A few years ago, the slogan of the Beijing Film Festival was "Spring, come to Beijing to see the best movies".
In a few years, the North Film Festival has gone from spring to summer and autumn breeze.
Three years have passed, and this year is the Spring Festival restarted after three years. This spring, the North Film Festival has finally welcomed the best movies and those who love movies the most.
1. Ten seconds
At 10 a.m. on April 20, when the subtitles of "Mr. and Mrs. Gregor - Come to the Cinema with Me" appeared on the big screen of the China Film Archive, the "Beijing Screening" unit of the 13th Beijing International Film Festival really kicked off.
At this moment, we truly perceive that the happiest day of the year for Beijing movie fans has arrived.
If "ticket grabbing" is the starting gun for fans, then, what can ten seconds create?
At the North Film Festival, ten seconds can give birth to a new sold-out record——
According to official data, at 12 noon on April 18, after the "Beijing Screening" opened online ticket sales, the 4K version of "City of Sorrow" was sold out in 6 seconds, the 4K version of "If There is Love" was sold out in 8 seconds, and the IMAX version of "2001: A Space Odyssey" was sold out in 9 seconds.
Behind this set of numbers are a pair of eyes staring at the screen, and hearts moving for the movie.
At the screening of "Mr. and Mrs. Gregor – Come with Me to the Cinema", curator Shadan shared his journey of choosing the opening of this film. As the first screening of "Beijing Screening", this documentary recreates the wonderful life of the legendary couple Gregor and his wife in the film industry. They fell in love with each other because of cinema and made it their lifelong pursuit for each other, and founded the Youth Film Forum Unit of the Berlin International Film Festival, which unearthed a large number of outstanding film creators.
Looking at the "Arsenal Cinema" they founded on the screen, recalling the "taste of the Arsenal Cinema" in the filmmakers of that era, I instantly understood the meaning of that art cinema to the filmmakers of that era - their spiritual home.
The "arsenal" on the screen is the same as the archive art theater where everyone is now, which interprets the charm of art theater and film curation. The light waves of the spirit of the shadow circulate up and down the screen, shining on everyone's faces, reflecting a pious light.
This is a film about a film curator/scholar/critic, and even in the Douban short review, the most praised comment is "recommend Shadan to watch".
Obviously, Shadan not only saw it, but also brought it to a larger audience.
From this first screened film, we seem to have found the curatorial core of the Beijing Film Festival screening - the never-ending love for movies.
Just as almost all of the films that sell out at the Beijing Film Festival every year come from the classic restoration unit, the obsession and love for the classics is a major characteristic of the audience of the Beijing Film Festival.
Whether it is "City of Sorrow", "If there is love", "2001: A Space Odyssey" that sold out in ten seconds this year, or "The Shawshank Redemption", "Casablanca" and "The Red Lantern Hangs High" that are as difficult to grab as always, these timeless "old films" constitute the spiritual temperament of nostalgia and inheritance of the Beijing Film Festival.
But is there only nostalgia?
Of course not, this year's screening is full of forward-looking spirit in addition to the feeling of looking back.
2. Silk Road - Ideas - Courage
Frankly speaking, in this year's Beijing screening, I think the most special films are not the three "ten-second representatives", but a batch of slightly less popular films such as "After the Holiday", "The Light of the White Tower" and "Flower Road Azhuma".
"After the Sun" in the "Global Vision" unit is a very competitive one of the new films, as a directorial debut, its maturity is amazing, the treatment of the relationship between the girl and the father controls the nuances of different time and space perspectives, this time, we were amazed by Charlotte Wells' work in the "Global Vision" unit, and next time, I believe we will definitely see her on a bigger stage.
Like "After-Holiday", I prefer the new film from the "Focus Filmmaker" unit - "Small World" directed by Bath DeVos. Of course, it's not just me, the eyes of fans and friends are bright and vicious, and these two movies became the first echelon of ticket sales in this exhibition as soon as they were released.
"Light of the White Tower" should be regarded as a "city movie" to some extent, it presents a very culturally iconic secular Beijing. Director Zhang Lu's oriental literary and artistic temperament is infused with it, the film reveals the familiarity and integration of Asian culture, and the performances of the two leading actors Xin Baiqing and Huang Yao are really amazing, one is that he thought that he must act well, but he didn't expect it to be so good; The other is that I did not expect that in just a few years, it could show a leap forward by leaps and bounds.
"Flower Road Azhu Ma" is produced by Chen Zheyi, one of the "focus filmmakers" of this year, and was shortlisted for the New Wave Award at the Busan International Film Festival, representing Singapore in the Oscar for Best International Film. What's special is that this is a Singaporean-Korean co-production, which reveals that Asians share a common view of family, which makes people feel very close.
