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This April, the 13th Beijing International Film Festival (BJIFF) will be held to celebrate cinema as scheduled.

For a film festival, the announcement of awards winners is always the most high-profile component, while the jury lineup is a determinant of the professionalism and authority of awards results. The jury lineup of this year’s Tiantan Award has been officially announced:

Chinese director Zhang Yimou chairs the jury of this year’s Tiantan Award.

He will be joined by Fernando E. Juan Lima, President of the Mar del Plata International Film Festival, Argentina, Chinese Hong Kong director Stanley Kwan, Israeli director Nadav Lapid, Thai director Pimpaka Towira, Chinese actor Zhang Songwen, and Chinese actress Zhou Dongyu to reveal the winners of the ten categories of the Tiantan Award.

　　

Zhang Yimou, Chinese film director. When it comes to the history of Chinese cinema, “Zhang Yimou” is always a name on everyone’s lips. His debut as a cinematographer with One and Eight resulted in the inaugural film of the fifth generation of Chinese filmmakers. His acting debut in Old Well won him three best actor awards at the Tokyo International Film Festival, the Golden Rooster Awards, and the People’s Hundred Flowers Awards, respectively. And his directorial film, Red Sorghum, won him a Golden Bear for Best Picture at the 38th Berlin International Film Festival, a feat for Chinese films for the first time created at the “Big Three” film festivals in Europe—Festival de Cannes, Venice International Film Festival, and Berlin International Film Festival—since the founding of New China.

And the awarding of Golden Bear to Red Sorghum kicked off his remarkable directing career. Following that, Zhang Yimou was nominated three times for the Golden Palm in Competition at the Festival de Cannes, three times for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film, and twice for the Golden Lion at the Venice International Film Festival, with his productions such as Ju Dou, Raise the Red Lantern, The Story of Qiu Ju, Shanghai Triad, Keep Cool, Not One Less, and The Road Home. With his great reputation in the international cinema community, he was invited to sit on the jury for the Main Competition section at the 43rd Berlin International Film Festival, and chair the jury at both the 18th Tokyo International Film Festival and the 64th Venice International Film Festival. 

These trophies awarded in quick succession have contributed to the formation of an art peak dubbed as “Zhang Yimou films” on the plain of Chinese cinema, and the word “Zhang Yimou” is a boffo box office certainty while he continues his venture into film aesthetics. In 2002, Zhang Yimou upheld the “blockbuster era” of Chinese films with Hero, which was the highest-grossing Chinese-language picture in that year. The same feat is true for his later three productions, House of Flying Daggers, Curse of the Golden Flower, and The Flowers of War, two of which shattered box office records in the Chinese film market. This year, Zhang’s another work, Full River Red, which was released during the Spring Festival period, also topped the box office in the Chinese mainland, grossing 4.543 billion yuan.

Zhang Yimou is at the forefront of China’s film directors, in terms of both artistic and commercial achievements. He directed the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympic Games as well as the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games, making the name “Zhang Yimou” heard by almost all Chinese. In today’s Internet era with a deluge of data and information, if there are people who could be considered a “household name” in the film industry, Zhang Yimou is absolutely right in the middle of it. And the appointment of Zhou Yimou as the jury president of this year’s Tiantan Award will surely allow the event to grab more attention.

　　

Fernando E. Juan Lima has been the vice president of Argentina’s National Institute of Cinema and Audiovisual Arts (INCAA) since September 2017, and has written a number of relevant professional books. Lima is also a film critic with extensive experience in written media and in radio and television.

Founded in 1989 in Argentina, the Mar del Plata International Film Festival is one of the 14 A-list festivals in the world, accredited by the International Federation of Film Producers Associations (FIAPF), as well as the only A-list festival in Latin America. Since its inception, the film festival has been a channel for introducing Latin American cinema to the world and the largest platform for Latin American filmmakers to dialogue with the global counterpart. 

Argentina, the second largest country in Latin America, has long been one of the advocates of Latin American culture in the film world, with an array of internationally revered auteurs such as Bruno Stagnaro and Adrián Caetano emerging successively in the New Argentine Cinema movement. On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Argentina last year, General Secretary Xi Jinping and President Alberto Fernández of Argentina jointly declared 2022 the Year of China-Argentina Friendship and Cooperation, and Argentina became the Guest of Honor at BJIFF 2022, which was included in the framework of the Year of China-Argentina Friendship and Cooperation. In 2022, Tristan Bauer, Argentine Minister of Culture, was invited as an honor guest of the BJIFF, and Argentine director Lucrecia Martel as a jury member of the Tiantan Award at BJIFF 2022. 

This year, Fernando E. Juan Lima will sit on the jury of the Tiantan Award, representing a testimony to the cultural ties between China and Argentina and a continuation of the friendship between Argentine filmmakers and the BJIFF. Alongside, his presence in this year’s jury lineup will surely bring a broader international perspective to the selection of the Tiantan Award.

　　

Women (1985), a feature debut independently directed by Stanley Kwan, which made him a nominee for Best Director at the 5th Hong Kong Film Awards, set off his directing career to a good start, followed by his third feature Rouge that finally won him the first Best Director honor at the 8th Hong Kong Film Awards.

