Forward Future
14th BJIFF Forward Future Section Meeting the Jury Concluded
On April 20, 2024, Meeting the Jury of the Forward Future Section of the 14th Beijing International Film Festival (BJIFF) was successfully held at Langyuan Station in Beijing. The Jury is composed of a president Jerzy Skolimowski, a Polish director, and four jurors, namely Gu Xiaogang, a Chinese director, Kees Van Oostrum, a Dutch cinematographer, Yang Lina, a Chinese director, and Yang Zishan, a Chinese actress.
2024 marks the 10th anniversary of the Forward Future section since its establishment in 2014. With the purpose of "discovering the new filmmakers around the globe in China's view and encouraging originals on the new wave of films in the world", the Forward Future section showcases the varied cultural significance of cinematic art and boosts the cooperation and exchange of young filmmakers from various countries.
Jury for Forward Future section
The five jurors at the event sincerely answered the questions from the media present and shared their insights and experiences from their work.
Polish director Jerzy Skolimowski has made outstanding and significant contributions to the new wave of Polish cinema, for which he was awarded the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival, Jury’s Special Grand Prix at the Festival de Cannes, and Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the Venice International Film Festival. As a world-renowned filmmaker, Skolimowski said, when talking about the “significance of communication and exchanges for film”, that "It's obvious that when you watch a film about a certain country, you get to know it better. In terms of film style, you could feel how the artist thinks through the film. The Chinese films of the Forward Future section are of high quality as they express in-depth thoughts and are well-designed, well-planned, and effectively performed."
Jerzy Skolimowski
Skolimowski also shared his thoughts, when asked “how to define the potential of a director in his or her first and second works", that “the selection of works, especially the first and second works of a new director, is very interesting. In most cases, traces of a young director's previous work can be found in his next one. But it is totally different at the Forward Future section, because I cannot see anything predictable on the new director."
"I'm highly surprised for what I've seen so far, and I also see some problems, some of which I cannot answer on my own. So, I had discussions with other jurors. In some works, the main idea and messages are explicitly expressed in a novel way. Chinese films are now really excellent. It's an amazing sign that the future of these new directors is full of unlimited possibilities."
Gu Xiaogang, a Chinese director, returned to the BJIFF as a juror to the Forward Future section. This year, he would like to provide more support to the young filmmakers for their growth. Talking about "the first or second works of other young directors in the Forward Future section", Gu Xiaogang said, "It is a great honor for me, as a young filmmaker, to work with Mr. Skolimowski and other experts here, which is a valuable fortunate. As Mr. Skolimowski said, all the films in this section are rich in contents and style with high quality. Sure enough, I also noticed some amazing works that are worthwhile for me to learn from, and I also see boundless possibilities out of them."
"As a juror, I could jump out of the box and reflect on my own context and direction. As the name 'Forward Future' suggests, I see a lot of possibilities for the future of the cinema, and it is rewarding to reflect on myself by watching and learning from other directors' excellent works."
Gu Xiaogang
Dutch cinematographer Kees Van Oostrum worked on more than 80 films, including Emmy Award-winning productions. As a world-renowned cinematographer, he focuses on the language of the camera in the works of new directors. Speaking of the Forward Future section, Van Oostrum said, "When we compare the modern films with those made a hundred years ago, we may find a lot of innovations in the expressions with the language of lens and massive changes in the visual technology, which have exceeded our expectations. In the works of these young directors, we can see that they have fully utilized the new technologies and are highly capable of audio-visual language in storytelling, which is related to with their sense of innovation, not only the technical concerns. I'm very happy that they could do that, and I’m also expecting to see more works coming out of them."
Kees Van Oostrum
At the 12th BJIFF, Chinese director Yang Lina's Song of Spring was shortlisted in the Competition Section, Tiantan Award, and star Wu Yanshu won the Best Actress Award for the film. This year, Yang Lina returned to the BJIFF as a juror for the Forward Future section where she shared her feelings on site, "It has been two years, at the same time, the same place, also in a beautiful spring. I am back to the BJIFF. This time, I enjoyed watching and talking about films with other jurors, and all of these excellent works are made by young directors from all over the world. The Forward Future section is a dynamic and fascinating section. 2024 is also its 10th birthday, which will be a definitely happy birthday."
Yang Lina
Yang Zishan, actress from Chinese mainland, was nominated as the Best Actress at the Golden Rooster Awards and People’s Hundred Flowers Awards; and won the Outstanding New Actress at the 15th Huabiao Film Awards. As a skilled actress, Yang Zishan has her own criteria for judging films, "To see whether a film really impresses me or not, its completeness and its outstanding performance in a certain aspect are very important. These are the elements I am seeking in a film to see if it will make the cut. As an actress, I put more emphasis on performances. Like director Gu Xiaogang just said, I was also learning and reflecting on myself when I watched these films. It was a valuable experience for me."
Yang Zishan
Every master of filmmaking started as a newcomer. From the first work of juvenile, to the second showing growth and then to the formation of personal style, every filmmaker has written his or her own charming story with unremitting efforts. In the next few days, the jury will work together at the Forward Future section to discover every budding filmmaker and support every creative work!
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