genres and subjects. On the other hand, it is also necessary to respect the laws of creation, learn from the development experience of the film industry in other advanced countries to open more spaces for cooperation. At the forum, the panelists discussed the latest IP creation, film remaking and other topics. Although the road of creation is very long, the panelists encouraged young filmmakers to broaden their creative horizons, stick to their beliefs, and seize the opportunities.

 

 

　　Site of MPA Film Workshop

▌Dream of Films to Set Sail Now

On April 19, the BJIFF Job Fair was held at Langyuan Station. A total of 36 enterprises received more than 1,000 resumes and preliminary intentions were reached with 260 job seekers. The job fair features an "on-site recruitment + webcast + online special" multi-mode to meet the needs of different job seekers. The “We Need You” column of btime.com held the live broadcast for job seeking, and nearly 100,000 people experienced the grand situation of the BJIFF Job Fair through the live streaming.  

The Job Fair includes not only the offline face-to-face opportunities, but also the online special. The job seekers can get the resume delivery methods provided by employers through the client of "We Need You” column of btime.com, and contact the enterprises to deliver their resumes independently. Employers will contact job seekers and arrange follow-up interviews after completing the resume screening. The deadline for resume submission is April 26. Please seize the chance and never make your dreams in vain. 

 

 

　　Site of Job Fair 

The market changes are unpredictable just like sailing in the stormy sea, and it’s hard to forecast the weather condition. No matter when or in whatever situation, when we are facing the turbulent changes, we should have the confidence of "sailing forward despite the strong wind and treacherous waves at sea”. We should be brave enough to move forward when sailing against the current. The Beijing Film Market is more like a sail against the challenges, which can adapt to the fluctuations of the market and find a direction for filmmakers to achieve breakthrough. Facing up to the market means facing up to the challenges and opportunities. At the Beijing Film Market, just say No to self-entertainment, which can implement all the helps into practice and make “sail” contributions for the development of Chinese film and the connection with the world film.