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Pursue the beauty on screen and share the charm of film. 15 films from 17 countries and regions have been officially selected for the Tiantan Award at the 13th Beijing International Film Festival (BJIFF), including those feature film debuts directed by rising stars and those new films by internationally renowned directors. These excellent films share the stage at the BJIFF in Beijing to celebrate the grand occasion in spring.

Here is a detailed introduction to the official selection for the 13th BJIFF:

　　

　　Still of Adiós Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires, November 2001. Argentina is embroiled in crisis, with the Peso plunging deeper and deeper. Julio Färber, the charismatic bandoneon player of the “Vecinos de Pompeya”, a five-piece working-class tango band, is trying to keep his head above water, but every month he is earning less and less from their gigs as well as from the traditional shoe shop he inherited from his father. At the very moment he takes the decision to leave his beloved Buenos Aires forever, it clearly appears that life is conspiring against him: overnight, the government freezes all bank accounts in the whole country, preventing Julio from purchasing the flight tickets and sparking violent protests throughout the town. And Mariela, a witty young woman and feisty cab driver, bumps into his car at full speed, damaging Julio’s last possession of value before stealing his heart.

　　

German Kral was born in 1968 in Buenos Aires and moved to Germany in 1991 to study film. He graduated from HFF Munich and has been writing and directing films ever since. Between 1993 and 1996 he worked with Wim Wenders on the feature film A Trick of the Light. His diploma film Images of the Absence, was awarded the First Prize at the Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival in Japan, received the Young Bavarian Documentary Film Award, and was nominated for the German Grimme Prize. His film The Last Applause (2009) received the FFF Talent Award and the “Starter Film Prize” of the City of Munich. Kral’s latest work, Our Last Tango (2015), won several awards, including the Bavarian Film Awards for Best Cinematography, and the Audience Award for Best Documentary at the Washington DC International Film Festival (Filmfest DC) and at the Bolzano Film Festival in Italy.

 

 

　　Ciao

　　 Song Xinqi

　　

　　Still of Ciao

Chen Zhiyong, a young man from a small town, becomes a driver by accident and drives Zhang Qianying, a retired old lady, on a journey to visit her friends. Along the way, the way the two treat each other shifts from misunderstanding to understanding, and they unknowingly change due to each other’s presence, becoming the saviors of each other’s lives.

　　

Director Song Xinqi, a graduate of the Directing Department of Beijing Film Academy, won the Best Short Film at a number of film festivals or exhibitions for his short film Can’t Piss (2014), including the 13th International Student Film and Video Festival (ISFVF), the Golden Rooster & Hundred Flowers Film Festival, and the International Micro-film Festival for University Students. Ciao is Song’s feature film debut, which won the Excellent Project Award at the Project Pitches section of the 11th BJIFF and is also the first film launched under the Young Director Training Program initiated by Tencent Pictures. 

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　　Driving Madeleine

　  Christian Carion

　　Still of Driving Madeleine

Madeleine leaves small suburb to join a nursing home on the other side of Paris. A taxi driver comes to pick her and in no hurry to reach, she asks him to go through places of the capital, which have counted in her life.

Christian Carion was born in a family of farmers in the North of France. Despite nursing a passion for films since he was 13, he joins an engineering school affiliated to the French Ministry of Agriculture, thus answering his family’s wishes. In 2001, Christian Carion directed his first feature film, The Girl From Paris. The movie is a hit, seducing over 2.4 millions of French moviegoers. The success allows Carion to move on to a more ambitious project, Merry Christmas (2005). The movie was nominated numerous times in the French César Awards and was nominated for the Academy Awards and the Golden Globes for Best Foreign Film.

 

　　Lost in the Stars

　　

　　Still of Lost in the Stars

He Fei’s wife, Li Muzi, disappears mysteriously during their wedding anniversary trip to the Southeast Asian resort island of Balandia. While He Fei searches in vain for his wife, she reappears, but he insists that the strange woman in front of him is not his wife. The woman produces an identity card to prove herself. Both of them seem to have a skeleton in the closet. As Chen Mai, a top lawyer, and Zheng Cheng, a local police officer, get involved in this bizarre case, more mysteries slowly surface... 

　　

Cui Rui, who holds a Master’s Degree in Film and TV Production, the University of Southern California (USC), is a rising young director from China. He has directed several award-winning short films and is the only Chinese who has been selected as one of USC’s top ten directors for three consecutive years.

　　

Liu Xiang is China’s new young director. His first directorial work, Knock Knock, had a surprise smash hit to be an annual well-reputed suspense masterpiece, highlighting the strength of the most noteworthy and expected new directors today.

