Industry Platform Beijing Landmark Chinese Spirit Field

6th Beijing International Film Festival gains energy to set sail

　　In April in Beijing, the weather is so cool, willows are dancing and flowers are blooming. In April in Beijing, excellent films of the world show their beauty, and ideas are exchanged and accumulated. Talents gather here. The industry is rising rapidly. In April in Beijing, the 6th Beijing International Film Festival gains energy to set sail soon. In this spring, come to Beijing to watch the best films of the world; in this spring, come to Beijing to make the best films in the world.

6th Beijing International Film Festival gains energy to set sail

　　The 6th Beijing International Film Festival is scheduled to open on April 16, and close on April 23. Under the firm leadership of State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television of the People's Republic of China, Beijing Municipal Party Committee, and Beijing Municipal Government, the 6th Beijing International Film Festival presents excellent works with diversity and open-mindedness, improve quality and efficiency to promote development, and warmly invite domestic and international film professionals to Share the Screen, Shape the Future, jointly build the world's film industry clustering platform, build Beijing landmark of film culture, and witness the spirit field of Chinese film culture.

　　About 3,000 guests from home and abroad will attend the opening ceremony and the closing ceremony. 16 presidents of international film festivals and representatives of the industry including Serge Losique, president of Montreal International Film Festival, Lukria Cardoso, president of National Institute of Cinema & Audiovisual Arts (INCAA), representatives of RAI, and representatives of UniFrance Films, Teams of Three, MBA Partners, and Mr. Right 2, and about 600 well-known filmmakers at home and abroad will walk on the Red Carpet for the opening and closing ceremonies. Well-known foreign film organizations including US Dolby and Finnish Animation Association, and domestic top producers such as China Film Group Corporation and Enlight Media will take part in relevant activities.

　　In accordance with the guiding principle and requirements of the CPC Central Committee, Tiantan Award Assessment will be hosted by Beijing TV Station (BTV) instead of BJIFF Organizing Committee. The president of this year's Tiantan Award Assessment Committee is American director Brett Ratner, producer of hot films such as The Revenant and Rush Hour. Other judges are from Japan, Romania, Germany, Bosnia and Herzegovina and China. There are 15 shortlisted films standing out among 433 films from 42 countries and regions, competing for 10 prizes of Tiantan Award.

　　Theme Forum will center on "Experience Sharing of International Co-production", "How Co-production Films Surpass the Local Culture", "Creation and Observation on Comedy Films in China", "Evolution of Comedy Films under the Background of Internet" and film derivative market. Italian director Giuseppe Tornatore, American director and actress Natalie Portman, Chinese American director Raman Hui, and Indian director Rajkumar Hirani will attend the theme forum and take part in discussions.

　　Film Market will take the development of the whole film industry chain into consideration, and make efforts to construct platforms of film elements, project pitches and copyright transaction. About 200 enterprises and organizations from China, US, UK, Germany, South Korea, Finland, Israel and other countries and regions will participate in the exhibition to negotiate and trade. The exhibitors cover a variety of fields including creation, production, distribution, brokerage, marketing, publicity and technology. Participation and promotion of a large number of high-tech enterprises represented by VR technology has become the hot issue in the industry. Apart from presentation, negotiation and transaction, there will be 26 Industry Conversations and Events & Activities, including "Coming Peak-Decoding New Hot Sports on Industrial Upgrading of Chinese Film", "Win-win: International Film Industry Integrating New Layout", "Calm Thinking behind China’s Box Office Receipts of 44 Billion", "New Journey of Chinese Films", and "NCF New Filmmaker Brands Release and VR Frontier Experience from the US". Development of trend and direction of Chinese film industry and the world's film industry will be discussed and analyzed from various dimensions. There are 674 projects collected in Project Pitches of Film Market, and the number has reached a new high in history.

　　Film Panorama was warmed up on April 8. About 500 Chinese and foreign classic films carefully selected among 2,329 films from around 100 countries and regions will be shown in 25 theatres and 5 universities of Beijing with a total number of 1,000 time slots which will last 16 days. Films include Oscar shortlisted and awarded films, films for Grand Jury Prize of the Venice Film Festival, films for Jury Prize and Jury Grand Prix, films for Golden Bear of Berlin International Film Festival, and films for Grand Jury Prize of the Venice Film Festival, and hot commercial and artistic films of the world in recent two years. In Out-of-Competition Section, "Minority Film Screening", "Classic Peking Opera Film Screening", and "Opera Film Screening of National Center for the Performing Arts" full of the essence of Chinese culture. There will be a series of activities to pay tribute to masters, including "110th Anniversary of American Film Master Billy Wilder's Birth", "30th Anniversary of Soviet Director Andrei Tarkovsky's Death", "Special Activity in Memory of Japanese Director Morita Yoshimitsu", "100th Anniversary of Director Sang Hu", "20th Anniversary of Milkway Image (Hong Kong)", and "30th Anniversary of Huang Jianxin's Career in Film". In Chinese Films’ Glory Road Section, 15 Chinese films will be shown on the screen, and famous actress Gong Beibi will be Chinese Film Promotion Star. Related activities include film critics' guide before the screening and meeting with the staff of the film after the screening, to put excellent Chinese films on the same stage with global outstanding films. Apart from the screening in Beijing Panorama, film-related academic activities including seminars and salons are organized.

