Text|Zhiyong
On Thursday, February 16, local time, the 73rd Berlin Film Festival has officially kicked off.
In recent years, due to the epidemic and other reasons, the popularity of Chinese-language films at the three major international film festivals in Cannes, Venice and Berlin has gradually weakened. But at this year's Berlin Film Festival, the number of Chinese films shortlisted bottomed out. A total of 15 Chinese-language works were shortlisted for each unit, including 8 feature films, 6 short films, and 1 drama, such a huge number, which made Berlin set off a "Chinese style" for a long time.
In the main competition unit, "Light of the White Tower" and "Art Academy" were shortlisted, making a good start for this year's Chinese film competition. Among the judges of this year's main competition, the famous Hong Kong director To Qifeng, which seems to have increased the probability of Chinese films winning the Golden Bear.
During the epidemic, the stealth of Chinese-language films at international film festivals inevitably caused a decline in the overseas prestige of Chinese films. The "Chinese style" blown by the Berlin Film Festival is expected to finally restart the road of Chinese films to the sea.
Bone Duo will review the performance of Chinese films at the three major film festivals in the past three years of the epidemic, and look forward to the many Chinese films that will be unveiled in Berlin, and will also exclusively look ahead, and which new Chinese works may be unveiled in Cannes and Venice.
Berlin preview: Zhang Lu and Liu Jian return to the main competition,
Renke and Zhang Dalei were shortlisted
First, let's take a look at the two Chinese-language films shortlisted for the main competition of this year's Berlin Film Festival.
Director Zhang Lu's "Light of the White Tower" is the director's return to the main competition in Berlin after 16 years after "Boundary" in 2007. However, Zhang Lu's fate with Berlin has not been broken over the years, 2010's "Doumanjiang" and 2019's "Fukuoka" have been screened in secondary units such as the new generation and forum, and this time can be upgraded to return to the main competition, and the quality of the film must be good.
Although Zhang Lu is a Chinese director, he has lived in South Korea for many years, and most of the films in his career have been in Korean-language films with Korean actors. During the epidemic, Zhang Lu returned to China, and "The Light of the White Tower" was his second Chinese-language film after returning to China.
The previous work "The Long Confession" helped Xin Baiqing win the Golden Rooster Award for Best Supporting Actor last year. In the new work, Xin Baiqing was promoted to the leading actor, co-starring with Huang Yao, who made a stunning appearance in Berlin with "Over Spring", and the fifth-generation famous director Tian Zhuangzhuang who has transformed into a "father's professional household" in recent years.
The film takes the White Pagoda Temple in Beijing as the background, composing a father-son story, which seems to be different from Zhang Lu's past film style of exploring the dilemma of character identity through the ambiguity of men and women, and the 144-minute length is also Zhang Lu's longest at present. Perhaps, director Zhang Lu will make many new career breakthroughs in this film. The film will be unveiled in Berlin today local time, and we are looking forward to good results.
The fate of "Art Academy" is relatively ill-fated. Last year, the film was shortlisted for the Director's Fortnight Unit of the Cannes Film Festival, but due to the epidemic, it was not able to make the trip, and this time it was officially unveiled in the main competition in Berlin, and it was announced that it was added to the shortlist a week after the main competition list was announced. This film is a fully hand-drawn animation, which is also a rare animation that can be shortlisted for the main competition of the three major film festivals.
The director of this film, Liu Jian, enjoys considerable international prestige because of his insistence on drawing the entire animation by one person and telling the unique style of telling China's current reality stories with animation. Due to the long time it takes for hand-drawn animation, Liu Jian has only had three feature films in more than a decade, the first of which dates back to "Big World", which was shortlisted for the main competition in Berlin in 2017. The film once became the runner-up in the Berlin Magazine rating with a high score of 3.3 (out of 4), but unfortunately failed to win.
"Art Academy" is different from the director's previous two multi-line crime stories, telling the youth story of a group of young people in the art academy under the wave of reform and opening up in the 90s. In terms of dubbing lineup, the film has been greatly upgraded from the amateur-based lineup of the previous two works, led by stars such as Dong Zijian, Zhou Dongyu, Huang Bo, and a number of celebrities in the literary and art circles such as Renke, the lead singer of the five-person band, director Jia Zhangke, and writer Xu Zhiyuan, reflecting the film's great ambition. The film will be unveiled in Berlin next Thursday local time, and if it can continue the praise of "Big World", it is expected to win in Berlin.
