Ticketing Guide: Unmissable Classics and New Releases
The 15th Beijing International Film Festival is in full swing!
This year's “Beijing Film Panorama” brings together more than 300 wonderful works, including cutting-edge masterpieces from around the world and classic restorations. Since tickets went on sale on April 14, many popular screenings have already sold out. Here, we've carefully curated a selection of hidden cinematic gems - films with remaining seats available - inviting audiences to explore them during the latter half of the BJIFF.
Women's Voice
Familiar Touch
Highlights:
As the body ages and memories fade, how can people maintain their dignity and decency, and how can they confirm their own existence? After being coaxed into a nursing home by her children, the female protagonist refuses to resign herself to a life of passivity. She strives to reclaim control over her destiny. This film was awarded Best Director and Best Actress in the Orizzonti of the 81st Venice International Film Festival.
Upcoming screenings:
April 23 | 13:00 | Sparkle Roll-Jackie Chan Cinema (Wukesong Branch)
April 25 | 18:15 | Wanda Cinemas (CBD Wanda Plaza IMAX)
April 27 | 15:30 | Shenying International Cineplex (Xueyuan Nanlu CGS China Giant Screen)
A still from Familiar Touch
Oasis
I Want To Be Boss
Highlights:
A comedic take on a future shared with artificial intelligence. Directed by renowned Singaporean filmmaker Jack Neo, this film offers a distinctive Southeast Asian humor that is both fresh and compelling.
Upcoming screenings:
April 23 | 14:00 | Emperor Cinemas (Beijing Taikoo Li Sanlitun Branch)
Retrospective - Nonstop Waves of Dogme 95
Mifune
Highlights:
A commercially successful piece under the Dogme 95 movement, this film weaves a compelling narrative built on layers of deception. Directed by Søren Kragh-Jacobsen, the film pays tribute to Japanese filmmaker Toshiro Mifune in both title and content. It is the third work recognized by the “Dogme 95” movement and was shortlisted for the Competition Section at the Berlin International Film Festival.
Upcoming screenings:
April 23 | 18:15 | UME Cinema (Shuangjing CINITY Giant Screen)
Retrospective - Nonstop Waves of Dogme 95
Pusher
Highlights:
Although the famous Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn is not a member of the “Dogme 95” movement, his work is considered to present similar concepts and styles.
The film used rough images to present a gangster story with genre elements and achieved great commercial success, becoming an important work in Danish film history.
Upcoming screenings:
April 23 | 18:00 | Beijing Injia International Cinema (Golden Resources CINITY)
April 27 | 15:00 | Beijing Dizhi Hall
A still from Pusher
Oasis
Growing Down
Highlights:
The film was shortlisted for the newly established Perspectives Section at this year's Berlin International Film Festival. It employs a monochrome aesthetic to tell the story of a father's desperate attempts to absolve his child of a crime. As the narrative unfolds from the father's viewpoint, audiences inch closer to the truth while also delving into his psyche - witnessing his descent into a moral labyrinth shaped by responsibility and conscience.
Upcoming screenings:
April 23 | 20:30 | Sparkle Roll-Jackie Chan Cinema (Wukesong Branch)
April 25 | 18:00 | Poly International Cinema (Beijing Tian'anmen CINITY)
Vision
The Return 4K
Highlights:
Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche reunite for their third collaboration, delivering a contemporary rendition of The Odyssey.
Upcoming screenings:
April 24 | 15:00 | Beijing Dizhi Hall
April 25 | 13:30 | Wanda Cinemas (CBD Wanda Plaza IMAX)
April 27 | 16:00 | Capital Cinema (Xidan LED Giant Screen)
Cinema and Peace
The Burmese Harp 4K
Highlights:
Kon Ichikawa's cinematic masterpiece. The film was nominated for the Golden Lion at the 1956 Venice International Film Festival and the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1957, and was selected among the top ten films of the year by Kinema Junpo.
Upcoming screenings:
April 24 | 18:00 | Beijing Theater
April 25 | 20:40 | China Film Cinema (Tiantian CINITY)
April 26 | 13:00 | Art Cinema of China Film Archive
April 27 | 17:30 | Sparkle Roll-Jackie Chan Cinema (Wukesong Branch)
Oasis
Kneecap
Highlights:
A riotous, harder-edged tale than Trainspotting. The film is based on the true story of an alternative hip-hop group of the same name. It tells the absurd journey of three rebellious young people from Belfast who use Gaelic and street wisdom to fight reality.
Director Rich Peppiatt fuses anarchic visual rhythm with a spirit of defiance, forging a volatile punk fable.
Upcoming screenings:
April 24 | 20:30 | Shenying International Cineplex (Xueyuan Nanlu CGS China Giant Screen)
April 27 | 18:30 | Beijing Injia International Cinema (Golden Resources CINITY)
A still from Kneecap
Reality Rocks
The Typewriter and Other Headaches
Highlights:
The concluding chapter of Golden Bear laureate Nicolas Philibert's “Psychiatric Center Trilogy”.
