Under the Light Directed by Zhang Yimou, Former Jury President of the BJIFF Tiantan Award, Releases its Official Final Trailer
The 13th BJIFF appointed Zhang Yimou as the Jury President of the Tiantan Award, organized the retrospective of Zhang Yimou’s films under the Beijing Film Panorama, and honored him with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Closing & Awards Ceremony. Zhang Yimou is the one and only director in the world that directed both the Olympic Games Beijing 2008 and Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022, one of the most brilliant directors in the film industry of China, multiple nominees in the competition section of three major European film festivals, recipient of the Golden Bear (at the Berlin International Film Festival) and Golden Lion (at the Venice International Film Festival), pioneer for the era of Chinese blockbusters and the leader among the fifth generation of directors.
Zhang Yimou serves as the Jury President of the 13th BJIFF Tiantan Award
As an exemplary role in Chinese films, Zhang Yimou started his filmmaking career as a cinematographer in 1984. Over the past four decades, he’s been constantly filled with filmmaking passion as an excellent inheritor of the spirit of his predecessors and a lifetime model for his successors to learn from.
The Closing & Awards Ceremony of the 13th BJIFF
As director Zhang Yimou said at the Closing Ceremony, “Film is something made for the heart.” His resilience, enduring creativity and consistent passion for filmmaking make him a landmark figure in the history of Chinese and global cinema on the whole. At the Closing & Awards Ceremony, Zhang Yimou received a standing ovation from the filmmakers and guests present, and he humbly referred to the award as a “Lifetime Learning Award” or “Lifetime Perseverance Award”.
The Closing & Awards Ceremony of the 13th BJIFF
His new film Under the Light, which was shot and produced over the course of four years, is announced to be released in cinema during the Mid-Autumn Festival & National Day holiday. The official final trailer released today contains more storylines. Starting with a conversation between Su Jianming (played by Lei Jiayin) and Zheng Gang (played by Zhang Guoli), the trailer cues the strange bombing case on May 23, and shows how Su Jianming catches a glimpse of the dark side of the prosperous city and shifts from black-and-white perception to more complex thinking. At the same time, the battle between Deputy Mayor of Jinjiang, Zheng Gang (played by Zhang Guoli), and Li Zhitian (played by Yu Hewei), the richest man of the city, continues. Truths and lies, threats and probing, traps and freeing are intertwined in the grand feature film. Together with the official final trailer, posters of character were released. Lei Jiayin, Zhang Guoli, Yu Hewei, Zhou Dongyu and Chen Chong put on different expressions, and other characters’ faces are blurred with shadows in the front. Their relationships look like puzzles, and entice the audience to explore secrets behind the characters. Directed by Zhang Yimou, the film stars Lei Jiayin, Zhang Guoli, Yu Hewei, Sun Yizhou, Li Naiwen, Xu Yajun, Tian Yu, He Zhengjun, Xu Zili, Lin Boyang, Chen Tong, Chen Daoming, Chen Chong, Wang Xun, and Zhou Dongyu, jury member of the 13th BJIFF. It’s opening in nationwide theaters on September 28.
Entrapped in a maze, Lei Jiayin tries to find a way out
Zhang Guoli and Yu Hewei fight openly and maneuver covertly with each other
The official trailer of the Under the Light begins with a conversation between Su Jianming (played by Lei Jiayin) and Zheng Gang (played by Zhang Guoli). A shocking bus bombing case in the city turns out to be just a tip of the iceberg. In the dark side of the city, there is a body hidden in the wall, a fall from the rooftop, and fatal speeding happening subsequently. Various conspiracies take toll of lives. Those vague clues and signs lead to superiors of the city, who control life and death at will. Su Jianming seems to discover the truth as clues build up. But is it really the truth? When Su Jianming asks, “Don’t you think it’s more like a staged show?”, the crisis hidden behind numerous coincidences comes to light. Faced with the abyss, just as Zheng Gang (played by Zhang Guoli) tells Su Jianming (played by Lei Jiayin) that he get ready, “give up the black-and-white world, and enter a more complex model”.
Character poster of the Under the Light
Meanwhile, the official final trailer reveals more plots and character connections. When Li Zhitian (played by Yu Hewei), the richest man of Jinjiang city, confesses in the shadow, “I got nothing to do with the bombing case”, the camera turns to the one he’s talking to, i.e. Deputy Mayor Zheng Gang (played by Zhang Guoli). Zheng Gang makes a simple but meaningful reply, “All men have weaknesses”. And the battle sets off again. Seemingly calm and prosperous, Jinjiang is filled with undercurrents. The lines sound terrifying. When the Deputy Mayor holds a gun to the richest man of the city, “Many people want to kill you. Me too”. What is the secret behind the statement? Go to cinema and you’ll be able to solve all the questions.
There is no way out when caught in the mixture of truth and falsehood
Hidden ties come to light while every party maneuvers covertly and tries to hold the balance
Character poster of the Under the Light
The official final trailer also shows the relationship between He Xiuli (played by Chen Chong) and Li Zhitian (played by Yu Hewei) for the first time. The wild richest man of Jinjiang seems to be submissive to seemingly gentle He Xiuli, Zheng Gang’s wife. “I don’t want the old man to get involved” renders He Xiuli’s identity mysterious. And whom does the depressing and crazy order of “Make him disappear. Can you do it?” target? As bystanders get involved, truth is mingled with falsehood, and each character has a secret identity, how can Su Jianming tell truth from falsehood on his own in the maze? “Quit or go on” entails a callous but clear-cut choice. Everyone gets more excited to find out how he “defeats Li Zhitian” in the end.
Character poster of the Under the Light
Apart from the official final trailer, character posters were released. Lei Jiayin, Zhang Guoli, Yu Hewei, Zhou Dongyu and Chen Chong all seem connected with each other, and look worried. Despite the warm yellow background tone, each character looks depressed and turns their eyes away. A blurred figure in front of each character casts heavy shadow, and creates depressing and smothering vibe. The silhouettes imply the hidden connections between the characters: father and son, husband and wife, partners, and “most dangerous friends” who know each other’s fatal weaknesses and could kill one another at any time. The struggling look also entices the audience to find out the secrets behind those characters.
Character poster of the Under the Light
The world changes but rock never shifts. Directed by Zhang Yimou, the Under the Light starring Lei Jiayin, Zhang Guoli, Yu Hewei, Zhou Dongyu, Sun Yizhou, Li Naiwen, Xu Yajun, Tian Yu, He Zhengjun, Xu Zili, Lin Boyang, Chen Tong, Chen Daoming, Chen Chong and Wang Xun, is opening in nationwide theaters on September 28, 2023. Enjoy the film in cinema while celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival & National Day holiday!