In addition to the dubbing of "Art Academy", "Snow Cloud" co-starring him with Li Kangsheng and Li Meng was also shortlisted for this year's Berlin Adventure Unit, allowing him to be shortlisted for Berlin in two films.
In 2020, Berlin's newly appointed director of the festival opened a new section second only to the main competition, aiming to explore bold works that make new discussions in aesthetics and structure, and "Snow Cloud" became the first Chinese-language work in history to be shortlisted for the Adventure section. This film is the first feature film of young director Wu Lang, which is an expansion of his short film of the same name that was shortlisted for Cannes in 2021, telling the story of a former lover trying to regain his old dreams, but having to face difficulties in life.
In addition to Renke, director Zhang Dalei also has two works shortlisted for Berlin this time. "Moses on the Plain", which has been launched in the "Theater of the Mist", became the first Chinese drama in history to be shortlisted for the Berlin TV drama unit, and the short film "My Friend" starring Zhou Xun and Wang Yibo was shortlisted for the short film unit. In 2021, Zhang Dalei won the Short Film Jury Award for "Half the Afternoon Passed" and received a silver bear trophy, and we will wait and see if he can further win the short film Golden Bear this time.
In addition, the Chinese-language feature films that appeared in this Berlin special screening, panorama, new generation and other units, as well as the new crime work "Murder" produced by Galaxy Images, directed by Zheng Baorui and produced by To Qifeng, Fan Bingbing's controversial new work "Green Night" in cooperation with Korean actresses, the animation "Deep Sea" that has been released in the Spring Festival file, and the new work "Glowing River" by well-known independent animation director Lei Lei. In terms of short films, in addition to "My Friend", five short films such as "Intimate", which has already won at domestic festivals, entered Berlin.
Fifteen new works in Chinese were unveiled, making this year's Berlin "Chinese style" lively. The dismal three years of the epidemic in the three major international film festivals of Chinese films has finally passed, and it is time for Chinese-language films to stand up.
Three-year resumption: only 2 Chinese-language films were shortlisted for the three major festival competitions,
The Chinese element of the film market has disappeared
The last time Berlin blew a "Chinese wind" was in 2019, when 12 Chinese-language works gathered in Berlin.
This year, the main competition unit "The Earth is Long and the Sky is Long", "One Second" and "Dinosaur Egg" were shortlisted, and "A Cloud Made of Rain in the Wind" also appeared in the panoramic unit, allowing the sixth generation of directors such as Wang Xiaoshuai and Lou Ye to gather in Berlin, and "The Earth is Long and the Sky" also won two awards for best actor and actress, and it was in the limelight for a while. Among the young directors, Zeng Guoxiang's "Young You" and Wang Lina's "The First Parting" were shortlisted for the new generation unit, and the latter eventually won the best film in the unit, making Chinese films gain a lot in Berlin.
In addition to Berlin, the 2019 Chinese-language films also maintained a good record in Cannes and Venice. "The Party at Southern Station" was shortlisted for the Cannes main competition, and "Lyceum Theater" and "Jiyuan Tai No. 7" were shortlisted for the Venice main competition, ensuring that the three major international film festivals of that year had Chinese films shortlisted, and on average, as many as two films were shortlisted for each section. "Jiyuan Tai No. 7" eventually won the Best Screenplay Award in Venice, but no one expected that this would become the swan song of Chinese films that won awards in the three major festival competitions in recent years.
In the next three years, although due to the epidemic, the three major festivals took a number of helpless measures such as only announcing the film list and not screening, and moving to online holding, except for the 2020 Cannes did not set up the main competition unit, the other eight major festivals also announced the shortlist of the main competition and judged the awards.
Among the 8 film festivals, only two Chinese-language films such as "Days" were shortlisted for the main competition unit, and the shortlisted "Days" in Berlin in 2020 is strictly a selection completed before the epidemic. Neither film won an award, resulting in an increasingly embarrassing situation for Chinese-language films in the main competition of the three major festivals. In 2021, it set a regrettable record that no Chinese-language film was shortlisted for the three major competitions in the whole year, and the last time Chinese films fell into such a situation was back in 1987.