Upcoming screenings:
April 24 | 18:40 | RIJDOJ Cinema IMAX
130 Years Self-portrait
Primitive Diversity
Highlights:
This new film by Alexander Kluge, a representative of New German Cinema, uses AI to imagine and present the future viewing mode. This film is Kruger's latest work dedicated to the 130th anniversary of film, and it is also another of his “AI movies”.
Upcoming screenings:
April 24 | 19:00 | RIJDOJ Cinema IMAX
April 26 | 19:50 | Inside-Out Cinema
A still from Primitive Diversity
Vision
Harvest
Highlights:
Greek director Athina Rachel Tsangari changed the style of her previous works, presenting the fatal tragedy with nihilism and telling the cruel fable of the times with oil painting-like images. Cannes Film Festival winner and "Dog God" Caleb Landry Jones gave his usual wonderful performance.
Upcoming screenings:
April 24 | 20:10 | UME Cinema (Shuangjing CINITY Giant Screen)
April 27 | 19:00 | Wanda Cinemas (CBD Wanda Plaza IMAX)
Dimension
How to Be Normal and the Oddness of the Other World
Highlights:
The debut feature of Austrian director Florian Pochlatko, a protégé of Michael Haneke. The film delves into the inner world of a deeply troubled young girl, delivering a narrative of exceptional craft and unforgettable imagery. The film was has selected for the Perspectives section at the 2025 Berlin International Film Festival.
Upcoming screenings:
April 24 | 20:30 | RIJDOJ Cinema IMAX
April 25 | 18:30 | Capital Cinema (Xidan LED Giant Screen Branch)
April 27 | 15:00 | Lumière Pavilions (Changying Paradise Walk IMAX)
A still from How to be Normal and the Oddness of the Other World
Oasis
Last Breath
Highlights:
Costa-Gavras's latest work centers on a writer seeking inspiration in a hospice, sharing a room with terminal patients.
The film was shortlisted for the Competition Section of the 72nd San Sebastián International Film Festival. Starring French comedy stars such as Denis Podalydès and Kad Merad, the film combines humor and poignancy in a tone reminiscent of The Intouchables.
Upcoming screenings:
April 24 | 20:45 | Lumière Pavilions (Changying Paradise Walk IMAX)
April 25 | 15:00 | Beijing Dizhi Hall
April 26 | 13:00 | UME Cinema (Shuangjing CINITY Giant Screen)
Oasis - A24 Collection
Opus 4K
Highlights:
As a new release from A24, the film presents a life-or-death showdown between a fading celebrity and a rising media rookie.
Upcoming screenings:
April 24 | 21:00 | Sparkle Roll-Jackie Chan Cinema (Wukesong Branch)
A still from Opus
Vision
The Devil Smokes (And Keeps the Burnt Matches in the Same Box)
Highlights:
Dubbed the Mexican counterpart to Nobody Knows, this film won Best Feature Film in the newly established Perspectives Section at the Berlin International Film Festival.
Upcoming screenings:
April 25 | 18:00 | Lumière Pavilions (Changying Paradise Walk IMAX)
April 26 | 15:40 | Sparkle Roll-Jackie Chan Cinema (Wukesong Branch)
Cinema and Peace
All I Had Was Nothingness: Lanzmann's “Shoah” 4K
Highlights:
A portrait of cinematic titan Claude Lanzmann and his lifelong struggle.
Upcoming screenings:
April 25 | 18:30 | MixC Cinema (Beijing Lize Paradise Walk Dolby Cinema)
April 26 | 18:00 | Canopy New Colourful Clouds Cinemas International Cinema (Laser Giant Screen)
April 27 | 16:30 | Universal CityWalk Cinema
Filmmaker in Focus - Kaori Oda
FUKUSHIMA with BélaTarr 4K
Highlights:
A meta-documentary that deconstructs the essence of cinema by capturing Béla Tarr's two-week filmmaking workshop in Fukushima, Japan, in February 2024. Kaori Oda deliberately abandoned moving shots and used static composition to frame the entropy increase process of this creative experiment.
Upcoming screenings:
April 25 | 19:00 | Emperor Cinemas (Beijing Sanlitun Taikoo Li Branch)
A still from FUKUSHIMA with BélaTarr
Women's Voice
Santosh
Highlights:
A female perspective on caste violence, this film navigates the fraught terrain between power and justice.
Upcoming screenings:
April 25 | 19:40 | Sparkle Roll-Jackie Chan Cinema (Wukesong Branch)
April 26 | 10:20 | MixC Cinema (Beijing Lize Paradise Walk Dolby Cinema)
April 27 | 13:00 | Jinyi Cinemas (Beijing Joy City Chaoyang IMAX Laser)
Premiere
The Light 4K
Highlights:
The 2025 Berlin International Film Festival Opening Film. Directed by Tom Tykwer (Run Lola Run), this marks his first feature in nine years.
Upcoming screenings:
April 25 | 20:00 | Poly International Cinema (Beijing Tian'anmen CINITY)
April 26 | 19:40 | Capital Cinema (Xidan LED Giant Screen)
April 27 | 17:40 | Emperor Cinemas (Emperor Group Centre IMAX)
A still from The Light
Reality Rocks
A New Kind of Wilderness
Highlights:
As the winner of the Documentary Grand Prix at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, this film is a deeply personal visual journal on love.