After talking about these films, we will find that they actually have some kind of potential selection context. As curator Sha Dan said, "For the Beijing Film Festival, which carries many colors and functional expectations, the core skill of curators is to balance the demands of all aspects." ”
While focusing on new international directors, these films also show the geographical, cultural affinity, and political considerations of the Beijing Film Festival's curation, or in other words, the rediscovery of the geopolitical concept of "Asia".
Standing at the tenth anniversary of the "Silk Road Initiative", this rediscovery of film culture along the Silk Road with Asia as the center, on the one hand, presents the political position of the Beijing Film Festival, on the other hand, it also practices the rediscovery of local and Asian culture in a cultural sense. In these highly culturally affinity films, we mirror ourselves, multi-dimensional resonance, and explore our own cultural voices.
Compared to the "nostalgic" looking back, this is what we just talked about, the courage of looking forward.
3. Movie - Bazaar - Life
From curation to screening, we have seen the intentions of the Beijing Film Festival, but all intentions must be tested by the audience. As a loyal audience of the Beijing Film Festival, I must say that this year's screening experience is really the best in the past three years!
The most obvious is that traditional popular cinemas such as Emperor Film City and Meijia Happy Cinema Sanlitun Store have returned to screening after two years!
For friends in Chaoyang and Tongzhou, these two screening theaters are life-saving during the film festival. Stroll around Sanlitun, have a breakfast and lunch, watch afternoon and evening films, and then have a drink with friends in a street pub. Sometimes the chatterbox is opened because of scolding the same movie, and sometimes, in the dispute exchange, you suddenly find the beauty of a certain movie. These are all irreplaceable and wonderful experiences during the North Film Festival.
The last time I watched the Beijing Film Festival screening film at the Sanlitun Meijia Cinema was the Italian film "The Hole" two years ago, and after the end of the show, I had several disputes with friends about the film, and I have long forgotten the final result, but those happy times sitting in the pub talking about movies and directors are still in my memory, and isn't this the real meaning of the film festival to us?
At this year's Beijing Film Festival, the lively and lively atmosphere of the fireworks world has finally returned!
Not only is the number of theaters screened more, but it is more convenient for fans. And also launched Huairou weekend package, as if going to a suburban mountain appointment, like a music festival as free and free, to choose your favorite screen, enjoy the carnival launched by the movie.
It's more than that. This year's Beijing College Student Film Festival under the Beijing Film Festival continues the tradition of "watching movies for ten yuan", and the movie ticket for ten yuan allows all Beijing film lovers to feel the beauty of movies in the festival.
By the way, this year also added an XR unit, this interactive sub-unit that can be seen and played, for film practitioners and fans, it is a cutting-edge technological exploration and collision of ideas, but for us ordinary audiences, the fun of this activity lies in the fresh and fun experience!
I highly recommend everyone to try XR! Wear the device and feel a time travel that has never been seen before. I remember that my first VR experience many years ago was at the Beijing Film Festival, when I put on glasses and watched a film that I couldn't name for about ten minutes, and I still remember the new experience and novelty.
Lively, convenient and cheap, the North Film Festival cuts to the multi-faceted needs of different audiences with a variety of gestures. Life is inherently varied, and in the midst of the difficulties of everyone, the Beijing Film Festival is exploring a road to an urban film festival full of fireworks.
When I go from the archive to the new color cloud, and then from Sanlitun Meijia to the emperor, I meet those people with hurried steps and light on the subway bus, and I can't help but think, are they just like me, rushing to the next film festival?
If you don't grab Huairou's weekend movie package, or even buy your favorite screenings, it doesn't matter, you can also feel the strong film festival atmosphere when you go to the Beijing Film Market at Langyuan Station. Because this year it is not only a film market, but also a big market related to movies!
In addition to the project introduction, there are many film derivatives waiting to be discovered at the booths of various film companies! Go shopping for some of your favorite movie peripherals, visit the booth of the film producer, and find out in advance what new films of interest will be released next... Even, listen to a venture capital to understand the creation and birth of a movie.
The biggest feature of this year's Beijing Film Festival market is the word "gathering". It radiates the entire park with Langyuan Station as the center, and you can feel the warm atmosphere of the film market as soon as you enter the gate. Even, the exhibition hall, market, and venture capital are concentrated in the same hall, and creators, judges, media people, audiences, etc. come and go, which is very lively. This bazaar-like bustle gives the entire market event a distinct sense of "festival". The meaning of "gathering" is amplified, and "exchange and mutual learning" is embodied as every conversation and every look of everyone, constantly circulating in the crowd.
Wandering around, it is reminiscent of the Pingyao Film Palace or even the Cannes Film Palace. Like them, relying on a characteristic main building to gather the popularity of a film festival, so that the film and life continue to be closely connected.
The power of cinema comes from life, from those in life who truly love movies. In the past, we often said that the best movies to see at the Beijing Film Festival are not only the best movies, but also the best audiences and the loveliest filmmakers at the Beijing Film Festival, and we have jointly built a Beijing Film Festival full of vitality.
This spring, the beauty of the North Film Festival must be seen with your own eyes.