The awards of the main competition unit of the 69th Berlin International Film Festival were announced on the evening of the 16th local time at the Berlin Film Palace in Germany. Wang Xiaoshuai," the two leading actors in the Chinese film "Long Days on Earth", Wang Jingchun and Wing Mei, won the Silver Bear Award for Best Actor and Actress for their outstanding acting skills. This is also the first time that a Chinese actor has won the two silver bears after the Berlin Film Festival.
Although this year's Berlin Film Festival is known as the Great Year of Chinese Cinema, there are constant twists and turns, and Zhang Yimou's "One Second" and Zeng Guoxiang's "Young You" who were shortlisted for the main competition unit both withdrew due to the late unfinished stage.
However, the remaining Chinese film "Long Day" is very competitive, winning the best actor and actress, creating a moment in the history of Chinese films.
The last time a Chinese film won best actress was in 1995, Xiao Fangfang won it with Xu Anhua's "Woman Forty", and the best actor was Liao Fan in 2014 with "Daytime Fireworks".
Liao Fan (left) won Best Actor
When Wang Jingchun and Yong Mei took the stage to receive the award, the crew members of "Long Days on Earth" cried together offstage.
Wang Jingchun said excitedly: "5 years ago I stood under the stage (Wang Jingchun also starred in "Daytime Fireworks"), and this year I stand here. I am especially grateful to Wang Xiaoshuai and Liu Xuan for letting me act in this film, making such a good art film and showing the current situation in China. I live in Liu Yaojun's world. I want to say to my father in heaven, long time no see, Dad. ”
Wang Jingchun also became the fifth "big three" film festival film emperor among Chinese actors with this award (Ge You's "Alive", Liang Chaowei's "Fancy Years", Xia Yu's "Sunny Days", Liao Fan's "Daytime Fireworks").
Wing Mei became the third Berlin Chinese actress, the fifth "three" actresses among Chinese actors (Maggie Cheung's "Cleaning", "Ruan Lingyu", Gong Li's "Qiu Ju Fights a Lawsuit", Ye Dexian's "Sister Tao", Xiao Fangfang's "Woman Forty").
It is worth mentioning that the film held its premiere on February 14, Berlin time, and many media were moved to tears, and some reporters said that they exchanged views together after the screening, and asked each other how many tissues they cried.
"Long Days on Earth" tells the story of two families who have a gap due to an accident, and even one of them travels from the north to the far south, and reunites after a gap of 30 years. Award-winning Wang Jingchun and Wing Mei play a couple in the film.
It is reported that "The Earth is Long and Long" is the first work in Wang Xiaoshuai's "Homeland Trilogy".
Producer Liu Xuan revealed that the entire film from the script to the end of the stage, after more than 4 years of time, Wang Xiaoshuai since the release of "Intruder" in 2015 has been fully devoted to "Long Day", compared with his previous works, the film has a longer time span and a more grand narrative background.
The time axis spanning 30 years is chosen, according to the director, because "every social change will affect everyone's life and even the fate of a lifetime." ”
Directed by Wang Xiaoshuai
Under the torrent of the times, everyone has experienced vicissitudes. The years go by and life moves forward.
Wang Xiaoshuai said that although "Long Days on Earth" aims at China's 30 years of human feelings and social changes, it is still embodied in "empathy", "the greatest place of Chinese is that after experiencing many unfortunate and blows in life, it is still difficult and peaceful to live, and the Chinese people are very great." ”
It is worth mentioning that Wang Yuan, the youngest of the main actors, said bluntly that the challenge of the role is very large, he has not studied acting, he was very panicked on the first day of shooting, and Wang Jingchun's greeting and eyes made him quickly correspond to the "father-son relationship", and director Wang Xiaoshuai also gave him a new concept of performance.
For the rebellious teenager Liu Xing who was highly recognized by the audience, Wang Yuan said: "It's OKAY, I didn't drag everyone back. ”
In addition, according to tmf, the overseas distribution company of "Long Day", the pre-sales of the film in the world have even exceeded their expectations, and many buyers have actively participated.
【Further reading】
Chinese Film Berlin "Conquest History"
Along with the Cannes and Venice Film Festival, the BerlinAlest is one of the most important film festivals in Europe – it has a special historical relationship with Asian films, especially Chinese films, where countless Chinese films have premiered over the years. Many films have also won awards.
The Times takes stock of the "conquest history" of Berlin in Chinese films.
1980s: Zhang Yimou's "Red Sorghum" became a blockbuster
In the early 1980s, Chinese mainland reform and opening up, the fifth generation of directors stepped onto the historical stage, riding on the east wind of the times, with the rise of a group of new people, the artistic standards of domestic films reached a new peak.
At the 31st Berlin International Film Festival in 1981, Fu Jinggong's work "The Return of Yan" was shortlisted for the main competition unit of the Berlin International Film Festival, becoming the first Chinese film to be shortlisted for the main competition unit of the three major European film festivals after the reform and opening up, creating history.
However, the first Chinese-language film to shine in Berlin was the domestic animated short film "Three Monks Without Water to Drink" and "Three Monks". This 20-minute animated short film was shortlisted for the short film competition at the 32nd Berlin International Film Festival in 1982, and won the Silver Bear Award for Best Screenwriter in the short film competition unit of that year, becoming the first domestic film to take away the Cub trophy.
Poster of the French version of The Three Monks
The real conquest of Berlin by Chinese films was Zhang Yimou's Red Sorghum in 1988.
