Beyond Box Office

By+Yuan+Yuan

La Patota had been on Feng Luyaos wish list for a long time. The Argentinian film tells the story of Paulina， a rape survivor， as she tries to put her life back together.

“This movie triggers thoughts on what is real justice，” the Beijing-based lawyer said after watching it at the Sixth Beijing International Film Festival. “Without this film festival， this movie might not have been known to many Chinese even though it was screened at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival and won international awards earlier. Such movies expand our horizon from box-office winners in China， Hollywood and European countries to movies from other countries， helping us explore their life and culture.”

Despite his busy schedule， Feng booked tickets for three movies at the festival， held from April 16 to 25.

For movie buffs like Feng， the annual film festival is a feast for the soul. “We can watch many movies that are not likely to be shown in cinemas，” Feng told Beijing Review. “Thats what a movie festival can bring you.”

This year， the films were selected from 2，329 entries from 105 countries and regions， a 53 percent rise on last year. More than 500 films， most of which had not been screened on the Chinese mainland， delighted viewers in cinemas， research institutions and college auditoriums， which were the venues of the film festival.

La Patota turned out to be the biggest winner of the festival—it won the best feature film， best screenplay and best female actor awards.

The movie market

“The Chinese film industry is so impressive，” exclaimed Hollywood star Natalie Portman at the film festival. “I think it is much bigger than the American film industry as a business. Also， there have been so many incredible artists to come out of the industry who have really influenced cinema everywhere.”

The Israeli-American actress， director and producer， who gained many Chinese fans with her Oscar-winning role in Black Swan in 2011， was among the 600 movie stars and film industry professionals invited to the festival. “Chinese films are strong and powerful. It would be wonderful to work with Chinese actors or filmmakers，” she said.

The Film Market and Trade， an industry expo that ran from April 19 to 21， attracted more than 200 studios and special effects companies from the United States， UK， France， South Korea and Australia.

A record number of contracts were signed： 65 companies inked deals involving over 16 billion yuan （$2.5 billion） for 49 projects. The projects covered a wide range， from crowdfund-ing and TV products to industry infrastructure and production cooperation， highlighting the development of an extended film industry chain.

Giuseppe Tornatore， best known for directing the 1998 Italian drama film The Legend of 1900 and recently in the limelight for signing a deal to direct a feature for Chinas Alibaba Pictures， said cinema can cross cultural and national barriers.

“China is the only country that is still seeing a big growth in the film industry while major markets elsewhere are going in the opposite direction，” Tornatore added.

Though most Hollywood studios fear risks and have been short on creativity in recent years， “moviegoers in China will continue to increase on a massive scale， with the growth mainly coming from fourth- and fifth-tier cities，” Yu Dong， President of the Bona Film Group， Chinas largest private film distributor， said.

Hollywood producer James Schamus， who had produced Ang Lees Oscar-winning Crouching Tiger， Hidden Dragon， defined his idea of cooperation in the film industry.

“It doesnt simply mean you hire an attractive Chinese actress to star as Mel Gibsons girlfriend and shoot the film in Shanghai，”Schamus said. “Thats the old way. The new way is to use every aspect of the filmmaking business， including the creative part， to create a new Hollywood [in China].”

This could be happening sooner than contemplated. Chinese company Beijing Magilm Pictures Media announced Oscar-winning Japanese director Yojiro Takita is making his first Chinese-language film with them. The movie， Wen Yan， revolving around the relationship be- tween a son and his father in their family bakery， will start shooting this year.

Yet another example of cross-border cooperation was the agreement signed between American visual effects producer John Hughes and the administrative committee of the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area on April 19 for a visual effects center in the southeastern suburbs of Beijing.

“Todays filmmaking is an integration of art and technology， and a strong technological background is a must-have，” Hughes said， hoping the center would bring U.S. technologies into China， facilitate cooperation between China and Hollywood and promote Chinese movies in the international market.

Liang Sheng， Director of the Administrative Committee of the Beijing EconomicTechnological Development Area， welcomed the venture， saying the project would help improve the overall capability of Yizhuangs technology-oriented cultural industry.

Huang Jianxin， a veteran Chinese director who hosted a forum on international coproductions， said Chinese studios had signed 57 agreements with U.S. companies this year.

Young and various

“New ideas， new technologies， new methods”was the subject of discussions at this years festival. Innovation and new trends were also stressed.

The film festival has strengthened its role as an incubator for young talents in the film industry. This year， it received 674 venture capital project applications， a 48 percent increase over last year.

Han Yu， Deputy Director of Beijing Municipal Bureau of Press， Publication， Radio， Film and Television， said there was stronger support for investment projects this year. “The industry discussions and events this year covered more diverse subjects， including new technologies such as virtual reality，” Han said.

Swiss documentary maker Jurg Neuenschwander said he had seen the same thing in the past as well.

Neuenschwanders documentary The

Chinese Recipe： Bold and Smart is about three generations of Chinese entrepreneurs， their success stories and current endeavors.

“When I came to China in 2008， it was surprising how many people I found that were trying to do new things， to develop things， to build up startup companies，” Neuenschwander told Xinhua News Agency. “The environment in which innovation and development was taking place in China was creating products which were starting to compete in qualitative terms on the global market.”