The 8th Silk Road International Film Festival Awards Gala was held in the ancient town of Minyue.Photo by reporter Ye Yibin
Fuzhou Daily reporter Lin Ruiqi Lin Yiting
The wind of Fujian is welcoming the Silk Road, and the stars are shining on the capital of Fujian. On the 12th, the 8th Silk Road International Film Festival came to an end in Fuzhou.
In the past five days, filmmakers from countries along the “Belt and Road” traveled across mountains and seas and gathered in Fuzhou for a light and shadow meeting. Here, multicultural exchanges and mutual learning, global filmmakers look forward to new ways of cooperation; here, the cooperation boom is surging everywhere, and the development of the film market ushered in new opportunities; here, the world‘s best films gather, and the public enjoys a feast of light and shadow.
Let us use three lenses to look back at the light and shadow event that rises on the saddle wall, with the hope that it will never end, continue to dream forward.
【Lens One】
The “play” and “shadow” of the awards show
“Silk Road leads the world, the light and shadow in Fuzhou, wonderful…” On the evening of the 12th, at the grand awards party, the loud Min opera singing pierced the night sky. In the light and shadow and the water curtain, the Russian soprano singer and the Fujian opera performers sang a harmony, the high and clear flowery and the gentle and delicate Fujian tone sang the origin of “drama” and “shadow”, and sang the interaction of Chinese and Western cultures. .
Communication is an unchanging topic in the “Belt and Road” initiative.
The Silk Road International Film Festival provides a platform for exchanges and mutual learning between cultures of various countries, and allows filmmakers from all over the world to converge in Rongcheng.
The “Golden Silk Road Award” was set up for the first time this year, attracting more than 500 films from 42 countries and regions along the “Belt and Road”. Iraq and Syria co-produced “Nowhere to rely on” expresses the call for love and peace. The Chilean documentary “The Detective Contest” looks at the global aging phenomenon. The French film “Two Alfreds” arouses people’s concerns. Reflections on human communication under the digital dilemma…
Film and television creators under different cultural backgrounds are moving from “beautiful in each” to “beautiful and beautiful”. This makes the chairman of the main competition unit of the film festival and the famous director Huang Jianxin lament: “This is the meaning of the film festival, allowing different national cultures Continuous exchanges and collisions between each other, and finally reached a consensus that transcends the country, allowing friends from all over the world to enjoy the infinite charm of the movie.”
In this cultural exchange craze, Fuzhou has made full use of the opportunity of the host site to make the culture of Mindu dazzling and exude charm:
See the dream of bright light and shadow rising on the saddle wall. The site of this year’s film festival is Minyue Water Town, which is the first time to build an aquatic stage. The saddle wall-shaped main screen lights up the night sky.
Look at a picture album to show the local customs of Rongcheng. This year’s film festival released the album of “Shadows in Fuzhou”, which combines the leisurely ancient homes, mountain and sea scenery, humanities and folklore with Fuzhou cuisine into a beautiful picture scroll, showing the world the ideal filming location of Fuzhou.
“Fuzhou is a beautiful city. The film festival provides the world with an opportunity to learn about Fuzhou and China from a broader perspective.” French director Philip Maitreya, who has been to Fuzhou twice, said at this year’s “Cloud” conference.
【Lens Two】
The “new” and “hot” of industrial alliances
On the afternoon of the 11th, representatives of 9 film and television bases along the Silk Road and related countries pressed their palms on the big screen, and the Silk Road Industry Alliance Sino-foreign Film and Television Base Cooperation Program was officially launched. At the scene, this signing became an enthusiastic promotion conference-Shi Moran, representative of the Canary Islands Film and Television Base in Spain, expressed his willingness to be a “matchmaker” for Chinese and Western film cooperation, and looked forward to more Chinese film teams entering this “cost-effective” shooting location He Xiaojiancheng, the representative of China’s Hengdian Film and Television City, gave an English promotion speech, telling filmmakers from all over the world about the charm of Hengdian’s “dream-making”…
Multicultural exchanges and mutual learning have spawned a new chapter of open cooperation. At the Silk Road International Film Festival, enthusiasm and opportunities for cooperation are everywhere——
Build a brand and expand the “friend circle” of transnational cooperation. The Silk Road Industry Alliance is an important brand for cooperation and exchange at the Silk Road International Film Festival. Since its establishment, it has continuously integrated the resources of the film industry along the Silk Road and related national alliance members, and carried out film promotion, exchanges and cooperation. At this year’s Silk Road Industry Alliance Sino-foreign Film and Television Cooperation Signing Conference, representatives from Benin, Bangladesh, North Korea, Lesotho and other countries joined, further strengthening the alliance’s “circle of friends”.
