What is today’s biggest hit drama series that people can’t stop binge watching? Definitely The Knockout!

The masterpiece excels at the rise and fall of tension and release, and immersive performance of the cast has created numerous trending topics. In particular, trending topics about Zhang Songwen are the most interesting. He did so great a job in bringing Gao Qiqiang, a businessman involved in organized crime, to life that netizens suggested that he should be “investigated”.

If you were to investigate him, you would notice he was one of the members of the international jury of the Tiantan Award at the 11th Beijing International Film Festival (BJIFF) held in 2021, and made indissoluble bonds with the BJIFF ever since.

　　

　　Tiantan Award International Jury in 2021

At the 11th BJIFF, Zhang not only fulfilled his jury member duties for the Tiantan Award, but attended Gong Li’s Masterclass as a guest panelist, leaving an impression of a graceful and gentle artist.

As a member of the international jury, he admitted that the job requires self-control because it’s really difficult to remain purely rational. It’s inevitable to have personal preferences just like when visiting exhibitions or listening to music. When selecting and reviewing nominees, he had to remain rational and take his personal preferences into account. Only by finding a good balance can he be fully committed to the job and responsible for the nominated films. Meanwhile, he spoke highly of the BJIFF Organizing Committee for its zero interference during the process of selection and review.

The Workshop & Masterclass is one of the major events of the BJIFF. At the Masterclass with Gong Li, jury president of the 11th BJIFF Tiantan Award, with the theme of “Cinema and Us”, guest panelists including Zhang Songwen, director Lou Ye and actor Mark Chao were present, attracting wide attention.

　　

　　Gong Li’s Masterclass—Cinema and Us

Zhang’s comments at the Masterclass is sincere and modest.

When it comes to praise for acting, he is neither overbearing nor petty, “We would say an actor/actress has good acting skills. And since there is such a comment, it’s a compliment paid by the audience. I think the first stage of acting is to master the basic skills, including vocal, lines, figure and performance; the second stage refers to preparation before the shooting starts; the third include life experience and observation; and the fourth entails communication with the director about my understanding of the character.

He held nothing back when sharing his secrets of acting skills with the young audience. As he explained, “A senior actor told me this 20 years ago, ‘the final competition of acting is all about life experience’. I didn’t like the point back then. I thought he didn’t teach me anything. But on second thoughts, that’s what I would still tell others.”

The change in his understanding of “acting” results from the accumulation of personal experience. Zhang Songwen is what we often call a late bloomer as an actor. He started acting learning later than his classmates, and groped around painstakingly. He auditioned over a hundred times every year, being ignored or benched.

What kind of passion for acting does it take to have him pulled through?

Fortunately, he made it, just as the Chinese saying goes, “the road to success is strewn with setbacks”. In The Shadow Play released in 2018, Zhang played Director Tang. His performance stood out among the star-studded cast, and impressed the audience. The cinema screen is like a magnifying glass, and his reserved charisma was magnified at last. He became increasingly popular for his performance in The Bad Kids. The TV screen is like tens of millions of windows, through which he was seen by more audience.

Zhang Songwen (Zhu Yongping, the father) in The Bad Kids

Zhang played Gong Li’s husband in the Saturday Fiction. He talked about his working with Gong Li at the Masterclass. Back when he was an obscure actor, he rented a room from actor Liu Peiqi, and happened to find Liu’s journal written during the shooting of The Story of Qiu-Ju. Gong Li was already a big star then. He learned how she observed characters and acted from the journal. It was like a book of secrets of martial arts, thanks to which his skills were significantly improved. 

When he happened to find the journal, it was beyond his imagination to sit with Gong Li and talk about “Cinema and Us” one day. Just as he said, “There is no shortcut for filmmaking”, so is his acting career.

It took cinema and TV quite a long time to find the hidden treasure. But the BJIFF found him soon, and invited him to be a member of the international jury of the Tiantan Award. After completing his job at the BJIFF, he talked with the press and staff on the site, and thought that the BJIFF staff truly like films, and he felt the sincere love for films.

The Tiantan Award, a competition section of the BJIFF officially launched in 2013, celebrate its tenth anniversary this year. Over the decade, the section has adhered to the core value of “Beauty in Variety, Harmony in Diversity”, embraced cultural inclusiveness, and attracted over 7,000 entries from 90 countries and regions around the globe. This edition of Tiantan Award sure will bring more surprises to film fans.

The 13th BJIFF is destined to meet film fans as scheduled in the spring of 2023.

The 13th BJIFF is planned to be held in April. The volunteer recruitment has started. If you are interested, please send your resume to the e-mail: linyue@bjiff.com