From the left are stills from the films "The Woman Who Ran Away", "Qiu Shi" and "Days".
Beijing News (reporter Li Yan) Recently, the 70th Berlin Film Festival announced the shortlist of films, directed by Hong Shangxiu and starring his old partner Jin Minxi, "The Woman Who Escaped", the American "film noir master" Abel Ferrara directed "Siberia" and other 18 films shortlisted for the main competition unit of this Berlin Film Festival, adapted from the best-selling novel of the same name "When I Became Salinger" became the opening film of this film festival.
In terms of Chinese films, Cai Liangming's new film "Days" became the only Chinese film to participate in the main competition unit. In terms of short films, the ink animation short film "Qiu Shi" directed by Sun Lijun was shortlisted for the new generation unit.
This year's Berlin Film Festival will take place from February 20 to March 1.
【Opening Film】
"When I Became Salinger"
Director: Philipfón Farado
Starring: Sigourney Weaver, Margaret Curry
Directed by Philip Farado and starring Sigour and Margaret Curry, the Canadian-Irish co-production "When I Became Salinger" became the opening film of the festival and was selected for the special screening section. Adapted from Joanna Lakov's best-selling novel of the same name, the film tells the story of Joanna (Curry), who dreams of becoming a writer, who has been pursuing her dream of becoming a writer, and when she is hired as an assistant by Margaret (Weaver), the literary agent of the famous writer J. D. Salinger (Tim Bost), she begins to live a "life full of humor and sweetness".
Philipf Ferrado is a French-speaking Canadian director who, although his works are small, are favored by film festivals, and his work "Teacher Lazza" was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the 84th Academy Awards. One of the two lead actors, Signey Weaver, was a favorite actress for her appearance in the Alien series, and at the 56th Berlin Film Festival in 2006, she starred in the romantic film "Snow Season Passerby" as the opening film of the year and was nominated for the Golden Bear Award for Best Picture. Another star, Margaret Curry, is a young rising star in the limelight, she played the "hitchhiking woman" in this year's Oscar hit "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood", had a lot of rivalry with Brad Pitt, and she is also the daughter of the famous American actress Andy McDowell.
【Chinese Power】
"Days"
Director: Cai Mingliang
Starring: Lee Kang-sang, Yanon Hong-sang-hee
During the 2019 Venice Film Festival, director Cai Liangming announced that he had completed his 11th work, "Days". It is reported that there are only two actors in the whole film of this work, namely Cai Mingming's royal actor Li Kangsheng and newcomer Yanon Hongshangxi, the film has been filmed since 2014, accumulating many fragments, no plan, no script, very little funding, while raising funds while completing in a long editing. Cai Liangming once told the creation of his new film: "The bigger other people's films are, the smaller I shoot, the smaller and freer, I can shoot whatever I want... This is a gift from heaven to me, only because Xiao Kang (Li Kangsheng) has a lawless illness, we can't shoot anything else, I told him to shoot your illness, and you can't act out when you are good. What I am photographing now is life, the days of the well-off, the days of Yanon, and my days. ”
Carlo Chatian, Artistic Director of the Berlin Film Festival, said: "With its unique aesthetic, Cai Liangming shows and creates the unique characteristics of the film. As the title reveals, the extremely pure work "Days", I call it a film about 'pain' and 'comfort'".
This is also the third time that director Cai Liangming has been shortlisted for the Berlin Film Festival. In 1997, his film "River" won the Special Jury Prize of the Silver Bear Award at the 47th Berlin Film Festival, and in 2005, "A Cloud in the Sky" won three awards, including the 55th Berlin Silver Bear Award.
Autumn Reality
Director: Sun Lijun
The ink animation short film "Qiu Shi" tells a story about Chunhua Qiu Shi. The protagonist of the film is a green grasshopper, in the early autumn, the insects in the garden compete to feed, these small and tenacious lives after experiencing the baptism of wind and rain in the spring, summer and autumn, at this time they have to race against time to prepare for the dormancy after autumn.
"Qiu Shi" inherits the tradition of ink animation, integrates Qi Baishi's technique of "part-time work" into animation production, combining pen and freehand to show the unique artistic conception of Chinese ink animation, the whole film has no dialogue, and only uses traditional ink animation to integrate with traditional Chinese music. At the same time, the short film integrates the latest technologies such as 8k for artistic innovation, and is the world's first 8k ink animation short film.
As early as 1982 and 1984, the two Chinese animations produced by Shanghai Fine Arts Film Studio, "Three Monks" and "Sandpipers And Clams Fight", won the Silver Bear Award for Short Film at the Berlin Film Festival. Chinese ink animation has also been internationally renowned, "Little Tadpole Finds Mother" won the Cannes Film Festival Honorary Award in 1964, "Mudi" in 1963, "Deer Bell" in 1982 and "Landscape and Water" in 1988 have also won many awards at major international film festivals. However, due to the complexity of the process, the long production cycle and the low efficiency, the ink animation gradually fell silent. "Qiu Shi" was shortlisted for the Berlin Film Festival, which is also the second time that Chinese ink animation has attracted international attention for more than 30 years since it was separated from the world's top film festivals.
