After the rainstorm, the ancient city of Pingyao restored its former order, the repair work of collapsing walls and damaged pavements is still in progress, and on October 12, the fifth Pingyao International Film Festival arrived as scheduled, and the number of tourists in the ancient city increased day by day.
The full list was revealed the day before the opening, and shortly after the ticket was issued, most of the hits sold out quickly. The enthusiasm of film fans has not been dissipated by the shadow of the flood, and the ancient city of Pingyao, which has been sunny after the rain, has once again ushered in new and old friends who love movies. As the venue of the film festival, the Pingyao Film Palace withstood the test in this torrential rain.
On the eve of the closing of the Pingyao Film Festival last year, the news revealed by the founder of the film festival, Jia Zhangke, was shocking that "it may be the last film festival between him and his team". On June 1 this year, he posted a photo of the Pingyao Film Palace on Weibo. In the morning, the Shanxi Provincial Government held a press conference to announce that the fifth Pingyao Film Festival would be held from October 12 to 19. As the chairman of Pingyao Film Festival Co., Ltd., Jia Zhangke appeared at the press conference and revealed the new changes of this year's film festival: recombining the organizers, jointly sponsored by Pingyao Film Festival Co., Ltd. and Shanxi Film Academy of Media; in terms of mechanism, Pingyao Film Festival has been upgraded to a provincial project and will increase support for local film creation in Shanxi.
On the eve of the opening of the film festival, Jia Zhangke emphasized the relationship between the film festival and Shanxi at a press conference: "Every Shanxi person is the master of the film exhibition. This year's film festival will continue to "take root" in Shanxi, continue to deepen cooperation with Shanxi universities and filmmakers, and continuously strengthen the connection with Shanxi audiences. From the planning of this film festival, we can also see the distinctive imprint of Shanxi filmmakers, and the academic section of the film festival will invite Shanxi filmmakers such as Ning Hao, Han Jie, Yuan Yuan and other directors who studied in Shanxi to have a dialogue and share film experience with the theme of "living, studying and creating in Shanxi".
In all respects, Jia Zhangke is still the soul of this year's Pingyao Film Festival, and since the opening of the festival, he has appeared on the red carpet, opening ceremony, press conference and the scene of the film's premiere to stand for filmmakers. He and his friends continue to bring attention and traffic to the film festival in various fields.
Posters with the theme of the festival "Ju" inscribed by the painter Liu Xiaodong are hung in various corners of the Pingyao Film Palace; Wang Junkai, a young actor who served as the "special curator" of this year's film festival, attracted the attention of a group of young audiences. At a special event on the opening night, the stage of the open-air screening site was staged, and the five-piece band performed in the finale. When the fourth song "Little Girl Under the Street Lamp" sounded, Jia Zhangke, Zhao Tao, Qi Xi and other film festival guests, staff and volunteers jumped on the stage, and subsequently, the two directors who won the "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon East-West Exchange Contribution Honor" of this film festival, 80-year-old director Xie Fei and Chinese Hong Kong director Xu Ke, also joined the team of "Bundy".
At the opening special event, the short film "The Last Director on Earth", which will be screened at the "Pingyao Night", was released, which is directed by young director Xu Lei and starring Jia Zhangke and Ning Hao, full of black humor: two directors lying on emergency beds discuss the future of the film, Jia Zhangke said to Ning Hao: "Rest assured Haozi, the film cannot die." "The existence of the Pingyao Film Festival and various other film festivals in China has collectively demonstrated its determination to the industry and the audience. Although the epidemic has traumatized the film industry and the impact is still continuing, the filmmakers' creation has not stopped.
