Human beings can never stop their imagination and curiosity about the future. 

 

The world in 2001: A Space Odyssey is fantastic and illusory. When human beings fly to Jupiter with uncertainties and expectations, they meet the magnificent universe. This is how filmmakers in 1968 imaged about the future century, and an attempt that went beyond limitations to science and technology and depicted the fancy world. 

 

In 2020, objective restrictions can’t stop the enthusiasm of filmmakers from all over the world from exchanging and gathering. The ways and boundaries of shooting and watching movies are constantly being widened, and film festivals have also begun to try new ways to meet fans. We hope to seek more ways of connecting people who love movies.

 

Online BJIFF -- A new carrier jointly established by the Beijing International Film Festival (BJIFF) and iQIYI, looking to connect with film fans worldwide. Here, with the infinite extension of film communication fields, we will also explore more new scenes and reshape new rituals for watching movies.

 

In 2021, the BJIFF once again joined hands with iQIYI to set up the Online BJIFF, where almost 100 outstanding domestic and foreign films in 10 Out-of-Competition Sections will be launched. 

 

With the launch of the Online BJIFF, we are honored to invite actor Chang Chen as Online BJIFF’s Film Recommending Officer, becoming our fellow traveler. He will lead us to together explore new opportunities in the film industry online. We will also set up the special Online Screenings for Chang Chen, inviting film fans to together review his classic screen images and moments of light and shadow. 

 

In the past three decades since his debut, Chang, who played Xiaosi, a man of few words, in A Brighter Summer Day, rebellious Luo Xiaohu in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, tolerant Han Xin in The Last Supper, a heroic and strong master of Bajiquan, a Chinese martial art, in The Grandmaster, Tian Ji'an, a tyrannous and mysterious official, in The Assassin, Shen Lian, a quiet but affectionate imperial guard of the Ming Dynasty, in Brotherhood of Blades, and Liang Wenchao, a prosecutor who has lost weight due to illness but is sharp-eyed, in The Soul, has been constantly making breakthroughs, presenting his infinite possibilities as an actor to us. 

 

Chang Chen, a famous actor, made his film debut at the age of 14 in A Brighter Summer Day directed by Edward Yang, attracting much attention from the film industry and the audience. Since then, Chang has cooperated with a number of famous international directors, such as Wong Kar-Wai, Ang Lee, Hou Hsiao-Hsien, Tian Zhuangzhuang, Kim Ki-duk, etc. His works have been nominated for the Competition Section of the Berlin International Film Festival and the Festival de Cannes for many times. In 2018, Chang was invited to serve as a jury member of the 71st Festival de Cannes, becoming the first Chinese actor to receive this honor. 。

 

His representative works: A Brighter Summer Day, Happy Together, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Three Times, The Grandmaster, Brotherhood of Blades, The Assassin and The Soul. 

 

Currently, Chang has starred in Dune, a Hollywood sci-fi masterpiece about to be released, which was directed by Denis Villeneuve, the director of Blade Runner 2049. 

 

At the end of 2001: A Space Odyssey, interstellar children return to the Earth, full of anticipation for the next step in human evolution. In 2021, we will also bring our expectations for the future of the film industry to embark on new roaming online in August. 

 

From September 15 to October 8, 2021, we will invite you to meet Chang Chen at the Online BJIFF.