It is reported that in the future, the series will also have ink animation works such as "Li Qiu" that will meet with the audience.
【Recommended films for the main competition unit】
The Woman Who Ran Away
Director: Hong Shangxiu
Starring: Kim Min-hee, Seo Young-hee
"The Woman Who Ran Away" is the 24th feature film of South Korean director Hong Sang-so, which tells the story of the wife's two dates and a chance encounter with three past friends during her husband's business trip, and the whole film is only 77 minutes long.
In 2017, Kim Min-hee won the Best Actress Award at the 67th Berlin International Film Festival for "Alone by the Sea at Night" directed by Hong Sang-so. This time, "The Woman Who Ran Away" is also the seventh collaboration between the two.
As the "darling" of the Berlin Film Festival, director Hong Shangxiu has been nominated for the Golden Bear Award in the main competition unit of the Berlin Film Festival four times for "Night and Day", "Haiyuan Who Is Not Anyone's Daughter", "Alone on the Seashore at Night", and "The Woman Who Escaped".
The First Cow
Director: Kelly Reichard
Starring: John Margaro, Orion Lee
The film "The First Cow", directed by the famous American independent film director Kelly Reichard, is based on Jonathan Raymond's novel "Half-Life", which tells the story of a Western cook cookie (John Margaro) in the 1920s in Oregon, usa, who comes to the wild West to try his luck, meets the Chinese immigrant King Lu (Orion Lee), who also comes looking for opportunities, and the two see each other and start a business together through a cow.
The film has previously participated in the Telluride and Sundance Film Festivals, screened at the New York Film Festival, and is scheduled for release in North America on March 6.
Female director Kelly Reichard has a unique style, and she is loved by fans for directing women's films "Wendy and Lucy" and "Some Kind of Woman", and she also served as a jury member at the 72nd Cannes Film Festival in 2019.
"The Road Never Been Traveled"
Director: Sally Potter
Starring: Javier Baden, Ellie Fanning
British female director Sally Potter is also a regular at the Berlin Film Festival, and in 2009, she was shortlisted for the main competition unit of the 59th Berlin International Film Festival with the feature film "Rage". Later, in 2017, the comedy "Cocktail Party" was shortlisted again. Her representative works "Orlando" and "Indulgence in the World" have both won the favor of the Venice Film Festival, allowing female directors to shine at the three major film festivals, and also bringing herself international attention.
The new film "The Road Not Traveled" focuses on a crazy day spent by a man on the verge of collapse, and his daughter gives him unconditional love and helps him calm his mind. Javier Baden, who won the 80th Academy Award for Best Actor with "Killer Anton" in "Old Nobody", starred in the lead role. Ellie Fanning, who worked with Sally on Ginger and Rosa, plays the protagonist's daughter. The film is currently scheduled for release in North America on March 13.
Siberia
Director: Abel Ferrara
Starring: William Dafoe, Simon McBurne
American director Abel Ferrara, known for his noir, crime, violence and independent films, also has a new work at this year's Berlin Film Festival. The new film "Siberia" tells the occasional journey of a person living on a frozen tundra, starring Ferrara's old partner William Dafoe, and the film stars Isabelle Hupper and Nicolas Cage will make cameo appearances in the film. At the same time, the film was also listed by the French Film Handbook as one of the most anticipated films of 2020.
Abel Ferrara has been nominated at all three major European film festivals, the second time he has been nominated for the main competition section in Berlin after Night Addiction. Directors such as Quentin and Park Chan-wook have repeatedly expressed their love for his films such as "The New York King" and "Bad Lieutenant".
At last year's 2nd Hainan Island International Film Festival, Abel Ferrara also served as a member of the international jury of the Golden Coconut Award competition unit with Isabelle Hupel and others.
It was shortlisted for 18 films in the main competition of the 70th Berlin Film Festival
"Alexanderplatz Berlin" director: Burhan Kuibani
"Lev Landau" directed by Ilya Herzanovsky
"The Woman Who Ran Away" Director: Hong Shangxiu
"Deleted History" directors: Benoy Dreping, Gustaver de Corvin
The Intruder director: Natalia Meta
"Bad Story" directed by Damiano Dinosenzo, fabio d'innocenzo
"The First Cow" director: Kelly Reichard
"Irradiated" Director: Pan Reed
Salt of Tears directed by Philip Garrell
"Never, Rarely, Sometimes, Always" Directed by Eliza Hitman
"Days" Director: Cai Mingliang
The Road Never Traveled Directed by Sally Potter
"My Sister" director: Stephanie Chut & Veronique Raymond
Innocence directed by Muhammad Rassolov
Siberia directed by Abel Ferrara
All the Dead directed by Marco Dutera & Caetano gotardo
"Wendy" directed by Christian Petzold
"I Want to Hide" Director: Giorgio Diriti
Beijing News reporter Li Yan
Edited by Huang Jialing Proofreader Wang Xin