 

　　Men of Deeds

　　Paul Negoescu

　　

　　Still of Men of Needs

Ilie, a small-town police chief, wants to build a modestly comfortable life for himself, but ends up making the wrong choices. Middle-aged and alienated, he feels the need to be a part of something—to build an orchard, even a home. Although dubious things happen in the village, Ilie only sees what suits him. The moment he gets involved in the village marks the beginning of his collapse. In a vacuum of solutions, he tries to be what he has never been before: the justice seeker who arrests everyone guilty.

Born in 1984, Paul Negoescu graduated in film directing from the National University of Theatre and Film Bucharest “IL Caragiale” (UNATC). His directorial shorts were shown at several international film festivals (including the Berlin Critics’ Week). His debut film, A Month in Thailand, premiered at the Venice International Film Festival in 2012, while his second title, a feature film titled Two Lottery Tickets, became one of the highest-grossing Romanian films and was also shortlisted for the Tiantan Award at the 7th BJIFF. His third work, a feature film named The Story of A Summer Lover, has been distributed in more than 30 regions through NetFlix.

 

　　Scrapper

　　Charlotte Regan

　　

　　Still of Scrapper

Georgie, a dreamy 12-year-old girl, lives happily alone in her London flat, filling it with magic. Suddenly, her estranged father turns up and forces her to confront reality.

　　

Charlotte Regan, a London-based filmmaker, has directed over 200 low-budget music promos for local rappers. Her first short film, Standby, was nominated for a BAFTA, and her second short Fry-Up was screened at the Sundance and Berlinale. She is a Sundance Ignite Fellow and was named as a 2020 Screen International “Star of Tomorrow”.

 

　　Sisters

　　Linda Olte

　

　　Still of Sisters

As orphanage-residents and teenage sisters Anastasia and Diana get to know that an American family is ready to adopt them, Diana cannot wait to move to the United States, while Anastasia is less excited about the idea of leaving her home. When their estranged biological mother returns to the picture, Anastasia tries everything to build a relationship with her, but the mother seems to have other plans.

　　

Linda Olte (born in 1978) is a Latvian director, writer and editor. The focus of her current relative path in film is tied to social issues, especially concerning families and children. Linda’s work on the documentary My Father the Banker (2015) earned her a National Film Award for Best Editing. After many years of working in Latvian Television on several successful programs, series and shorts, Linda’s debut feature Sisters (2022) premiered in competition at the Warsaw International Film Festival. She is currently developing her next feature film The Child.

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　　The Lulus

　　Yann Samuell

　　

　　Still of The Lulus

In August 1914, while the German army is gaining ground in the North of France, four boys aged 10 to 15, LUcien, LUcas, LUigi and LUdwig are left behind during the evacuation of their orphanage. Soon joined by LUce, a pretty young girl separated from her parents, they decide to reach the neutral country of Switzerland by all means possible… They embark on an adventure for which nothing and no one has prepared them! 

　　

Yann Samuell is a French director and writer. His debut feature, Love Me If You Dare (2003), was an immediate hit internationally and has become one of the most successful French films.

　　The Man without Guilt

　　Ivan Gergolet

　　

　　Still of The Man without Guilt

Angela is a 50-year-old widow. Her husband died due to lung cancer caused by the asbestos dust he breathed in when he was a worker. Angela works as a cleaner in the hospital, where she finds out that Francesco, the former employer of her husband, is hospitalized because of a brain stroke. There she meets Francesco’s son, who’s impressed by Angela’s pleasant manners and, unaware of the link between the two, offers her to work as his father’s caregiver once he is discharged. As Francesco avoids a conviction, Angela accepts the offer to punish him, but she realizes very soon that she is unable to hurt him. Angela does not give up. Swallowed by anger and obsession, she decides to separate father and son to condemn Francesco to loneliness, putting at risk everything she has left.

　　

Born in 1977 and a member of the European Film Academy, Ivan Gergolet began making documentaries and short films while studying for a bachelor’s degree in cinema at the University of Bologna. He is one of the media activists who created OrfeoTV in 2002, the first street television in Italy. His documentary debut, Dancing with Maria, was the first documentary ever selected for the International Film Critics Week programme of the 2014 Venice International Film Festival, where it received the Civitas Vitae Award. It was screened in several countries and was nominated for the European Documentary at the European Film Awards 2015, and it ultimately won five international awards. Gergolet has taught filmmaking at several schools, universities, prisons and other institutions, and he founded a multinational film school in Gorizia together with other filmmakers and professionals. The Man without Guilt is his feature fiction debut. 

