Panorama
Exploring Infinite Possibilities of Films over Time
The Launch Ceremony of the 14th BJIFF XR Beijing was successfully concluded on April 17 at 1F, former site of Hongqing Building on Qianmen Street, No. 6 Xinchao Hutong, Dongcheng District, Beijing. The soaring development of technology has brought films beyond cinema. In particular, XR and relevant technologies expand carriers for film, and break stereotypes. This year, under the theme of “Motion Picture”, the XR Beijing Section discusses inheritance and innovation of cinema in the era of infinite possibilities, and reflects on the impacts of VR on reality.
Guests present at the Launch Ceremony of the XR Beijing Section included Lin Siwei, Deputy Secretary-General of the BJIFF Organizing Committee and Deputy Director of China Film Archive and China Film Art Research Center, Hao Jie, Deputy Director of the BJIFF Operation Center, Beijing Radio & Television Station, Li Xun, initiator of the BJIFF XR Section, Sha Dan, curator of Beijing Film Panorama, Sun Bin, Deputy Dean of the School of Theater, Film and Television, CUC, Song Weiwei, General Manager of China Film Animation Co., Ltd. and Head of Art Creation Talent Center, China Film Group, and Yang Yang, Director of Broadway Cinematheque among others. Some of the guests shared their forward thinking about integration of XR technology and cinema.
Launch Ceremony of the XR Beijing Section
▌Déjà vu and unprecedented sight
At the Launch Ceremony, Lin Siwei, Deputy Secretary-General of the BJIFF Organizing Committee and Deputy Director of China Film Archive and China Film Art Research Center, looked back on the fast development of the XR Section in the past 6 years, and expected that more outstanding XR works would be showcased in Beijing, the cultural center, so that the audience has a more diverse range of choices with richer content. Moreover, Lin Siwei hoped that healthy consumer habits would be formed in the industry to drive its high-quality development.
Lin Siwei
Deputy Secretary-General of the BJIFF Organizing Committee and Deputy Director of China Film Archive and China Film Art Research Center
Sha Dan, curator of the Beijing Film Panorama and Deputy Director of Public Affairs Department, China Film Archive, pointed out that a film generates new culture when it’s replayed in a new space at a new time. The fusion of Beijing, a city with profound history and youthful vitality, and XR technology would bring us surprises.。
Sha Dan,
curator of the Beijing Film Panorama and Deputy Director of Public Affairs Department, China Film Archive
Sun Bin, Deputy Dean of the School of Theater, Film and Television, CUC, took the example of AI, and explained changes of subject matters and technology application of XR works in the past few years. He also believed that AI technology will continue to facilitate the innovative way forward for XR works.
Sun Bin,Deputy Dean of the School of Theater, Film and Television, CUC
As the initiator of the XR Section, Li Xun has been committed to presenting world’s best AR and XR works to the audience. There are new changes in terms of public engagement. Sure those changes will ensure better audience experience. He also expected that the XR Section would set trends of creation and advance XR industry in China.
Li Xun, initiator of the XR Beijing
Che Lin, curator of the 14th BJIFF XR Beijing, gave a detailed introduction of its three subsections, including mixed reality installation, virtual reality interaction and 360-degree panoramic cinema. As for the zoning of the XR Beijing, she said that the visual design blended the graffiti Good Luck by Zheng Yuanwu, futuristic geometry and colors. Hopefully, visitors will have a unique experience in the space.
Che Lin, curator
▌Within and beyond expectation
The 14th BJIFF XR Beijing is opening from April 18 to 27 at the former site of Hongqing Building on Qianmen Street, during which 19 works from a dozen of countries and regions are screened. While immersed in those works, we can look back and forward on infinite possibilities of cinematic development.
Poster of the XR Beijing
Among works to be screened, the Shadowtime and companion piece Our Ark combined AR technology with filmmaking, enabling the audience to feel the role of AIGC in the reconstruction and reproduction of reality in the virtual world.
The Missing Pictures series have five celebrated directors, Abel Ferrara, Catherine Hardwicke, Tsai Ming-Liang, Lee Myung-se and Naomi Kawase, share with viewers their failed film projects in their virtually modeled avatars.
JFK Momento dives into history and imposes historical video footages on reconstructed 3D street scene. The immersive presentation reveals the prospects of VR documentary.
If you still remember the Rock, Paper, Scissors screened last year at the BJIFF, don’t miss Astra or Origen, both of which are outstanding works about gesture interaction. Astra brings the audience to outer space via gesture and they will feel how small they are in the vast universe. Origen is set in the jungle, where the audience are immersed in the culture and fables of Amazon jungle by means of gesture and walking.
Furthermore, XR technology not only empowers films to push the boundaries for presentation, but also helps the disabled better feel the world with its amazing performance in physical space, and allows us to experience and understand the life of the special group. Emperor, winner at the 80th Venice International Film Festival in 2023, enables the audience to truly empathize with the world that those with aphasia live in through surreal scenes; and Lou presents brand new perspective into the world of children with autism via VR technology
You are sincerely invited to visit the former site of Hongqing Building on Qianmen Street, No.6, Xinchao Hutong, from April 18 to 27, and experience the mind blowing and touching moments in those outstanding works screened under the XR Beijing Section.
Promo video of the XR Beijing
Please download the Beijing International Film Festival APP for more interesting content