Create opportunities to “match the bridge” between the project and the capital. Dreaming filmmakers introduced the highlights of the script and talked about creative ideas; senior judges gave suggestions from various aspects such as selling points, logic, budget, etc. to make the project more mature… As an important IP and talent incubator for the film festival, this year’s Venture Capital Conference passed “Ultimate road show + live broadcast on web platform + cloud negotiation with capitalists” promoted the transformation of film projects. In the end, a total of 982 venture capital projects were collected, and 21 of them were shortlisted. They received support from strong investors, senior filmmakers and experienced production teams to escort high-quality film projects.
Build a platform for young filmmakers to embrace the opportunity to realize their dreams. The “Belt and Road” Youth Film Festival set up at this year’s film festival will discover and explore outstanding young filmmakers from countries and regions along the “Belt and Road” through short films, short video competition units and young filmmakers training camps. Since the contest is solicited, a total of 1172 works by young directors from countries and regions along the “Belt and Road” such as South Korea, Japan, Armenia, etc. have been received.
【Lens Three】
“Love” and “Warmness” of Film Screening
At 6 o’clock in the evening on the 10th, audiences successively walked into the popular cinema, where all the films on display cost one yuan. Lin Yibo, who was here to revisit old movies, found his youthful memories in the movie; Sister Lu, a fan who bought several movie tickets in a row, released her love in the movie, and there was also Miss Hong, who was exposed to war-themed movies for the first time. “Because of the film festival, films with different backgrounds and themes can be shown in Fuzhou, which seems to have opened a window for us to see the world.” Miss Hong said.
In the name of film, the Silk Road International Film Festival is even more a festival of fun with the people.
This year’s film festival has set up units such as “Hundred Years of Huaguang”, “Silk Road Movie Style”, “Global Selection”, and “4K Classic Restoration”. Approximately 100 outstanding films have been screened out, including the niche film “Looking for Farid”. There is also the classic film “Rouge Button” and the premiere film “Dawn of the Republic”, leading the audience across time and space into a colorful world of light and shadow.
The documentary “Hearing the Light” was the warm opening for the film screening, focusing on the blind choir in Fuzhou, following their singing to follow the direction of the light. “This is the first time I have watched a movie about the blind, and I was deeply touched. Although they are disabled, their voices can move people’s hearts, and their attitude towards life is admirable.” said Xie Yangtao, a student at Fuzhou Vocational and Technical College. .
Out of the theater, the film festival allows the light and shadow culture to benefit more people.
In colleges and universities, the establishment of exchange platforms such as filmmaker dialogues and creators’ sharing sessions have allowed young students from Fuzhou University, Fujian Normal University, Fujian Institute of Technology and other universities to deeply “chew” the cultural connotation of movies;
In the square, open-air movie screenings have brought back the good experience of the past. Fuzhou “Paradise Cinema” founder and super fan Luo Zhong hosted a fan sharing meeting after the screening of “Roman Holiday”. Fan Mr. Li said excitedly: “I didn’t expect such a gathering place for fans in Fuzhou. Our love is no longer alone.”
The renewal of Wanli Silk Road and Vientiane, a new channel for international cultural exchanges connected by the Silk Road International Film Festival, and the new Silk Road in the world of light and shadows are continuing to promote the international spread of Chinese films and promote the steady and long-term development of film culture exchanges in the “Belt and Road” initiative.