In 1988, Zhang Yimou came to Berlin with the lead actors Gong Li and Jiang Wen, unexpectedly defeated the popular films of the time such as "Moonlight Seduction" and "Female Commissar", and won the Golden Bear Award in one fell swoop, becoming the first Chinese film to reach the top of the top awards of the three major film festivals, which also made Zhang Yimou debut and peak.
Zhang Yimou's "Red Sorghum" work photo
The following year, another fifth-generation director, Wu Ziniu's work "Evening Bell", was shortlisted for the main competition unit in Berlin, and this anti-Japanese film won the second prize jury award after the Golden Bear Award, and the brilliance of Chinese films continued to shine in Berlin.
1990s: Glory Moments for Chinese Cinema
The 1990s was the most glorious era of Chinese films in Berlin, and during the 10 years, at least one Chinese film was shortlisted for the main competition unit every year. At the 44th Berlin Film Festival in 1995, as many as 5 films were shortlisted for the main competition, which was a prosperous event.
In 1990, the most important Chinese film may be the "Year of The Life" directed by Xie Fei and starring Jiang Wen, which shows the wandering of small people in the big era, and has been recognized by the Berlin Film Festival, not only shortlisted for the main competition unit, but also won the Silver Bear Award for Outstanding Artistic Achievement (equivalent to Best Cinematography).
At that time, it competed with "The Year of The Life", but the later Oscar for best picture "Driving for Miss Daisy" and the representative work of czech New Wave master Ely Manzo," "Wingless Sparrow".
Directed by Xie Fei
In 1991 and 1992, there were Tian Zhuangzhuang's "Grand Eunuch Li Lianying" and Guan Jinpeng's "Ruan Lingyu".
In 1993, it was destined to be another peak of Chinese cinema in Berlin.
Director Xie Fei came to Berlin again with his new work "Fragrant Soul Girl", and his opponent was Ang Lee, who was still a newcomer at the time, who came to Berlin with his second work in life, "Wedding Banquet", and Zhang Yimou was a member of the jury.
Because the two films received the same number of votes, the final jury decided to award the Golden Bear award for best picture for both films at the same time, and director Ang Lee has since become famous in the international film world.
Ang lee
In 1995, Xu Anhua's "Forty Women", Liang Benxi's "Return to the Soil", Guan Jinpeng's "Red Roses and White Roses", Li Shaohong's "Red Pink", and He Ping's "Sunshine Canyon" were all shortlisted for the main competition unit. Among them, Xiao Fangfang won the best actress with Xu Anhua's "Woman Forty".
In 1996, Yan Hao's "The Sun Has Ears" and Yang Dechang's "Mahjong" both came to Berlin, the former won the prestigious Best Director Award and the Fabisi Award (an independent award for film critics), while the latter was finally recognized by time and was one of the representative works of director Yang Dechang.
1997 and 1998 were also two years when Chinese-language films shined in Berlin.
In 1997, Er Dongsheng's "Pornographic Men and Women", Yan Hao's "I Love the Kitchen", Cai Liangliang's "River", Huang Jianxin and Yang Yaya's "Ambush"; and a year later, Chen Chong's "Heavenly Bath", Lin Zhengsheng's "Debauchery", and Guan Jinpeng's "The Happier the More Depraved" were also shortlisted.
Although there have not been many awards in the past two years, so many nominations are in themselves a kind of praise for Chinese films.
The 21st century: A new generation of directors takes to the stage
In the new century, Chinese films also continue to maintain a strong posture at the Berlin Film Festival, although occasionally they have been left behind for several years, and no films have been shortlisted for the main competition unit, but overall, this is still the most inclusive territory for Chinese art films.
In 2000's "My Father and Mother", Zhang Yimou returned to the blessed land and won the Jury Prize without living up to expectations. That year, director Guan Jinpeng, who came to Berlin again, also entered the shortlist, and his new work "Sometimes Dancing" also competed for the Golden Bear Award.
In 2001, the sixth generation of directors took their works to the international stage, where Wang Xiaoshuai's "Seventeen-year-old Bicycle" gave the Western world a glimpse of the current living conditions of ordinary Chinese people, and Gao Yuanyuan became popular.
In 2003, Zhang Yimou's "Hero" and Li Yang's "Blind Well" were shortlisted together, the former allowing us to see the transformation of Zhang Yimou's film style, while the latter still continued the sixth generation of directors' attention to the real life of the current low-level people, and was affirmed by the Silver Bear Award for Outstanding Artistic Achievement.
In the following years, the top Chinese film directors such as Zhang Aijia, Gu Changwei, Peng Haoxiang, Wang Quan'an, Li Yu, Du Qifeng, Lou Ye, chen Kaige and so on have been appreciated by the Berlin Film Festival, and Gu Changwei's "Peacock" has also won the Jury Prize.
But the most noteworthy is the Berlin Film Festival's "pro-son" Wang Quan'an - "Tuya's Marriage", "Reunion", "White Deer Plain" was shortlisted for the main competition unit three times, "Tuya's Marriage" won the Golden Bear Award, "Reunion" won the best screenwriter, and the mediocre "White Deer Plain" also won the Silver Bear Award for Outstanding Artistic Achievement. His new film "Dinosaur Egg" was also shortlisted for the competition unit this time, which is a fourth time.
Before "Long Days on Earth" brought Chinese cinema to the peak again, the last glory of Chinese cinema in Berlin was in 2014.
That year, 3 Chinese-language films "No Man's Land", "Tuina", "Daytime Fireworks" "encircled and suppressed" the Berlin Film Festival, and finally Diao Yinan unexpectedly won the Golden Bear Award, and Liao Fan won the Silver Bear.
In 2016, "Yangtze River Map" won the Outstanding Artistic Achievement Award, which is the last time that a Chinese film has won an important award here.