2023 BJIFF Fall Screening: Colorful Greece in World of Cinema
In this warm golden autumn, the Beijing International Film Festival (BJIFF) has specially launched the Fall Screening, in which about 40 select excellent domestic and foreign films will be screened. No matter in spring or in autumn, we aim to present the world's best films to fans.
The Fall Screening consists of several sections, of which the “Classic Greek Film” section incorporates seven films, namely Landscape in the Mist, Ulysses’ Gaze, Eternity and a Day, The Lobster, Her Job, Magnetic Fields and All the Pretty Little Horses. The Greek film with countless masterpieces has close ties with the BJIFF. The 11th BJIFF specially invited Greece as its first Guest of Honor; the 2022 BJIFF even presented a comprehensive retrospective of works by Greek treasured director Theodoros Angelopoulos, enjoying widespread popularity among film fans.
These films will be screened at Beijing Broadway Cinematheque (MOMA), Lumiere Pavilions (Fangcaodi) and Inside-out Cinema from September 22-28, 2023. The sale of tickets will officially kick off on the official online ticketing platform Maoyan Entertainment at 12:00PM on September 21. Good luck!
Landscape in the Mist (1988)

A still of Landscape in the Mist
A still of Landscape in the Mist
As the last film of the “trilogy of silence” by Theodoros Angelopoulos, the Landscape in the Mist tells a cruel fable about search and growth, and features Angelopoulos’ iconic smooth long lens that are extremely delicate and aesthetically pleasing, and the Angelopoulos-style handling of time and space. The recurring mythological elements in it are very common in his other works as well. The film has won the Silver Lion at the Venice International Film Festival, the European Film of the Year at the European Film Awards, and other awards at global film festivals, making it one of the director’s most recognized representative works.
Ulysses’ Gaze (1995)

A still of Ulysses’ Gaze
The film, which comes second in Angelopoulos’ Balkan Trilogy, represents another appealing quality of the director's films, namely translating heavy ancient Greek epics into narrative and metaphor on the screen. Inspired by The Odyssey apparently, this film has touched the bitter history of the Balkans, and explored the way back to a wandering mind by tracing lost film footage. It has won the Jury Prize and the FIPRESCI Prize at the Festival de Cannes.
Eternity and a Day (1998)

A still of Eternity and a Day
“How long does tomorrow last?” “An eternity and a day.”
As the final installment in the Balkan Trilogy, the film has won the Golden Palm at the Festival de Cannes. The unique style of Angelopoulos is even more skillful. Extremely poetic images, a mixture of memory and reality, the characters’ search for the meaning of life and wandering are slowly flowing out under the soundtrack by Greek famous composer Eleni Karaindrou (the music of another two films in this section was also composed by her).
The Lobster (2015)

A still of The Lobster
Prior to winning the Golden Lion, Yorgos Lanthimos became famous in the international market by virtue of this film, which won the Jury Prize at the Festival de Cannes. The plot setting is very attractive even when we see it now: Singles are guilty, and people staying single for 45 days will become an animal, but can choose what animal to become. As a fantastic black fable, The Lobster has put forward an excellent reflection on intimacy.
Her Job (2018)

A still of Her Job
Her Job is the first feminist-themed feature film written and directed by Nikos Labôt. Based on a true story, it tells a story of a woman who has found a whole new self through a simple job as a janitor. By focusing on a woman's struggle to regain her autonomy, the film depicted a cross-section of the Greek social landscape, and also reflected the far-reaching consequences of the financial and social crisis sweeping across contemporary Greece.
All the Pretty Little Horses (2020)

A still of All the Pretty Little Horses
As a psychological thriller, it abandoned suspense setting or twist foreshadowing in traditional genre films, but got the audience stuck in an anti-climax way. The unique style of the film is greatly attributed to the versatile director, Michalis Konstantatos. His artistic interests cover theater, experimental short films, video installations in public spaces, music videos, etc. Through social observation and research, the director focused on the double life of “heaven” and “earth” of an ordinary couple with a handheld camera.
Magnetic Fields (2021)

A still of Magnetic Fields
Magnetic Fields is the first feature film of Giorgos Goussis, a Greek film director and comic book artist. The script was jointly completed by him and the starring actor and actress, Antonis Tsiotsiopoulos and Elena Topalidou. The shooting of the film began in December 2020, when the starring actor and actress and six crew members, carrying a simple synopsis and a MiniDV camera, left Athens for Kefalonia Island, and made this road movie about two persons (and the creator himself) traveling alone in an improvised way. They are improvised, free and easy, and having fun without purpose.
In this golden September, let’s meet in the BJIFF to feel colorful Greece in the light and shadow in face of the sea breeze of the Mediterranean.
