Age and success start with youth and courage. Each master of the classics was once a brilliant newcomer. When life is alive in everything in April, the 14th BJIFF appoints actress Naran Erdyneeva to be the Youth Promoter for the Forward Future, through which she will witness together with the audience the rise of young filmmakers.

　　

Naran Erdyneeva, Youth Promoter for the Forward Future

The film Creation of the Gods I: Kingdom of Storms became a cinema hit in 2023, grossing more than RMB2.6 billion of box office and winning the 36th Golden Rooster Award for Best Feature Film. Naran Erdyneeva, debuting as Daji in the film, won instant favor of the majority of film fans and netizens. Who is she? The young actress, a newcomer to attention of the general public, sparked curiosity in everyone.

　　

Still of the Creation of the Gods I: Kingdom of Storms

At the age of 20, she participated in the global audition for the epic mythological Creation of the Gods trilogy and won the role of “Daji” out of 14,000 candidates in 2017. For a newcomer like her, the classic character means opportunity and challenge. It’s not easy to brave the unknown challenge. But Naran proves her faith in and passion about film and acting with courage. During the six-month training in seclusion for the film, she received acting, guqin, dance and equestrian training. The courage and firm faith helped her grow up. The audience were impressed by new Daji’s beauty and agility the moment the film trailer was released. After the film was released theatrically, she was widely recognized for her accurate portrait of the animal side of fox spirit, and won the nickname of “my kitty” by netizens with her remarkable performance.

The BJIFF Forward Future pays special attention to such growth, and offers young filmmakers a platform to showcase themselves and their courage, faith and talent to the world. Hopefully, they will grow out of the challenges and surpass themselves. Striving to highlight the cultural connotations of films in various forms, and boost the exchange and communication among young filmmakers all over the world, the section calls for the first or second feature films by global directors of various subject matters, genres and styles, and wishes to “discover new filmmakers around the globe in China’s view and encourage originals on the new wave of films in the world”.

As Youth Promoter for the section, Naran sure will bring new vitality and momentum to the section with her courage, faith and growth. Her choice not only shows her courage, but also inspires and supports young filmmakers. Let’s join our hands with young actress Naran Erdyneeva to follow the Forward Future and witness the rise of young power!