The Journey to the West, winner of the Best Film in the Forward Future Section at the 12th Beijing International Film Festival (BJIFF), was announced to be opening in theaters on April 1, 2023. It’s a sci-fi comedy produced by Wang Hongwei and Frant Gwo, directed by Kong Dashan starring Yang Haoyu, Ai Liya, Wang Yitong, Jiang Qiming and Sheng Chenchen. Today, the film released a trailer and poster titled “What Kind of Universe Joke is it?” While the well-rated masterpiece among film fans announced its release date, it posed the question of “What Kind of Universe Joke is it?”. What a witty publicity! Its joyful, light-hearted and humorous style precedes.

　　

The film won the Best Film in the Forward Future Section at the 12th BJIFF, and its leading actor Yang Haoyu won the Best Actor award for his excellent performance. It was too popular to grab a ticket when screened at the BJIFF. The announcement of its release was cheered by audience, who couldn’t wait to watch the film in theaters.

　　

The Journey to the West tells the story of Tang Zhijun (Yang Haoyu), an editor-in-chief of a sci-fi magazine, Universe Exploration, who is obsessed to look for alien civilizations. One day, he unexpectedly receives an abnormal signal suspected of being sent from the depths of the universe, so he calls on his former partners to embark on the journey of looking for aliens once again with the doubt confusing him all the time.  

　　

The contents released today implied many plot details. The poster seemed ridiculous but it’s thought-provoking. It features a donkey attracted by a carrot, on whose back the editing department of the Universe Exploration led by editor-in-chief Tang Zhijun are dashing forward. Tang is holding a probe, which seems to have received a signal from alien civilizations. But such a signal is just like the carrot in the donkey’s eyes. It can be reality or illusion. And there is a universe inside the donkey, depicting rare encounters of the Tang company on their journey: blurred TV screen, helpless spaceman, donation box inscribed “Universe Donation Box”, teenager wearing aluminum wok, and exotic transport tools among others. Such an imaginative and informative poster reveals how strange and funny the journey of universe exploration would be.

　　

The “What Kind of Universe Joke is it?” funny trailer highlights the film’s humor in one-of-its-kind way. It replicates the style of TV ads aired in 1980s and 1990s. Elements in the poster, such as the TV, spaceman and Universe Donation Box are included. Careful audience may as well spot Easter eggs, such as the editorial plaque, alien models, and a lonely “frustrated Wukong”. All the elements are sucked into a huge pot with an addictive female voiceover “large-scaled national colored feature film”, making us wonder what the film is about, and remember “opening in theaters on April 1”. “What Kind of Universe Joke is it?” at the end together with the release date of April 1 bring about a classic sense of humor. The trailer seems simple. But it makes clever and efficient use of glitch art and psychedelic art based on the vintage style, and deconstruct and reorganize the film elements in an creative way, making it one-of-its-kind.

With a high rating of 8.7 out of 10 on Douban.com, the “masterpiece of the year” is highly anticipated.

 

The Forward Future Section aims to discover filmmaking talents, spot future trends of international filmmaking, encourage originality, and showcase rich and diversified cultural aspect of the art of film. The section selects and presents seven award categories, namely “Best Film”, “Best Director”, “Best Screenplay”, “Best Actress”, “Best Actor”, “Best Artistic Contribution” and “Jury Special Mention”.

 

Eligible films may make registration online via the official website of the BJIFF (www.bjiff.com)

 

Forward Future Section: forwardfuture@bjiff.com

Domestic/international affairs: Zhang Zheng +86-18515920341