On April 20, the media meeting of the international judges of the 14th Beijing International Film Festival Focus on the Future Unit was held. The Jury of Focus on the Future is chaired by Polish director Jerz Skolimowski, and the four judges are Chinese director Gu Xiaogang, Dutch cinematographer Keith van O'Ostrum, Chinese director Yang Lina and Chinese actor Yang Zishan.
The Focus on the Future section was established in 2014 and celebrates its 10th anniversary this year. The Focus on the Future unit aims to "discover new talents in the international film industry with Chinese perspectives, and lead artistic originality with the new trend of world films", show the rich and diverse cultural connotations of film art, and enhance cooperation and exchanges between young filmmakers from all over the world.
Polish director Jerz Skolimowski is not only an outstanding director who has made important contributions to the New Wave of Polish cinema, but has also won the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival, the Grand Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival, and the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Venice Film Festival. As a world-renowned film master, when talking about "the significance of exchange and mutual learning for film", Skolimowski said: "It is very obvious that when you see the film of a certain country, you get to know that country better. In terms of film style, you can feel how the artist thinks through the film. The quality of the Chinese films in the Focus on the Future section is very high, the films are very thoughtful, the design is very exquisite, the planning is very good, and the execution is very precise. ”
Skolimowski also shared his thoughts on the question "how to see the potential of directors in their first and second films": "It is very interesting to see the selection of works, especially for the first and second works of new directors. Many times, traces of the previous work can always be found in the next work of a young director, but what I see in the Future Unit of the Beijing Film Festival is completely different, which means that I don't know what I will be able to see in this new director, there is no presupposition. ”
"I'm very surprised by what I've seen so far, and I see some questions, some of which I can't answer myself, and I discuss them with the rest of the jury. There are also works that express the main idea and message very clearly, and the ideas are very original. The quality of Chinese films today is indeed very good. It's an encouraging sign that the future of these budding directors is full of possibilities. ”
Gu Xiaogang, the Chinese director of the Beijing Film Festival, who "went global", returned to the Beijing Film Festival as a judge of the Focus on the Future unit, and talked about "the first or second works of other young directors I saw in the Focus on the Future unit", Gu Xiaogang said: "It is a great honor to be a young filmmaker, and it is a very fortunate thing to work with Mr. Skolimowski and other senior teachers here. As Mr. Skolimowski said, the whole list of films in the Focus on the Future section is very rich and of high quality, and of course there will be works that are very surprising and worth learning from, and I can see a lot of film possibilities. ”
"Being a judge allows you to step out and reflect on your own creative context and direction. As the name suggests, I saw a lot of possibilities for the future of cinema in this unit, and I also gained a lot of self-reflection by watching and learning from the excellent works of other directors. ”
Dutch photographer Keith van O'Othrum has worked on more than 80 films, including Emmy Award-winning films. As a world-renowned cinematographer, the lens language in the works of new directors is one of the key focuses of his attention. Speaking of the future unit of this year's Beijing Film Festival, Van Othrum mentioned: "Looking at the movies more than 100 years ago, and then looking at the current film lens language expression, we find that there will be a lot of innovation, and there will be many changes in visual technology, which exceeds our expectations." In the works of these young directors, we can see that they make full use of the current new technology, and at the same time, they also have a very strong ability to use audiovisual language to tell stories, which is related to their sense of innovation, not only technical issues. I'm glad they've been able to do that and I'm looking forward to seeing what they do in the future." ”
At the 12th Beijing Film Festival, the work "Mother" directed by Chinese director Yang Lina was shortlisted for the main competition unit, and the starring Wu Yanshu won the "Best Actress" award for this film. Now, Yang Lina has returned to the Beijing Film Festival again and served as a judge of the Focus on the Future unit, and she also shared her feelings on the spot: "After two years, at the same time and in the same spring, I returned to the Beijing Film Festival again. This time, it was a very enjoyable process to watch the film with everyone on the jury, discuss it together, and see the works of young directors from all over the world. The Focus on the Future unit is a dynamic and charismatic unit. ”
As a powerful actor, Yang Zishan has her own evaluation criteria for the film: "I think whether a movie moves me or not, its overall completion, and its outstanding performance in a certain aspect are very important. These are the elements that I use to measure whether a film can be shortlisted. As an actor, I will watch the actors' performances in more detail. As Director Gu Xiaogang said, in the process of watching the movie, I am actually learning, and I am also reflecting on myself, which is a very beautiful experience. ”
Text/Beijing Youth Daily reporter Xiao Yang
Editor/Gong Lifang