Bille August is a highly respected director in the world of film. In 2019, the film A Fortunate Man written and directed by him won the Tiantan Award for Best Feature Film at the 9th BJIFF. Bille August, a Danish director (national treasure level) will return to the BJIFF this year. He will focus on the theme “From Literature to Video: A Danish Director's World Journey” and communicate with the panelist Wang Yan through network connection to exchange ideas and share his creative experience and methods around the world.

 

Bille August was born in Copenhagen, Denmark on November 9, 1948. He is a Danish director, screenwriter and producer and he graduated from the National Film School of Denmark.

 

In 1978, he directed his film debut In My Life and thus started his career as a director. In 1987, he directed the feature film Pelle the Conqueror and won the 61st Academy Awards and the 46th Golden Globe Awards for Best Foreign Language Film. In 1992, the romance film The Best Intentions directed by him participated in some renowned film festivals worldwide with positive comments. 

 

After that, Bille August started his journey of international creation. In 1997, the feature film Smilla's Sense of Snow directed by him was shortlisted for the Golden Bear at the 47th Berlin International Film Festival. In 2007, he directed the feature film Goodbye Bafana, which was nominated for the Golden Bear at the 57th Berlin International Film Festival.

 

Director Bille August has close relations with Chinese film and culture. In 2008, he served as a judge for the "Golden Goblet Award" at the 11th Shanghai International Film Festival. In September 2011, he was formally hired as a cultural consultant for Hangzhou municipal government and set up his personal director studio in Hangzhou. In 2015, director Bille August shot the war film The Chinese Widow in China, which was shortlisted for the competition section of the Golden Goblet Award at the 20th Shanghai International Film Festival. In 2017, he served as the Jury President of Tiantan Award at the 7th BJIFF.

 

This year, Bille August once again brought his film The Pact to participate in the "Tiantan Award”, the Competition Section of the BJIFF. In the past decades, director Bille August continued his creation of literary adaptation, deep excavation of human nature and other topics such as growth and social class. His works have formed a unique style which attracts the attention of the global film industry.

 

The panelist of the masterclass, Wang Yan, is professor and PhD supervisor of the Institute of Foreign Literature at Beijing Foreign Studies University, adjunct professor at Columbia University in the United States, engaged in teaching and research across China and the United States on cultural media, film, western classics and other courses. He is the author of Novelistic Temporality and Modernity (Fltrp Press), After Auschwitz: the Holocaust Film Studies (SDX Press), Once Upon a Time in America: the Historical Films of Hollywood (SDX Press), Cinematic Representation of Urban Space (SDX Press), and the co-author of Back to the Future — History and Society on the Screen (SDX Press). He has published more than 100 papers in many journals such as Du Shu, Frontiers, Book Town, Wan Xiang, Foreign Literature Review, Foreign Literature and Arts Criticism.

 

The "Online BJIFF " this year includes many theme events such as the Tiantan Award, Opening Ceremony and Red Carpet, Beijing Film Panorama, Forward Future Section, Theme Forum, Workshop & Masterclass, Beijing Film Market, Film Carnival, Closing & Awards Ceremony, Beijing College Student Film Festival and "Film+". The “Online BJIFF" will be available at iQIYI and all the film fans can access to the “Online BJIFF” at iQIYI for the selected films, wonderful live broadcasts and latest industry news!