His another immediate hit, Center Stage (1991), not only won him Best Director at the 28th Chicago International Film Festival, but also was nominated for the Golden Bear at the 42nd Berlin International Film Festival. And Maggie Cheung was also awarded the Silver Bear for Best Actress at the Berlin International Film Festival for her amazing performance in the film. In 1997, his drama film Hold You Tight was among the Competition lineup at the 48th Berlin International Film Festival, where it was the Silver Bear winner. In 2000, his feature film The Island Tales was a film in Competition at the 50th Berlin International Film Festival. In 2005, his drama film Everlasting Regret was selected in the Competition section of the 62nd Venice International Film Festival. These prestigious international awards one after another allow the world to discover the extraordinary talent of one of the Hong Kong New Wave directors. In 2010, Stanley Kwan sat on the jury of the Lion of the Future–“Luigi De Laurentiis” Venice Award for a Debut Film at the 67th Venice Film Festival, and in 2018, he was invited to be a jury member of the Competition section at the 31st Tokyo International Film Festival. 

Stanley Kwan is also a regular guest invited to the BJIFF. In 2020, he delivered a lecture at the 10th BJIFF Workshop & Masterclass on “Hong Kong Film: Inheritance of Tradition and Development for Surpassing”. This year, he will be tied again with the BJIFF as a jury member of the Tiantan Award.

　　

In 2011, Nadav Lapid’s feature debut Policeman was shortlisted for the Competition section of the 64th Locarno Film Festival, and won the Special Jury Prize. In 2015, his short film Why was selected for the Berlinale Shorts at the 65th Berlin International Film Festival. In 2019, his directorial feature film Synonyms was shortlisted for the Competition section of the 69th Berlin International Film Festival, and won the Golden Bear and the FIPRESCI Award (Competition). In 2011, Lapid won the Jury Prize at the 74th Festival de Cannes for his directorial film Ahed’s Knee.

Nadav Lapid sat on the Jury for the International Critics’ Week, a sidebar running alongside the 69th Festival de Cannes, and the Jury of the Competition section at the 71st Berlin International Film Festival, and headed the Jury at the 53rd International Film Festival of India.

In 2022, he dialogued with Chinese director Lu Chuan in a master class at the HiShorts! Film Festival in Xiamen. This April, this extremely popular up-and-comer will continue his story with China in terms of filmmaking in Beijing.

　　

In 2003, Pimpaka Towira’s directorial feature debut One Night Husband premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival, and she was nominated for the New Currents Award at the 8th Busan International Film Festival for the film. In 2015, her feature film The Island Funeral won the Asian Future Best Film Award at the 28th Tokyo International Film Festival. In 2010, her directorial short film My Father won the Special Jury Award at the Pacific Meridian International Film Festival of Asian-Pacific Countries. In 2016, her short film Prelude to the General won the Jury Prize of the Short Film Competition at the 40th Hong Kong International Film Festival.

In addition to her work on filmmaking, Pimpaka Towira is also a veteran film festival goer. She worked as Programme Director at the Bangkok International Film Festival in 2001, 2008 and 2009, and was appointed the Programme Director for the Bangkok ASEAN Film Festival from 2015 on. She also served as the Programme Director of the Singapore International Film Festival in 2017 and 2018. As a member of the jury of this year’s Tiantan Award, she will surely select the most deserving works with her professionalism.

　　

Zhang Songwen starred in the comedy Fake Fiction in 2012. He starred in the suspense The Shadow Play in 2016. The feature film End of Summer featuring Zhang Songwen in 2017 was shortlisted for the New Currents section at the 22nd Busan International Film Festival and won the KNN Award. He was featured in the spy film Saturday Fiction in 2018. And he appeared in the crime film Dust To Dust in 2019. Zhang played the leading role in the crime action film Break Through the Darkness in 2020. And he won the most popular actor award at the Media Honors Ceremony of China Movie Channel in 2022 for the history film The Pioneer.

In the Chinese TV drama hit Punch Out aired earlier this year, he was loved and acclaimed by countless viewers for his subtle portrayal of Gao Qiqiang. In the realistic film The Best is Yet to Come released in March this year, his portrayal of the well-known journalist Huang Jiang also earned him a lot of praise and sparked public discussion and concern about investigative journalism.

Zhang Songwen, a member of the Tianwan Award jury at the 11th BJIFF in 2021, will return to the jury lineup to reconnect with his friends to celebrate the grand film event in spring.

　　

In 2010, Zhang Yimou’s directorial film Under the Hawthorn Tree made Zhou Dongyu get in front of a large audience across the country, and she also won several awards for her appearance in the film, including the Outstanding New Actress at the 14th Huabiao Film Awards and Best Actress at the 56th Valladolid International Film Festival. For more than ten years since she made her debut, Zhou has grown into one of the most bankable actresses in China: in 2014, the romance film Us and Them starring Zhou earned 1.3 billion yuan at the box office, and in 2019, the youth film Better Days grossed 1.558 billion yuan, making Zhou’s personal box office total over 10 billion yuan. 

The appointment of Zhou Dongyu as a member of this year’s Tiantan Award jury is a continuation of her  inextricable bonds with the BJIFF: at the 9th BJIFF, Zhou was the “promoter of Chinese films” for the Out-of-Competition Section, and earlier, This Is Not What I Expected co-starring Zhou and Takeshi Kaneshiro kicked off its international tour with a world premiere in the Beijing Film Panorama at the 7th BJIFF. As a jury member of this year’s Tiantan Award, she is believed to leave the most professional comments based on her years of acting experience and provide her female perspective to the selection.

　　Jury of the Tiantan Award at the 13th Beijing International Film Festival

　　Film mashup