Although there are still Chinese-language films such as "Wisdom Teeth", "Yong'an Town Story Collection", "Once Upon a Time in the Tropics" and "More than Endless" in the three major sections in the past three years, none of them have caused much noise, and by Cannes in 2022, even no Chinese-language films have been shortlisted for the secondary unit.
Two and a half years after its appearance in Venice, "More Than End" will finally be released next month
In terms of short films, Chinese-language films have performed well, in addition to "Half the Afternoon Has Passed", which won the award in Berlin in 2021, the Palme d'Or for short films at Cannes in 2021/2022 has also been won by Chinese directors. However, in view of the fact that there is still a certain distance between short films and the film industry system, from the perspective of Chinese films going overseas, the good results of these short films are difficult to provide much help for the international influence of Chinese films.
In an interview with Chabrian, director of the 2022 Berlin Film Festival, he confessed that due to the epidemic, he could not go to China to select films, so he only saw more than a dozen Chinese-language works scattered, and he could not choose more Chinese films to come to Berlin. "Art Institute" missed the Cannes Director's Fortnight last year, also thanks to the epidemic.
The isolation of cross-border film exchanges caused by the epidemic has made it difficult for Chinese films to connect with the three major international film festivals in these three years. In fact, missing the opportunity to appear in the three major competitions is not the biggest problem, the real dilemma facing Chinese films is the loss of communication opportunities with the global market.
The three festivals are not only the world's top film events, but also extremely important film trading markets, where copyright dealers and distributors from all over the world gather. Among them, Cannes, as the world's largest film market, can easily exceed 10,000 buyers every year.
Before the epidemic, Chinese films had a strong presence in the Cannes market. Billboards throughout Cannes often feature promotional posters for Chinese-language films, and the market area will also set aside a lot of booths for Chinese film companies. Chinese companies also regularly hold large-scale events in Cannes, and even the opening ceremony of the market unit has been sponsored by China for several years.
However, in last year's Cannes market, these Chinese elements have almost disappeared. As a result of the epidemic, there were basically no Chinese film companies coming to Cannes, so they had to reluctantly set up a joint booth of various companies and provide online contact information for future discussions. But such exchanges are obviously more inefficient and uncertain than offline transactions.
Therefore, the heavy return of this year's Berlin Chinese films not only means that Chinese films return to the international stage, but also means that a number of Chinese film companies will also return to Berlin, restore the connection between Chinese films and the world film market, and restart the road of Chinese films to the sea. With the recovery of the domestic film market, Chinese films have rebounded in the influence of the film itself and the attraction brought by the huge market size, which also makes the "Chinese style" that swept Berlin this year more confident.
Cannes, Venice preview: Lou Ye and Wang Xiaoshuai are expected to return,
Wei Shujun and Gu Xiaogang fought for promotion
This "Chinese style" in Berlin must be just the beginning of this year's Chinese film to shine again internationally. In the next more heavy Cannes and Venice, it is expected that there will be no shortage of Chinese films. The stealth of Chinese films in the main competition of the three major festivals in the first two years is objectively related to the fact that several authors and directors favored by the three major festivals have no new works in the past two years. This year, many directors are ready, and returning to the international world is not an empty phrase.
Lou Ye and Wang Xiaoshuai, two sixth-generation directors who have frequently been shortlisted for the three major festival competitions, have new works this year. Lou Ye's "Three Words" cooperates with a strong star lineup such as Yi Yangqianxi and Li Xian, looking back on a youthful past. The film was announced last year that some scenes were completed, and if the progress is normal, it is likely to be unveiled this year.
Wang Xiaoshuai's "Hotel" last year had little voice, but the new work "Fertile Soil" is the second part of his "homeland trilogy" after "The Earth is Long and the Sky is Long", and he cooperated again with the award-winning actress Yongmei of the previous work, and his ambition must be not small. The film has entered the post-production stage, since 2010's "Rizhao Chongqing", Wang Xiaoshuai's works have chosen to appear in Berlin and Venice, and returning to Cannes with this film upgrade is estimated to be his primary goal this time.
Although the next few Chinese directors have not yet been shortlisted for the three main competitions, they all have experience in appearing in the secondary unit. Whether it can complete the promotion with the new work will be a major attraction for Chinese films at this year's international film festival.
