Beijing intl movie gala opens with sea of stars

The 15th Beijing International Film Festival kicked off in the capital's Huairou district on Friday night. The rain didn't dampen the enthusiasm of hundreds of stars and industry insiders, who shone brightly on the red carpet.

As proof of its growing global influence, this year's edition received 1,794 submissions from 103 countries and regions, an 18.9 percent increase from the 1,509 entries last year. A total of 10 Tiantan Awards — the festival's top honor — will be selected from 15 nominated films, including three Chinese titles.

The festival, which is one of the most influential cinematic events in China, will run until April 26.

Chinese filmmaker Jiang Wen, jury president of the Tiantan Award, said the most interesting part of watching a movie is considering who the audience is and how each person will interpret it from their own perspective.

Actress Joan Chen, one of the seven international jurors, said it was the first time in her decades-long career that she had walked the red carpet in the rain, adding that she felt thrilled to sit with excellent counterparts from other countries to discuss cinema.

British filmmaker David Yates, who also serves as a juror and is best known for directing four Harry Potter films, revealed that this was his first time attending the festival but his third time in Beijing. He said he was struck by the spectacle and scale of the event, adding that it made him feel warmly welcomed as an outsider from another country.

As most Chinese filmmakers face challenges in the rapidly expanding internet era, director Guan Hu said he believes that cinematic art will continue to require the human warmth brought by creative artists, predicting that cutting-edge artificial intelligence will serve as a tool to assist filmmakers.

For veteran producer Liang Jing, a frequent attendee of the festival, this year has stood out for the emergence of much young talent. Actor Song Yang, serving as a juror for the festival's Forward Future section — which focuses on spotlighting up-and-coming directors — echoed Liang, noting that he has also seen many young filmmakers courageously chasing their dreams.

In recent years, the domestic film industry has seen the emergence of acclaimed films about women. Citing new film Better Me, Better You, actress Ma Li, who starred in the movie that tells of the connection between a caregiver and an elderly widow, said she hopes the film can highlight the strength of women and help more audiences recognize how women persevere in difficult circumstances. The movie has also been nominated for the Tiantan Award.

With this year marking the 130th anniversary of world cinema — coincidentally also the 120th anniversary of the first Chinese film — the red-carpet show has a special section paying homage to cinematic masters and classic movies that have left an indelible mark on the past century.

A top highlight of the festival, the Beijing Film Panorama — a special section catering to die-hard movie fans — will screen around 300 acclaimed and new films from both home and abroad across 34 cinemas. Within just two hours of ticket sales opening, American director Richard Linklater's 1995 romantic drama Before Sunrise sold 3,183 tickets for its five screenings, making it the festival's top-selling film.