Upcoming screenings:
April 25 | 20:20 | Lumière Pavilions (Changying Paradise Walk IMAX)
Dimension
The Silent Trilogy
Highlights:
This film consists of three silent short films directed by the famous Finnish director Juho Kuosmanen. In terms of photography style, aspect ratio, and character performances, it imitates the early silent films, presenting a loving tribute to the history of cinema.
Upcoming screenings:
April 25 | 20:40 | Inside-Out Cinema
Cinema and Peace
Wings 4K
Highlights:
Directed by legendary Soviet filmmaker Larisa Shepitko, Wings focuses on the post-war life of a retired female pilot, revealing the lingering emotional aftershocks of WWII.
Upcoming screenings:
April 26 | 11:00 | Shenying International Cineplex (Xueyuan Nanlu CGS China Giant Screen)
April 27 | 15:40 | Jinyi Cinemas (Beijing Joy City Chaoyang IMAX Laser)
A still from Wings
Vision
Ari
Highlights:
This film is the third feature film by French director Leonore Serhay and the first to feature a male protagonist. The film shows the spiritual confusion of contemporary youth through individual situations, revealing the broader intergenerational anxiety. The film was shortlisted for the Competition Section of the Berlin International Film Festival.
Upcoming screenings:
April 26 | 13:00 | Sparkle Roll-Jackie Chan Cinema (Wukesong Branch)
April 27 | 15:00 | Wanda Cinemas (CBD Wanda Plaza IMAX)
Screen/Off
In the Shadows Episodes 1-2
Highlights:
A French political suspense series starring the leading actor from Anatomy of a Fall.
Upcoming screenings:
April 26 | 17:30 | Lumière Pavilions (Changying Paradise Walk IMAX)
A still from In the Shadows
Cinema and Peace
Cross of Iron 4K
Highlights:
Directed by American master filmmaker and "violent cowboy" auteur Sam Peckinpah, this film confronts the brutal moral dilemmas faced on blood-soaked battlefields.
Upcoming screenings:
April 26 | 17:35 | Emperor Cinemas (Emperor Group Centre IMAX)
April 27 | 13:00 | Capital Cinema (Xidan LED Giant Screen)
Retrospective - Jirí Menzel
Pearls of the Deep 4K
Highlights:
The birth of the Czech New Wave! The film was created by five Czech directors. At that time, they tried to break the traditional stereotypes of Soviet films through this collection of short films and to create a unique visual expression that belonged to young Czech creators.
Upcoming screenings:
April 27 | 15:40 | Beijing Injia International Cinema (Golden Resources CINITY)
A still from Pearls of the Deep
Dimension
Phantosmia
Highlights:
The latest work from Lav Diaz, representing the forefront of Southeast Asian art cinema in 2024.
Upcoming screenings:
April 27 | 18:00 | Shenying International Cineplex (Xueyuan South Road CGS China Giant Screen Store)
Oasis
Robot T-O
Highlights:
A road-trip odyssey with a healing robot.
Upcoming screenings:
April 27 | 18:00 | Sparkle Roll-Jackie Chan Cinema (Wukesong Branch)
Dimension
Fwends
Highlights:
A Rohmerian stroll through the streets of Melbourne, portraying contemporary urban female life with striking authenticity. This debut feature from Australian director Sophie Somerville was selected for the 2025 Berlin International Film Festival's Forum Section.
Upcoming screenings:
April 27 | 19:00 | Emperor Cinemas (Beijing Sanlitun Taikoo Li Branch)
A still from Fwends
Cinema and Peace
The Last Chance
Highlights:
As the winner of the inaugural Palme d’Or at Cannes, this film by Austrian master Leopold Lindtberg tells the gripping story of two Anglo-American POWs who escape a concentration camp and lead refugees out from under the shadow of Nazism.
Upcoming screenings:
April 27 | 20:30 | Lumière Pavilions (Changying Paradise Walk IMAX)
Cinema and Peace
The Propagandist
Highlights:
Never-before-seen historical archives uncover the hidden world of Dutch cinema under the shadow of Nazism.
Upcoming screenings:
April 27 | 20:30 | RIJDOJ Cinema IMAX
120 Years Applause: Chinese Film Special Screening
Labourer's Love 4K + The Cave of the Silken Web 4K
Highlights:
A double feature of two national cinematic treasures in newly restored 4K, reviving the century-long brilliance of Chinese cinema.
Labourer's Love: A crown jewel of the China Film Archive and the oldest surviving Chinese narrative film. This screening features a 4K restoration accompanied by a new symphonic score by the Suzhou Symphony Orchestra.
The Cave of the Silken Web: The earliest known adaptation of Journey to the West in costume fantasy form. Once thought lost, the film was recovered by the National Library of Norway and returned to China in 2014. To mark its tenth anniversary of repatriation, the film has been fully restored in 4K version, with this event marking its world premiere. A surprise live musical accompaniment will enhance this unmissable experience.
Upcoming screenings:
April 27 | 20:45 | Art Cinema of China Film Archive
A still from The Cave of the Silken Web