The first are three young directors of the "Cannes family". Wei Shujun, who won the Special Honor Award for Short Film in Cannes in 2018, entered Cannes again for his first feature film "Mustang Split Mane", and the following year's "Yong'an Town Story Collection" was shortlisted for the director's fortnight, achieving a rare back-to-back shortlist for two consecutive years, which also fully reflects Cannes' favor for him.
This year's "White Crane Bright Wings" starring Wang Jingchun and Yi Yangqianxi tells the story of a father looking for a son. It can be said that as long as the progress is normal, the film is basically locked to appear in Cannes, depending on whether it can be promoted to the main competition. Even Wei Shujun has another adaptation of Yu Hua's novel of the same name, and the new film "Mistake by the River" by Zhu Yilong has also been completed, and it is not impossible for two films to appear internationally in one year.
Director Gu Xiaogang is also a dazzling rising star who has been focused on by Cannes. The previous work "Spring River Plumbing" was directly unveiled as the closing film of the film critic week unit of Cannes to excavate newcomers' new works, and at the end of the year, it broke into the top ten of the year in the annual "Film Handbook" of the veteran French film magazine, and its international reputation soared. Wu Lei's new film "Grass and Wood in the World" is the second part of Gu Xiaogang's "Landscape Map" series, which continues the Zhejiang story of "Spring River Plumbing" and tells a deep relationship between mother and son. The film will also most likely go to Cannes this year, depending on which unit it can enter.
Director Qiu Yang has been shortlisted for Cannes with two short films, of which "Small Town February" won the Palme d'Or for short films, and "Southern Girl" also won awards at Film Critics Week. This year's debut feature film, Some Rain Must Fall (no official Chinese title), is about a middle-aged woman looking for herself, and the film has been bought by a well-known French distributor while it is still in post-production, and will be unveiled in the European film market. As long as Qiu Yang's progress goes smoothly, I believe Cannes will leave him a place.
In addition to the three "Cannes lineages", there is also a "Venetian lineage". Director Wan Ma Tsedan, who has been shortlisted for the Venice Horizon unit three times and has already won awards, has a new work "Snow Leopard" waiting to be released this year. The film continues his Tibetan style and tells a story of people and snow leopards in Tibet. In addition, the director just started a few days ago, "Stranger" starring Huang Xuan, although I am afraid that it will not be able to catch up with this year's film, it will definitely hit the international film festival. It is worth looking forward to whether the three-time shortlisted secondary unit can be exchanged for this year's upgrade main competition.
In addition, there are several well-known directors who have three major festival resumes, and new works will be launched this year, and these films are estimated to be difficult to shortlist for the main competition for various reasons, but there are also greater opportunities to appear in other sections.
Director Liu Jiayin, who once shocked the world with the "Cowhide" series, finally has a new work "Worth the trip" 14 years later. Starring Hu Ge, Wu Lei and other stars, the film tells the life story of a eulogy writer. The film has been featured in Berlin Magazine, hoping to help the director return to Cannes. Also having the opportunity to return to Cannes is Singaporean director Chen Zheyi, who collaborated with Liu Haoran and Zhou Dongyu to shoot the first Chinese film "Burning Winter", although it does not seem like a very ambitious work, but it is also possible to go to Cannes to be screened.
The two veterans of the fifth and sixth generations, Gu Changwei and Guan Hu, have returned to the small pattern this year, and works that pay more attention to artistry have appeared, and there is a possibility of returning to the three major festivals. Gu Changwei's "Hedgehog" collaborates with Ge You and Wang Junkai to tell the story of two worldly people. Guan Hu's "Dog Formation" cooperates with Huang Bo and Yan Ni, which is the theme of rescuing stray dogs. In the case of the two films, seeking to enter the non-competition unit of the three major sections should be a more pragmatic goal.
Counting down, there are more than a dozen Chinese-language films that are expected to go to Cannes and Venice this year. Although it may not be possible to make the trip, the foundation of this year's Chinese films has been firmly laid down, and returning to the international stage is basically only a matter of quantity. More Chinese-language films can expand international influence, which can also drive a greater wave of Chinese films going overseas. Chinese movies, it's time for the tide to rise.