　　Film Carnival is scheduled to be held in Yanqi Lake in Huairou District, with one main activity venue in Yanqi Lake and one branch venue in Yangsong Studio City. The activity is animation themed, representing "Fun·Childhood Fun·Return", and making efforts to enlarge Huairou's influence as national film and TV demonstration base, build tourism brand with film characteristics, and lay a good audience and brand penetration foundation for building Beijing into Oriental Film and TV Capital.

　　Additionally, a total of 200 activities will be held during this year's film festival, including "Forward Future", "Documentary Section", "Online Film Section", "Film Concert", New Film Release Conference, Media Meeting, Film Salon, and Industry Conversations.

BJIFF takes up the mission and embarks on a long road

　　Since its birth, BJIFF has taken up the mission of establishing its discourse power in Chinese film industry, leading global film development, facilitating Beijing cultural and creative industry, and amplifying cultural soft power of the capital city.

　　In January 2010, General Office of the State Council of the People's Republic of China issued Guidance on the Promotion of Film Industry. State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television and People’s Government of Beijing Municipality acutely realized historical mission entrusted to Beijing, promptly gathered the capital's advantageous resources, and kindly invited companion of world films. With courage to face challenges, they planned, built, and launched a mega exchange platform for international film and culture industry. In April 2011, the 1st Beijing International Film Festival opened. 21 presidents of international film festivals from Europe, North America, South America, and Asia gathered in Beijing and witnessed the memorable moment.

　　Over the past five years, as a factor-clustering platform for film industry development, BJIFF has spread culture with careful thought and concrete actions, stood on solid ground to attract talents, exerted all strength and wisdom to serve the industry, actively and acutely connected with the market, and developed energetically and healthily. It has attracted tens of thousands domestic and international film tycoons and elites to visit Beijing, and participate the opening and closing ceremonies, award assessment and award giving, market transaction, forums, and salons. A lot of excellent films of the world have been registered for Tiantan Award Assessment, 1,370 films have been shown in Beijing Screening. About 2,600 film organizations and 20,000 guests have been to Film Market to present, negotiate and trade. The total amount of contract signing has reached 41.264 billion yuan. More than 4 million persons have taken part in Film Carnival.

　　Over the past five years, BJIFF has been integrated with the need of rapid development of Chinese film industry. Income of China's ticket office has risen greatly from 13 billion in 2011 to 44.069 billion in 2015, with an increase of nearly 240% compared with 2011, while the increase in North American market was less than 9% during the same period. In global film market, in 2015, market share of China's ticket office ranked second, next only to North America. The total number of cinemas and screens of the country also ranked second, second only to North America. In the first quarter of 2016, income of China's ticket office reached 14.496 billion, with an increase of 50.94% compared with the same period in 2015. Explosive growth of China's film industry requires support from high quality and efficient factor and resource connecting platforms, requires research and judgment of the market, and its own industry development strategy and goals, requires wisdom activation and accumulated ideas to develop its own industry development philosophy, and requires establishment of its discourse power in global film industry to lead a new round of development and create a new development layout of world film culture, film arts and film industry. Faced with all those requirements, BJIFF takes up the mission, and it is duty-bound.

　　BJIFF fits well with the functional orientation of the capital city. As China's political, cultural, international communication, and technology and innovation center, Beijing further implements the strategy of Environment-friendly Beijing, Culture-enriched Beijing and Technology-empowered Beijing, and makes efforts to develop cultural industry.In 2014, the added value of Beijing cultural and creative industry reached 282.63 billion yuan, taking up 13.2% of the region's economy, and became the second largest pillar industry, second to financial industry. In January to September 2015, as the economic downturn pressure increased continuously, the added value of Beijing cultural and creative industry still reached a growth rate of 13%, in which film industry played an extremely important role. As China's capital of films, Beijing gathers above 80% of the country's film production organizations, making the output nearly the half of the total amount of the country, and ticket office nearly 10% of the total number of the country, which is at the first place among the cities in China.In 2015, Beijing's ticket office income reached 3.15 billion yuan, ranking first among the cities in China. The annual number of time for film watching is 3.3 per person, which is the highest in the country. The screen possession number per person ranked the first in the country. In 2015, there were 291 films produced in Beijing, taking up 42% of the total output of China. Among the top 20 domestic films, Beijing produced 13, accounting for 65%. Among the five domestic films whose ticket office income surpassed 1 billion, Beijing produced 4, accounting for 80%. In the first quarter, ticket office income in Beijing film market reached 874 million yuan. Undoubtedly, films are closely related to Beijing. Development of Beijing film industry plays an extremely important role in Beijing cultural and creative industry. Also undoubtedly, BJIFF is an indispensable industry platform and city card for the healthy development of Beijing film industry, Beijing cultural and creative industry and the capital's green economy. BJIFF takes up the mission, and it is duty-bound.

　　Canton Fair, established in 1957, has developed energetically and enjoyed a widespread reputation after the implementation of the policy of reform and opening up to the outside world. In 2007, it was renamed China Import and Export Fair, which is platform aiming at bringing "Made in China" to the world. With spreading of "Made in China" all over the world, China has undergone a cocoon-into-butterfly development and it gradually became the second largest economy in the world. After Canton Fair brought "Chinese products" and "Made in China" to the world, the mission of BJIFF is to take films as media and carriers, and bring Chinese ideas and Chinese culture to the world. BJIFF takes up the mission and emarks on a long road. It will definitely overcome difficulties and step forward.