1. China Golden Rooster & Hundred Flowers Film Festival
The China Golden Rooster & Hundred Flowers Film Festival is the top film festival in the country. It faced numerous ups and downs through the decades and now has the ambition to become China's version of the Oscars.
The Golden Rooster Awards, launched in 1981, which was incidentally the year of the Rooster in the Chinese zodiac, is an awards ceremony that is sponsored by the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles and the China Film Association. The awards are also known as the "expert awards" because the results are decided on by filmmakers, critics, experts and film historians. The Golden Roosters have also long been associated with the Hundred Flowers Awards, which are voted by the public. The Hundred Flowers were founded by the China Film Association in 1962 and sponsored by the Popular Cinema magazine. Since 1962, the public have cast their votes for these awards, originally via mail, and now through text messages and the internet. In 1992, the Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Awards were combined into a single national festival and has been held on alternate years since 2005 in different cities.
However, the rules changed this year when the organizers announced that the Golden Rooster Awards would be held every year. Xiamen, a coastal city eager to make its name on China's film map, received the privilege of holding the Golden Rooster Awards ceremony for at least the next 10 years, providing a new home to the awards, while the Hundred Flowers Awards and festival will be held in Zhengzhou, Henan province, next year.
From this year on, the Golden Rooster Awards has adapted to the realities of China in the new era. It has received worldwide attention and unprecedented resources, including support from more than 600 filmmakers and celebrities including Jackie Chan, Zhang Yimou and pop sensation Jackson Yee. The awards ceremony also reached international standards with its use of5G telecasts and online live-casts to generate billions of clicks. It has given awards to winners which comprise a mix of high-quality commercial blockbusters and art-house films. The festival has also hosted many events including industry forums, programs to support young filmmakers, special screenings of international films, and previews for future Chinese film releases. It is clear that the film festival is determined to rejuvenate itself as a youthful and high-tech event that embraces the internet and technologies that are fast-shaping the film industry and Chinese audiences.
2. The Shanghai International Film Festival
The Shanghai International Film Festival (SIFF) is one of the largest film festivals in East Asia, and one of the oldest international film festivals in China. The SIFF was born as a biennial film festival in 1993, and was recognized as a Category-A international film festival by the International Federation of Film Producers Associations in 1994. From 2001 it became an annual event, awarding its coveted Golden Goblet Awards to filmmakers from around the world. It has also had Chinese and world-famous filmmakers such as Luc Besson, John Woo, Nuri Bilge Ceylan and Danny Boyle as its jury presidents.
The SIFF has witnessed the ups and downs in the development of Chinese film, experienced the twists and turns in its journey of growth, basked in the joy of its successes and won the trust of Chinese and foreign filmmakers and film institutions. In addition to expanding the scale of the festival, the SIFF has also brought its brand professionalism, international recognition and influence to new heights by organizing film markets, forums, exhibitions and many other activities. Every SIFF has helped to drive the development of China's film industry, as well as the improvement of Shanghai's core competitiveness and cultural soft power while continuously delighting scores of film enthusiasts.
3. The Beijing International Film Festival
The annual Beijing International Film Festival (BJIFF), as well as its Tiantan Awards, has always had the ambition to be the best in the film industry and has since become a huge communications platform for Chinese and world filmmakers. The founders of the festival, which was originally called the Beijing International Film Season, initially wanted to build a new and influential cultural window into China's capital, without a focus on its artistic vision. But the festival evolved very quickly, it changed its name and set up a competition section. With the full support of the China Film Administration and the Beijing municipal government as well as other national departments and resources, it soon became a film festival gala event. The BJIFF hosted grand opening and closing ceremonies, invited A-list movie stars, screened hundreds of art house films, classics and high-profile blockbusters, and presented an annual film extravaganza to its scores of fans.
In terms of its forum and summit, ticketing, and theater coordination, the BJIFF has now become much more professional and well-organized. But as it enters its 10th anniversary next year, it still needs to be more creative and find its own unique position and direction. The BJIFF also needs to work on face its new challenges, enlarge its influence and push forward the development of the Chinese film industry. There's still much to expect in this festival.
4. Hong Kong International Film Festival
The Hong Kong International Film Festival (HKIFF), held by the Hong Kong International Film Festival Society, is one of Asia's oldest international film festival. Founded in 1976, the HKIFF today has grown to become Hong Kong's largest cultural event and is one of Asia's most reputable platforms for filmmakers, film professionals and filmgoers from across the world to launch new works and experience outstanding films. Screening over 330 titles from 50 countries in 11 major cultural venues in Hong Kong, the HKIFF reaches an audience of over 600,000 as well as some 4,500 business executives who attend the Hong Kong International Film and TV Market (FILMART). It is worth noting that Hong Kong also has another prestige award, the Hong Kong Film Awards (HKFA), founded in 1982. However, the HKFA is not associated with this festival.
5. The FIRST International Film Festival Xining
Funded by the Xining municipal government of Qinghai province as well as the China Film Critics Association, the FIRST International Film Festival Xining aims to discover and showcase emerging filmmakers and their early works across the globe. Held annually in July in Xining, FIRST made its debut in 2005 and has focused on filmmakers' first feature films and early works.
