On the morning of April 15th, The Composer, a shortlisted film of the 9th Beijing International Film Festival Tiantan Award, held a press conference. The film is the first film jointly produced by Chinese and Kazakhstani film makers. Director Xierzati Yahefu, actors Hu Jun, Yuan Quan and Berik Aitzhanov, project sponsor, general film producer and Chairman of Shinework Pictures Jonathan Shen, Kazakhstani Film Producer Serik Zhubandykov, Kazakhstani art director Sabit Kombekov and Chinese Producer Wang Xiaoyan attended the press conference, sharing the wonderful experiences of the first cooperation between China and Kazakhstan with the present media professions.

　　The story of The Composer focuses on the whole life of the people’s Musician Xian Xinghai. It tells that he came to Almaty in Kazakhstan due to the war. As a stranger in the land suffering from poverty and illness, he was rescued and supported by the famous Kazakh musician Bakhitzhan Baikadamov and his family and they developed very deep international friendship. His heart was tied to China and he inspired the people of Chinese and Kazakhstan to fight against fascism with his music.

　　Director Xierzati Yahefu is a representative director of “Western Warm Current Genre”. He talked about his experience as the director of The Composer, which was very unforgettable for him. The spirit of Xian Xinghai not only affects the Chinese people, but also moves the Kazakhstani people. Xierzati Yahefu said: “80 years ago, The Yellow River Cantata sounded on the land of China, and then it echoed in Kazakhstan. Xian Xinghai enabled the Chinese people and the Kazakhstani people communicate spiritually through music and the common destiny of mankind to sing loudly in excited music sounds.” Xierzati Yahefu hoped to convey universal values and feelings through the great image of Xian Xinghai. 

　　Actor Hu Jun vividly played as Xian Xinghai in the film, exhibiting the resolute and steadfast character of Xian Xinghai. He said at the press conference: “It is a glorious thing to play a role in the film. Xian Xinghai is an idol of my father. My father and the people of his generation have all sung the classic chorus songs such as The Yellow River Suite and To the Rear of the Enemy. When he knew that I was going to play as Xian Xinghai, he was very excited.” Hu Jun said that The Composer enables audiences to better understand how Xian Xinghai spent the second half of his life. To play better, Hu Jun re-learnt how to play violin. He was born into a musical family and influenced by what he constantly saw and heard, which greatly helped him create the image of the people’s musician.

　　Yuan Quan played as Qian Yunling, Xian Xinghai’s wife, in the film. Though the role was not very important, Yuan Quan deeply understood the emotions of the role such as missing, hopes and national feelings. She described many scenes of the film as proses, which are full of poetic flavor and convey beliefs and strength.

　　On June 8th, 2017, China and Kazakhstan signed the Joint Film Shooting Agreement between the Chinese government and the Kazakhstani government. The Composer is the first project in the agreement. The scenes for the film were found in three countries: China, Kazakhstan and Russia. Art director Sabit Kombekov pointed out that the crew included a lot of students who are studying in China and Kazakhstan and they made their contributions to the film. The Composer is not only a very simple feature film, but also carries the deep friendship and common history of the people of two countries. The film producer and the general producer Jonathan Shen was very grateful because he had such an opportunity to re-tell the story of Xian Xinghai. He visited the last old man who had seen Xian Xinghai in Almaty. The old was fully looking forward to watching The Composer and sang a song taught by Xian Xinghai, which is the symbol and continuation of the friendship between the two countries.

　　The friendship not only exists in the history and films, but also extends to the daily work of the crew. Hu Jun frankly said that the biggest challenge he met in shooting was in language. A lot of internal monologues or dialogues needed to be expressed in Russian. When Berik Aitzhanov, who played as composer Baikadamov, performed with Hu Jun, he always patiently helped Hu Jun solve this problem. The two actors expressed their respect for each other at the press conference.

　　The Chinese producer Wang Xiaoyan always worked at the front line during the film shooting process. She said: “We lived together with Kazakhstani colleagues day and night. Though our languages, living habits and working modes are different, we still could unite as one and create for the film.” The Composer was the first film jointly produced by China and Kazakhstan, which opened the cooperation between two parties. Kazakhstani producer Serik Zhubandykov said that The Composer had laid a foundation for the future film cooperation between China and Kazakhstan and built a broader road for the cultural exchange.