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　　The Punishment

　　Matías Bize

　　

　　Still of The Punishment

Ana is driving her car with a serious, peevish expression on her face. She and her husband Mateo left their seven-year-old son in the forest. Mateo asks her to turn the car around to pick up their son. But after only two minutes pass, their son disappears from their sight.

　　

At the age of 23, Matías Bize directed the film Saturday (2003), which obtained the Rainer Werner Fassbinder prize at the Mannheim-Heidelberg International Film Festival. He then directed In Bed (2005), which premiered at the Locarno Film Festival and received more than 40 international awards. His film About Crying (2006) also premiered at the Locarno Film Festival. He later directed the films The Life Fish (2010) and The Memory of Water (2015), both of which premiered at the Venice International Film Festival.

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　　The Shadowless Tower

　　Zhang Lü

　　

　　Still of The Shadowless Tower

Gu Wentong, a middle-aged man living alone, meets young photographer Ouyang Wenhui at work. By chance, Gu Wentong learns the whereabouts of his father who has lost contact with him for more than forty years. Encouraged by Ouyang Wenhui, Gu Wentong chooses to face his father and regains the long-lost father-son relationship.

　　

Born in 1962 in Yanbian, China, Zhang Lü directed his feature debut Tang Poetry in 2004, which was selected for the Locarno Film Festival. He then launched his directing career in both China and Korea, making more than a dozen films. His second feature film Grain in Ear was nominated for the International Critics’ Week of the Festival de Cannes in 2005, where it received the ACID-CCAS Support Award. Later, his film Desert Dream was selected for the Competition section of the Berlin International Film Festival, and his another two films Dooman River and Fukuoka premiered at the Berlinale. In 2023, his new work The Shadowless Tower was again selected for the Competition section of the Berlin International Film Festival. 

 

　　Time Out

　　Eve Duchemin

　　

　　Still of Time Out

For the first time in a long time, three inmates are granted a weekend leave. There are 48 hours for them to settle down, reconnect with their loved ones, and try to make up for lost time.

　　

 

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　　To Catch a Killer

　　Damián Szifron

　　

　　Still of To Catch a Killer

Baltimore. New Year’s Eve. A talented but troubled police officer (Shailene Woodley) is recruited by the FBI’s chief investigator (Ben Mendelsohn) to help profile and track down a mass murderer.

　　

Damián Szifron, born on July 9, 1975 in Ramos Mejía, Buenos Aires, Argentina, is a film and television producer and editor, known for his works Wild Tales (2014), Los Simuladores (2002), and El fondo del mar (2003). Among them, Wild Tales was nominated at the Festival de Cannes and the Academy Awards.

 

　　Totem

　　Lila Avilés

　　

　　Still of Totem

Seven-year-old Sol spends the day at her Grandfather’s home, helping with the preparations for a surprise party for her father. Throughout the day, chaos slowly takes over, fracturing the family’s foundations. Sol will embrace the essence of letting go as a release for existence.

　　

Lila Avilés, born in 1982 in Mexico City, is a film director, screenwriter and producer who received widespread acclaim for her first feature film, The Chambermaid (2018), the first movie chosen to represent Mexico at the Academy Awards and the Goyas in 2020. The film was selected for the New Directors Section of the San Sebastián International Film Festival and has been presented at over 80 festivals around the world, receiving critical acclaim from members of the press. It has also received the Ariel Award for Best First Work from the Mexican Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences, the Jury Award at the Amsterdam International Film Festival, the Latin American Film Awards for Best First Film, and the Grand Coral prize at the Havana Film Festival. Avilés served on the juries of the Morelia International Film Festival (Mexico, 2019), the Nespresso Talents global short film competition (2019), the UNAM International Film Festival (FICUNAM) (Mexico, 2020), the Lima Alterna International Film Festival (Peru, 2020), and the Antofagasta International Film Festival (Chile, 2020).

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　　Until Branches Bend

　　Sophie Jarvis

　　

　　Still of Until Branches Bend

Robin is a female cannery worker who is struggling with an abortion. One day at work, Robin discovers what she believes to be an invasive insect in a peach, and decides to convince her community that the danger it poses is very real. Obsessed with uncovering the truth, she goes out of the way to alienate her friends and family and splits hairs. Until Branches Bend is a psychological drama that expresses the idea that no matter how much one covers up the truth, it will always come out and trouble cannot be hidden. 

　　

Writer-director Sophie Jarvis studied at Simon Fraser University. Until Branches Bend is her feature fiction debut. During her study in the university, she directed her first short film The Worst Day Ever, which had its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2012. After that, Sophie went on to direct short live-action shorts including Medical Drama (Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival 2019) and Come to Your Sense (co-directed with Alicia Eisen for the National Film Board of Canada’s The Curve series).