As a gathering of film professionals from all aspects of filmmaking, FIRST bridges the creative and business minds of the industry. It has made great effort to lay a path for art to meet with the industry and to showcase filmmakers and film projects with great potential. In doing so, it has played a significant role in boosting the Chinese film industry and discovering new and promising filmmakers. One of the ways it achieves this is by having an illustrious jury committee comprising established and esteemed filmmakers and maintaining a strict and fair juror system since 2012. Celebrated filmmakers such as Ann Hui, Xie Fei, Jiang Wen, Wong Kar-wai are amongst its past jury presidents. Over the last decade, a number of young filmmakers, including Fan Lixin, Ma Li, Hao Jie, Wen Muye and Xin Yukun, have had their careers skyrocket after receiving recognition and critical acclaim at the festival.
6. The Pingyao International Film Festival
The annual Pingyao International Film Festival (PIFF) was first conceived by celebrated Chinese art house filmmaker, Jia Zhangke and Italian film historian, Marco Muller, in 2017. The two served as the festival's founder and artistic director respectively, which was to be held every year in Pingyao, a 2,700-year-old ancient city and a World Cultural Heritage site in central Shanxi province. The festival aims to celebrate the achievements of international cinema and also promote the works of young Chinese directors, especially those produced in the non-Western world such as in China, Asia, Eastern Europe, Latin America and Africa. Jia believes the Pingyao International Film Festival has gained widespread recognition in the global film industry as well as among international directors as many art-house filmmaker shave chosen Pingyao to do their world premieres. The festival might not be the biggest film festival in China, but the influence of the festival is growing.
7. The Changchun Film Festival
The Changchun Film Festival (CFF) is a biennial international film festival held in Changchun, Jilin province, and its coveted Golden Deer Awards have mainly been awarded to films from China and other regions in East Asia. Founded in part by the Changchun Film Studio, the festival was first held in 1992 and considered to be one of old major Chinese film festivals. The most recent festival - its 14th run - was held in September 2018, and organizers were clearly eager to revive its image. It launched a new goal - "to gather new generations of Chinese films and cultivate the influence of Chinese films" under the theme "New Era • New Cradle • New Power". The Changchun Film Festival also set up awards for young filmmakers, held a "Dream Ceremony" for young film enthusiasts, and sponsored the 'China Film New Power Forum' which discussed strategies to promote growth and prosperity in the film industry. These new measures have made the festival a channel to publicize young directors and an event attracting scores of film enthusiasts.
8. The Silk Road International Film Festival
The Silk Road International Film Festival (SRIFF), founded in 2014, is held annually and alternates between Fuzhou and Xi'an under the guidance of the China Film Administration, with Fujian and Shaanxi provincial governments as the sponsors. Multiple activities of the recent 6th Silk Road International Film Festival took place in October in Fuzhou, including the launch ceremony, award ceremony, film screening, film forum, film market, and cultural activities for visitors. More than 160 outstanding Chinese and foreign films were shown in theaters in Fujian province, especially those from countries and regions along the Belt and Road, including Russia, Pakistan, Thailand, Italy, Slovenia and Indonesia. By providing an international platform for film exchange and trade, it strives to grow the film, television and related industries, continuously enhance the global influence of Chinese movies and create an international film festival with global influence.
In terms of its host cities, Xi'an is the capital of Shaanxi province, which was the starting point of the ancient Silk Road. The province also has a great film tradition as many famous Chinese filmmakers and actors known the world over, such as Zhang Yimou, Gong Li and Chen Kaige started their careers at the Xi'an Film Studio. In recent years, Fujian province has also emphasized the development of the film industry as part of the cultural construction of the Belt and Road. With reform and opening up as the driving forces to promote cooperation, Fujian now has over 1,000 film enterprises.
9. The International Film Festival & Awards: Macao
The annual International Film Festival & Awards: Macao (IFFAM) was launched as an ambitious new international film festival in 2016 to bring together cinematic industries in Asia and the West. MSAR is not a productive film base but is a highly sought-after film location by many Hong Kong and foreign filmmakers. The critically acclaimed film "In the Mood for Love" by Wong Kar-wai and the James Bond hit "Skyfall" by Sam Mendes were both filmed in the MSAR.
The bedrock of the festival is a highly curated program of around 50 films from Asia and the rest of the world, designed to engage the audiences of Macao and expand the cinema-going tradition of the MSAR. Its international competition section focuses on 10 films from first and second-time directors from around the world, while "New Chinese Cinema" is a competitive section of eight films highlighting the best Chinese-language films of the year. The festival also includes a tightly organized invitation-only industry section consisting of a genre-focused project market, an industry forum and various networking programs. Part of the mission of the festival is to throw a spotlight on classic cinema and promote Macao as a cultural destination and location for shooting films.
10. Hainan Island International Film Festival
The annual Hainan Island International Film Festival (HIIFF) just concluded its second annual run on Dec. 8 in the tropical coastal city of Sanya in China's southernmost island province of Hainan. It is the youngest film festival, co-hosted by the China Media Group and Hainan provincial government, under the guidance of the China Film Administration. The festival screens mostly low and medium budget, art-house, and lesser known films outside the realm of Hollywood and Chinese blockbusters. 2019 marks the first year of the HIIFF's "Golden Coconut Awards" and the festival was attended by a number of international filmmakers and stars such as Johnny Depp, Aamir Khan, Jackie Chan and Isabelle Huppert in last two years.
Besides routine industry forums, screenings (especially its unique beach screenings) and master classes, this year the film festival introduced new platforms - H!Market and H!Action for film marketing and production investment. New business models for the entire film production chain will also be explored in the future to help turn Hainan into a "film island." Hainan has great advantages as it is one of Asia's top tourist destinations, and the nation's designated free trade zone.
Source: china.org by zhang rui
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