The eight-day Pingyao Film Festival will feature 46 of the latest films from 32 countries and regions. Among them, the global premiere rate of the official unit shortlisted films is 32%, the Asian premiere rate is 71%, and the Chinese premiere rate is 100%. Judging from this list of films, as always, we pay attention to non-Western films, giving fans a window to understand the wider world and sharing film experiences and imaginations from different regions. The "Crouching Tiger" section, which focuses on new international directors, brings together a number of new films from Colombia, Egypt, Georgia and other award-winning films in the three major international film festivals. The "Hidden Dragon" unit that focuses on the works of Chinese newcomers, Wei Shujun's "Yong'an Town Story Collection" and Nagazo's "Street Baby" and other works of newcomer directors have attracted attention. Zhang Lu, a Well-known Korean director in the international film industry, created his first Chinese-language film "The Long Confession" in ten years, which was premiered worldwide as the opening film.
On the opening day, members of the jury from various units appeared intensively, revealing the characteristics and highlights of this year's film festival, and consistently showing support for young directors. A total of 22 scripts were shortlisted for "Pingyao Venture Capital", from which the judges will select a number of official honors, give cash awards to honorary winners, and provide incubation opportunities for outstanding works. A total of 17 works have been shortlisted for the "Developing Film Project", and the film festival will build a communication platform for them to communicate with industry people and festival planners, and provide support and assistance for the later development of outstanding film creation projects.
The "Pingyao Venture Capital Drama Series Project", which was first established this year, focuses on the creation of dramas, discussing how the experience and technology of film can be integrated and complementary to the creation of dramas. "In the Internet era, the concept of drama is different from traditional TV series, it will have unexpected effects, "Squid Game" has formed a huge boom around the world, whether China can make such a series, in the various new ideas here, it may be possible to give birth to world-class dramas." Dong Runnian, one of the judges of the "Drama Program Honors," said Dong Runnian.
Director Li Shaohong came to Pingyao as a member of the "Fei Mu Honorary Jury", which is also her first time to participate in the Pingyao Film Festival. In her view, this international film festival founded by Jia Zhangke is of extraordinary significance to film directors, and it represents the development of films from the perspective of filmmakers and film directors, focusing on film creators. "We know very well the efforts that director Jia Zhangke has put into the five film festivals, and it is very difficult to persevere, and there are many hardships. I was very impressed by the fact that these creators who were still working hard to make and contribute to the film were very impressed. Li Shaohong looks forward to gathering more young filmmakers here, and also hopes that young directors who have grown up from Pingyao can maintain their original spirit and belief in film art, which are worth protecting and supporting."
Liu Xiaodong, a member of the jury of "Roberto Rossellini Honor" and a painter, also participated in the Pingyao Film Festival for the first time, and he talked about his thoughts on film and painting. In his view, if you want to understand the world in an hour or two, movies are the most comprehensive and three-dimensional medium. "As a painter, I also like movies. I watched a lot of movies, and I had a lot of friends who made movies around me, which will be a very vivid inspiration for my paintings. Painting is very easy to personalize, it is an art that is very tricky to take a personal path, but film takes care of a very multifaceted way of thinking. The two are not the same, but they are the judgments of the human heart, the naked eye, and the brain, and the important thing is your heart."
The young directors and actors who have shown their talents in Pingyao in previous years have taken a key step here, and then they have come here with their own new works or new identities to give back the attention and encouragement of the film festival and fans.
Li Dongmei, the winner and director of the 2020 Fei Mu Honorary Best Picture, returned to Pingyao this year as a member of the jury of the "Roberto Rossellini Honor", and Huang Yao, a member of the jury of the "Youth Judging Honor" and a young actor, also came to the Pingyao Film Festival for the second time. In 2018, she won the Fei mu honorary best actress, in her opinion, here can enjoy the purest film atmosphere: "Pingyao is still the pingyao in memory, but at the same time there is more vitality and fresh blood." Zheng Dasheng, a member of the jury and director of the "Honor of Developing Films", once participated in the first Pingyao Film Festival with his work "Village Drama", "This is the first important film festival to participate in after the film was filmed, and this film received very serious feedback from the film in Pingyao." At the moment, my biggest feeling is that this film festival is in, it is good, and it must be insisted. ”
(Photo: Pingyao Film Festival)