On the evening of June 13, the closing ceremony of the 25th Shanghai International Film Festival "Belt and Road" Film Week was held at Shanghai Pudong Art Museum. Many honors such as "Media Focused Filmmakers", "Media Focused Films" and "Most Audience Favorite Film" were announced. Well-known filmmakers from countries along the "Belt and Road" gathered together to witness the "Belt and Road" films at this Shanghai International Film Festival Highlights of the week. Jin Mei, Member of the Standing Committee of the Pudong New Area Committee, Secretary of the Party Group and Executive Deputy Director of the Resort Management Committee, Huang Wei, Member of the Standing Committee of the Pudong New Area Committee and Director of the Propaganda Department, He Wenquan, Director of the Shanghai International Film and Television Festival Center, and this year's "Belt and Road" Film Week Promotion Ambassador Zhao Tao and Lei Jiayin jointly launched a new round of "Belt and Road" film tour.

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Closing ceremony star-studded

As the closing ceremony of the "Belt and Road" Film Week of this year's Shanghai International Film Festival, the closing ceremony brought together many well-known domestic and foreign filmmakers.

Judge of the Golden Goblet Award at the 2018 Shanghai Film Festival, winner of the Golden Bear Award at the 67th Berlin Film Festival, Hungarian director, screenwriter, and producer Irtiko Inyeti; a filmmaker who received media attention during the 2018 "Belt and Road" Film Week Honorary winner, Indonesian director Camila Andini; Italian film scholar Marco Muller; actor and producer Vivian Vivian; director and producer Zheng Dasheng who served as a jury member for the 2019 Mskolc International Film Festival in Hungary; In the 2019 "Belt and Road" Film Week, the media paid attention to the filmmaker, director, and screenwriter Wang Lina; Malaysian director Ke Wenli, director Su Lun, Zhao Tao and Lei Jiayin, promotion ambassadors of the "Belt and Road" Film Week of this film festival, attended as honorary guests. Also present at the closing ceremony were Gu Shuhang, CEO of CAA China, director Yan Yizhi, writer Hong Ying, actors Andy Friend, Xue Xuchun, etc.

"Snow Cloud" and "Security Field" won the honor of "Media Focus Film" in the "Belt and Road" Film Week

After joint discussion by five media judges, Chinese director Wu Lang's "Absence" and Croatian director Juraj Lerotic's film "Safe Place" were selected in this "Belt and Road" Film Week. Stand out among the excellent shortlisted films and win the honor of "Media Attention Film". It is worth mentioning that both works are the first feature films of the two directors.

Hungarian actress Katalin Román (Katalin Román), who starred in the film "Six Weeks", was selected by the media as the honorary winner of "Media Focused Filmmaker". The film "Six Weeks", which was selected into the "Belt and Road" Film Week this time, is her first "electric shock". Her outstanding performance was considered "the real driver of the film" by the media judges.

Another "Media Focused Filmmaker" winner is Israeli screenwriter and director Michal Vinik. Her film "Valeria Is Getting Married" was mostly shot indoors, but the script is concise and gripping. The film also won the honor of "Most Audience Favorite Film" in the "Belt and Road" Film Week voted by the audience.

"Valeria Is Getting Married" won the honor of "Most Favorite Film" in the "Belt and Road" Film Week voted by the audience

The photographer Katalin Román of the film "Six Weeks" attended

"Media Focus Filmmaker" winner goes to Israeli screenwriter and director Michal Vinik

Actor Lei Jiayin and director Su Lun, who presented the "Most Popular Movies", also have a lot of connection with the "Belt and Road" Film Week. The film "Exchanging Lives", which the two had previously collaborated on, had its international premiere at the 45th Moscow International Film Festival after it was released in the Spring Festival. Another actor, Zhao Tao, who was awarded the "Media Focused Film" award, was invited by the South African Durban International Film Festival, a member institution of the "Belt and Road" Film Festival Alliance, to serve as a judge for the feature film unit in July last year.

Director Su Lun and "Belt and Road" Film Week promotion ambassador and actor Lei Jiayin

Open a window for filmmakers and audiences alike

At the Pudong Art Museum, where the closing ceremony of the "Belt and Road" Film Week was held, guests from all over the world not only watched the brightly lit buildings on the Bund and Lujiazui Financial District under the night with great interest, but also enjoyed the retrospective exhibition of the works of the famous photographer Mr. Liu Xiangcheng " Liu Xiangcheng's Lens·Time·People". Mr. Liu Xiangcheng personally guided the works for the guests, allowing Chinese and foreign filmmakers to understand the unique perspective of Chinese artists and the changes and development of Chinese society while appreciating the cityscape where tradition and modernity coexist in Shanghai.

