The Forward Future Section of the 11th Beijing International Film Festival (BJIFF) will take place from August 13 to August 19, 2021 to inject new vitality to the development of the film industry of China and even the world with focus on exploring new directors. The previous editions of the section has selected a host of excellent works at home and abroad, such as Kaili Blues, Papusza, Crossing The Border-Zhaoguan and A Russian Youth, making it the indicator of the industry. 

 

This year, the section will offer seven honors for the purpose of tapping into more outstanding filmmakers and works from various dimensions and proving them with more opportunities. 

 

The jury members are from all over the world with different professional backgrounds, including world-renowned filmmakers, producers, critics and writers. They will decide on seven honors, namely, "Most Popular Feature Film", "Most Popular Director", "Most Popular Screenplay", "Most Popular Actress", "Most Popular Actor" and "Most Popular Artistic Contribution" and “Special Mention Film by the Jury”, from outstanding nominees in a more comprehensive perspective and a broader vision. With a great professionalism, they are believed to bring the Forward Future Section to a new level and build it into a larger platform for new filmmakers. 

He is a British writer, commentator, film festival programmer and screenwriter, creator of the Dragons and Tigers Award at the Vancouver International Film Festival and one of the founders of Busan International Film Festival. Well versed in the film culture of East Asia, he once recommended several eminent directors from Asia, including Takeshi Kitano, Chang-dong Lee, Sang-soo Hong, Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Chen Kaige, Wong Kar-Wai, Jia Zhangke, Stanley Kwan and Tsai Ming-liang. He once wrote or co-edited several works of Rainer Werner Fassbinder and Sun-Woo Jang as well as studies in Chinese, Japanese and Korean films, published Wong Kar-Wai’s work In the Mood for Love. He recorded or wrote the audio lead, commentary and instructions for several DVD distributors like the “Criterion Collection”. He was also a visiting lecturer to the Beijing Film Academy and jury member to FIRST International Film Festival, West Lake International Documentary Festival and other film festivals.

Greek director and screenwriter, he now serves as the Artistic Director of Drama International Short Film Festival. 

 

Yannis at his early age made some TV videos, film trailers and experimental short films. His short film Truth was screened and awarded at several international film festivals. His debut film Wild Duck was premiered at Toronto International Film Festival and nominated at the 18th Busan International Film Festival for Flash Forward Award in 2013. He serves as mentor and guest speaker at several film academies in Greece. 

 

Amerika Square directed by him won the “Most Popular Film” at the Forward Future Section of the 7th BJIFF in 2017, and was listed of the submissions to the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film (now “Academy Award for Best International Feature Film”) in 2018. 

Chinese actress, director, screenwriter and producer, she has a number of popular works such as Suburban Birds, Home Away, Blind Massage, Blind Mountain, Between 2 Worlds and How to Describe a Cloud. 

 

From Bai Xuemei in Blind Mountain to Xiaoman in Blind Massage and then the mother who is dying to find his son in Dog Days, Huang Lu dares to meet challenges in different roles in order to make further breakthroughs, hence the title “Queen of Literary Films”. With the unique style and outstanding skills, she has been widely recognized by the international film industry. She is one of the most favored Chinese actresses by directors around the world, and has participated in several international film festivals as jury member and producer. 

 

Huang Lu is the only Chinese actress born in 1980s with starring films shortlisted in the Festival de Cannes, Berlin International Film Festival and Venice International Film Festival. She was nominated as the Best Actress at the 60th Festival de Cannes for Blind Mountain in 2007, the Best Actress at the 66th Venice International Film Festival for Between 2 Worlds in 2009 and the Best Actress at the 64th Berlin International Film Festival for Blind Massage in 2014. In 2014, How to Describe a Cloud won the Best Actress at the 8th FIRST International Film Festival. In 2019, she was listed as a nominee for the Best Supporting Actress at the 38th Hong Kong Film Awards for G Affairs. 

Chinese novelist, he has published the collections Fire on the Plain, The Aviator and Hunter and novels Silent Age, Tianwu’s Notes and CHIGUI. He won the first prize of the BenQ Award for Chinese Cinema Fiction, Young Writer at the 3rd One Way Street Book Award and the trophy at the BLANCPAIN – IMAGINIST LITERARY PRIZE 2020. His novels Fire on the Plain and A Writer's Odyssey were adapted into films.

 

In 2014, Diao Yinan’s film Black Coal, Thin Ice produced by her won the Golden Bear Award and Silver Bear for Best Actor at the 64th Berlin International Film Festival. In 2019, she produced another film directed by Diao Yinan -- The Wild Goose Lake, which was shortlisted in the Competition section at the 72nd Festival de Cannes. In 2015, Bi Gan’s debut film Kaili Blues produced by her was granted the Best Feature Film and Best New Director at Locarno Film Festival, Festival des 3 Continents, Golden Horse Awards and other international film festivals. In 2018, she produced Bi Gan’s another film Long Day's Journey Into Night and Zhang Ming’s film The Moment of Pluto, both of which were shortlisted in the “Un Certain Regard” section and “Directors’ Fortnight” section at the Festival de Cannes. Other films produced by her are Li Xiaofeng’s debut film Nezha, which was shortlisted in a dozen of international film festivals such as the Busan International Film Festival for “New Currents Awards” and Zhang Bingjian’s film North by Northeast, which was shortlisted in five A list film festivals. Shen Yang served as artistic consultant in the film Fire on the Plain, which was shortlisted in the Official Selection of San Sebastián International Film Festival. 

 

She was the founder of the “ASIAN NEW TALENT AWARD”, "SIFF PROJECT", “SHORT FILM” and other sections of Shanghai International Film Festival. 

 

The new directors with new works today will become the backbone of the industry tomorrow, and bring a new look to the art of film. The jury of five senior filmmakers will follow the tradition of the Forward Future Section to discover and encourage innovative ideas and new directors and keep closer pace with the trend of the industry in a more international and diversified perspective. We are confident to usher in a more prosperous future of the film industry!