Masters are Coming! Chairmen of Well-known International Festivals Gather in Beijing

    The 5th Beijing International Film Festival is to be held in Beijing from April 16th to 23rd, 2015. Up to now, 10 international film festival chairmen have confirmed to attend the festival. 

   Many well-known international film festival chairmen had once walked the red carpet of the former Beijing International Film Festivals and participated in the relevant activities of the film festival. According to the latest news from the Organizing Committee of BJIFF, up to now, 10 international film festival chairmen have confirmed to attend the 5th Beijing International Film Festival. They are respectively: Stafan Laudyn, Chairman of Warsaw International Film Festival; Sagi Losec, Chairman of Montreal International Film Festival, Marco Soleri, Chairman of Locarno International Film Festival, Yasushi Shiina, Chairman of Tokyo International Film Festival, Li Yongguan, Chairmen of Pusan International Film Festival, King Dong-ho, former chairman, Zheng Dongcai, Chairman of South Korean Gwangju Film Festival, as well as chairmen of Dubai, Sarajevo, Hawaii International Film Festivals, etc. Additionally, some representatives from such international festivals as Venice, Tallinn, and Toronto will also be present. 

 
     As an old friend of Beijing International Film Festival, Stafan Laudyn has attended the festival several times. This tall and thin Polish man who is always wearing a modest smile has been shouldering as Chairman of Warsaw International Film Festival for 24 years since 1991. He is also assuming some other important roles as a screenplay association expert and a member of European Cinema Society. He has been striving to promote the Chinese films in East Europe. 

     Sagi Losec is also a frequenter to Beijing International Film Festival. He participated in the Chairman Forum of the 1st Beijing International Film Season, and since then, he has been showing up in every Beijing International Film Festival. This old man is very interested in Chinese culture, and has kept a close relationship with China and the Chinese films. Chen Kaige, Zhang Yimou, Feng Xiaogang, Jackie Chan, and Gong Li are all his old friends. Over the past 38 years in his tenure as Chairman of Montreal International Film Festival, he has been actively promoting the Chinese films in Montreal International Film Festival. Up to now, more than 250 Chinese films have been screened in Montreal International Film Festival, outdoing any other international film festival. No wonder he joked at the Chairman Forum of the 1st BJIFF, “Now, Beijing has got its own film season, I can finally take a break.”

     Marco Soleri walked the Red Carpet for the Opening Ceremony of the 1st BJIFF in his black tunic. This year, Marco Soleri will participate in Beijing International Film Festival for the 4th time. Locarno International Film Festival has much to do with the Chinese films. It is an international film festival that tapped the new Chinese films the earliest, and has forged close relationships with the 5th generation of Chinese directors. As early as 1985, Director Chen Kaige’s Yellow Earth became the 1st Chinese film that showed up in Locarno, and won the Silver Leopard Award, which promoted the Western audiences to get to know the new Chinese films after the Cultural Revolution. 

 
      Yasushi Shiina took the place of Tatsumi Yoda in 2013 to become Chairman of Tokyo International Film Festival. He believes that film is a civilian power and hopes that the Chinese people can better understand Japan through watching the Japanese films. And the Japanese audiences can also better learn about China through watching the Chinese films so that they can get to know each other more comprehensively. 

During the 5th Beijing International Film Festival, these chairmen of international film festivals are going to participate in multiple activities. They will carry out in-depth exchanges and discussions with the Chinese senior filmmakers and the counterparts from all over the world, in a bid to promote the Chinese films internationally and contribute to the global film exchange. 

The presence of several influential international guests at the 5th Beijing International Film Festival has manifested the strength and courage of BJIFF, as well as displayed the vitality of BJIFF. 

It is known that the guest list of the 5th Beijing International Film Festival is still being updated. By the Opening Ceremony of the Festival, more international tycoons will be present in Beijing, bringing about more surprises for the fans. For more information, please pay attention to the official website of BJIFF: http://www.bjiff.com/.