BJIFF Panorama

by+Yin+Xing

Inaugurated in 2011， the Beijing In-

ternational Film Festival （BJIFF） has adhered to the principle of “Share the Screen， Shape the Future” and considers “Beauty in Variety， Harmony in Diversity” the core value of its Tiantan Award. Characterized by 3Ms： Master， Mass， Market， BJIFF is steadily working towards a goal of “developing into the best film festival in Asia and ranking among top film festivals in the world.” It is exerting increasingly great influence on the promotion of rapid and healthy development of Chinas film industry， which in turn injects prosperity to film culture around the world.

The 5th BJIFF will be held from April 16 through April 23， 2015. The 5th BJIFF features seven major events： Tiantan Award appraisals in the Competition Section， Opening Ceremony， Beijing Film Panorama， Theme Forum， Film Market， Film Carnival， and Closing & Awards Ceremony. The opening and closing ceremonies of the film festival will be held in Huairou International Convention & Exhibition Center on Yanqi Lake in the suburbs of Beijing on April 16 and April 23， respectively. During the Beijing Film Panorama， more than 360 outstanding films will be screened at over 30 film agencies and colleges in Beijing. Three theme forums including Sino-Foreign Film Co-production Forum， International Film Group Summit Forum， and Summit on the Beauty of Film will be held at Beijing Hotel and China National Film Museum on April 17， 18 and 22， respectively. The Film Market will be held at the China Millennium Monument from April 17 to 20. In addition， the Film Carnival will stun spectators in more than 20 cinemas in downtown Beijing and around the Yanqi Lake area in Huairou District. Along with the seven major events， the film festival will also offer over 100 other organized events including New Focus，“Forward Future” Unit， Documentary Sector， Classical Peking Opera Film Section， Film Concerts， Red Carpet for Premiered International Films， Meeting Producers， New Film Release Conference， and press conferences.

Chaired by Luc Besson， the jury of Tiantan Award consists of world-renowned directors， screenwriters and actors. The tally of world-renowned filmmakers and directors attending events of the 5th BJIFF has reached fifteen， an increase of a third compared to the 4th BJIFF. Major names such as Jean-Jacques Annaud and Darren Aronofsky have made appearances at the film festival. A total of 930 films from 90 countries and regions were submitted to the Tiantan Award competition， among which 122 were Chinese films while 808 came from other countries. Several international films were selected for the festival， where they will hold international premieres. Of the 1，531 films from 103 countries and regions submitted for the Beijing Film Panorama， about 200 international films have never been screened in China and 21 have received awards at international Class-A film festivals or Academy Awards in the past two years.

The 5th BJIFF is cooperating with the Cannes International Film Festival to establish the Cannes International Film Festival “Foundation Award for Chinese New Filmmakers” through which winning projects can directly participate in the Film Market activity of the 68th Cannes International Film Festival. The 5th BJIFF is also cooperating with the Motion Picture Association of America （MPAA） to present the “Hollywood Film Master Class”and establish the MPA Award which grants winners admission to a training program sponsored by MPAA. Apart from publicity through newspapers， radio and television， the 5th BJIFF emphasizes online and new media marketing and fully utilizes social networking platforms including WeChat， APP and popular websites， creating a multi-faceted publicity campaign to further strengthen international communication and the influence of the film festival. BJIFF Co.， Ltd. has been officially registered and established， which marks a big step for BJIFFs improvement of its market-oriented operation.

Tiantan Awards Jury

Luc Besson is a French director， writer and producer. He is particularly known for visually stunning thrillers and action films. Critics cite Besson as a pivotal figure in the Cinéma du look movement， a specific， highly visual style that peaked in popularity in the 1980s and early 90s. Subway （1985）， The Big Blue （1988） and Nikita （1990） are all considered representative of this stylistic school. Besson was nominated for Best Director and Best Picture César Awards for his films Léon： The Professional and The Messenger： The Story of Joan of Arc. He won Best Director and Best French Director for his sci-fi action film The Fifth Element（1997）. His action thriller Taken 2 （2012） became Frances biggest financial success in foreign markets.

Fedor Bondarchuk is a Russian actor， director and producer. Bondarchuks resume lists more than 60 films and television programs， including V dvizhenii， Our Own， The 9th Company and The State Counsellor. He founded Art Pictures Studio production company and Film Bureau group company， chairs the BOD of Leningrad Film Studio and was awarded the Order of Lenin.

Peter Chan is one of the top directors in Hong Kong. The 1996 film Comrades： Almost a Love Story won nine Hong Kong Film Awards. Due to his perceptiveness and film industry sensibility， Chan is usually a step ahead of his competitors， which earned him the reputation of “Most Valuable Filmmaker” in Hong Kong.

Robert Mark Kamen wrote the original 1984 Karate Kid， and its 2010 remake helped Chinese star Jackie Chan inch closer to Hollywood. Two of his recent writing projects， The Transporter and the Taken series have proven popular with film aficionados. A frequent collaborator with Luc Besson， he also wrote screenplays for Lethal Weapon 3， Kiss of the Dragon and The Fifth Element.

Ki-duk Kimis is a South Korean director and screenwriter. He won the Golden Lion for Pietà at the 69th Venice Film Festival in 2012 and Best Film for One On One at the 71st Venice International Film Festival in 2014. In 2013， his Moebius was also nominated for awards at the Venice International Film Festival.

Fernando Ferreira Meirelles is a Brazilian producer， director and screenwriter. In 2002， his City of God garnered a total of 52 awards at major film events and festivals. The film was nominated for four Academy Awards： Best Director， Adapted Screenplay， Cinematography and Editing.

Zhou Xun is a Chinese actress who has starred in many major films. She has won a dozen acting awards at various film festivals including Festival du Film de Paris， Asian Film Awards， the Golden Horse Awards， Hong Kong Film Awards and Golden Rooster Awards. Zhou was ranked by CNN as one of Asias 25 greatest actors of all time， the youngest Chinese actress to be so honored.