Huang Huilin, a senior professor at Beijing Normal University, has a close affinity with Chinese films. She is not just the leading doctoral supervisor for film and television studies in China, but is also the founder of the Beijing College Student Film Festival. To date, the 82-year-old Huang Huilin is still active in the field, devoting herself to promoting a cultural bridge of communication between China and the outside world via the medium of film and television and "letting Chinese stories enjoy applause from the world". During a visit to Singapore in November last year, General Secretary Xi Jinping highlighted the "Looking China International Youth Film Project" lead by Huang Huilin, and affirmed the role it plays as a hub of cultural exchange. Huang Huilin believes that the Beijing International Film Festival's (BJIFF) unique charm lies in the fact that it is based in the capital and boasts an unrivalled cultural value, particularly in the driving force it offers in terms of "letting Chinese stories enjoy the world’s applause".
Huang Huilin has attended hundreds of film festivals at home and abroad, but she has been personally involved in the BJIFF since its inception. Talking about the festival she stated that its "unique style" and "unique advantages" are aspects that really stand out for her. "Although it began relatively late, it has enjoyed a fierce momentum of growth because it was needed! The film industry needed it. International cultural dissemination was calling out for it. The capital's culture needed it and Chinese culture's move onto the international stage needed it." In Huang Huilin's opinion, it is incredibly difficult for foreigners to study Chinese and difficult for them to understand Chinese culture, making it even harder to engage in dialogue about Chinese culture. Even though the world is moving into ever deeper stages of globalization, the misunderstanding of Chinese culture still presents an obstacle to international communication. Moreover, Chinese stories, the sound of Chinese and dialogue in the Chinese linguistic system are intricately linked. How can Chinese stories be narrated in a way that makes them acceptable to international audiences is a question that requires some serious thought. We have to change our way of thinking and learn how to review the way we approach cultural dissemination to apply foreign methods, strengthen international cultural exchange and cooperation, apply a wide range of methods to tell Chinese stories, allow the Chinese language to better connect with people, become more inclusive and appealing, and allow Chinese stories to spread throughout the world and receive the applause of global audiences. "By telling Chinese stories through Chinese movies, we can gain acknowledgement from the world, and give play to aspects of Chinese culture that other cultural carriers cannot. The Beijing International Film Festival is doing its best to develop in this area."
Huang Huilin praised the Beijing International Film Festival for its role and position within the industry. She believes that the key behind its success is that it has clearly defined origins in that it stands at the high-end of Chinese culture, is oriented towards the entire field of international film and even extends into the field of international culture, and is also first-class in terms of its influence and its ability to popularize film. As for reward giving, the authoritative nature and international recognition that invited judges receive also explicitly shows the ideals and standards that this film festival strives toward. Moreover, Huang Huilin also mentioned one of the Beijing International Film Festival’s traits that she found hard to forget: that it has an integrated layout and pays a lot of attention to bonding with the citizens of Beijing. "The festival arranges a lot of activities to get in touch with local people and attract audiences. People come in their droves to interact with the festival, which I believe is an inherent display of the ideals the festival strives toward."
The 6th Beijing International Film Festival is perfectly timed to coincide with the recent rapid and unimaginable development of the film market in the country. Huang Huilin also had some thoughts on this matter believing that the Beijing International Film Festival has played a positive and stabilizing role and that it will continue to have an important role in guiding and correcting the market in the future. Huang Huilin stated that the industrialization and marketization of the Chinese film industry has truly developed rapidly over the last five years and that box office sales have boomed, but she does not want to see high box office sales and low quality films, and particularly does not want to see non-commodity cultural attributes ignored. "We are now a 'super power' in the film industry in terms of sales, but I don't believe we are a ‘super power’ in terms of quality yet. The market attracts Hollywood and many foreign talents in the movie industry and they believe there is massive potential in China, but we should still emphasize the cultural trends of films as a work of art and what they can contribute to society. I personally believe this is of the upmost importance."