Photographer Mr. Liu Xiangcheng shared the stories behind his works with the guests of the “Belt and Road” Film Week

Through the screenings of the "Belt and Road" Film Week, citizens and movie fans also saw more customs, culture and art of countries along the "Belt and Road". Ms. Jiang, who works in HR, is a "lucky viewer" of the film screenings at the Shanghai International Film Festival. Most of them are commercial blockbusters, smaller documentaries or life-like films, art films that are not very popular, it is difficult to get access outside the film festival, and it would be better if there are more such films in the future.” From Shanghai International Ms. Wang from a cultural company in a tourist resort has been paying attention to her favorite works during the "Belt and Road" Film Week. "We are doing offline dramas. With the platform of Film Week, we hope that our dramas can Form an IP, adapt it into a movie, and also come to participate in tour exhibitions and competitions."

Cultural exchanges will light up more movie dreams

The first "Light and Shadow Lead the Way" workshop on June 12

Ms. Wang's wish is also to fulfill the dream of director Xi Jinping, the director of the Greek film "One Day, One Day", which was selected for the screening list of this "Belt and Road" Film Week Exhibition. A few years ago, he was the Consul General of Greece in Shanghai. As a guest, he attended the film screening of the "Belt and Road" Film Week. After resigning as a diplomatic envoy, he returned to Shanghai as a film director and screenwriter.

In September 2019, Xi Jinping's debut film "One Day, One Day" was officially launched in Shanghai. As a Chinese-Greek co-production, this work tells a romantic love story between a Shanghai girl and a Greek boy, and Shanghai is the soul of the story. He once told reporters that in this international metropolis with a population of more than 20 million, it has a quiet and graceful side, and he was fascinated by the corners and alleys of old Shanghai. Through the shell of love, he presents Shanghai's unique urban humanistic style, as well as multi-dimensional culture and collision in the film. "This is an art film with commercial appeal, which can make people laugh and cry." He said that this work incorporates his in-depth thinking on the differences in lifestyle and culture between China and Greece.

In fact, such cultural dialogue is also the original intention of the "Belt and Road" Film Week and the "Belt and Road" Film Festival Alliance. After five years of development, this section of the Shanghai Film Festival has achieved great results. The level of cooperation between film festivals in various countries has increased year by year, and the scope of cooperation in film exchanges has continued to expand. Since its establishment in 2018, the alliance has established an information sharing mechanism and a mutual recommendation mechanism for film and filmmakers in five years. From the first batch of 31 film festival member institutions in 29 countries to the present, there are 55 members from 48 countries. mechanism.

What's the next step? The newly established "Light and Shadow Lead the Way" workshop during the film week may be a new breakthrough. As a new section, the workshop invites industry experts from film festivals and film companies to communicate with filmmakers, discuss practical strategies for integrating content creation with international production and distribution, share experience and look forward to the future of the industry.

On June 12, the first "Light and Shadow Leads the Way" workshop invited Liu Lisha, manager of the cooperative business department of Huaxia Film Co., Ltd., as the guest speaker. Taking Huaxia Film Business as a case, she introduced to the guests the two-way communication situation and mode of Chinese films and imported films. This year, the Shanghai Film Festival and Huaxia Film have reached a "strategic cooperation", which will effectively promote the exchange of film production and distribution among alliance member institutions. In the future, films with local characteristics from countries along the “Belt and Road” will be disseminated on more international platforms to expand the influence of diverse civilizations.

The "Light and Shadow Leads the Way" workshop is just a small incision for the "Belt and Road" Film Week and the "Belt and Road" Film Festival Alliance to find new opportunities for development. The new round of the "Belt and Road" film tour mechanism launched at the closing ceremony is expected to expand in scale and make cultural exchanges within the alliance a normal state throughout the year. On the morning of the same day as the closing ceremony of the "Belt and Road" Film Week, the famous Hungarian director Inyeti made an appearance in the film school of the Shanghai Film Festival. Zhou invited to participate as a film master, and the Chinese director Zheng Dasheng, who served as the host of the show, served as the judge of the Miskolc International Film Festival in Hungary in 2019-this is what the "Belt and Road" Film Week promotes Cultural exchanges, the formation of a tacit understanding.

Hungarian director Irtiko Inyeti is a guest at the 25th Shanghai International Film Festival Film School

When such a normal state is formed, maybe one day Ms. Wang will realize her dream like Director Xi Shi, and show her dream in more countries.