Leading lights from the Chinese film and television industries, including Huayi Brothers Media's president Wang Zhonglei, director Lu Chuan and actor Chen Sicheng, gathered at Yanqi Lake in Beijing on Sunday to discuss recent developments in the industry. 

The theme of the roundtable forum was the history of Beijing International Film Festival (BJIFF) over the past 10 years. 

Lu Chuan, a filmmaker, screenwriter and producer, has a deep affection for domestic and international film festivals. His works have won more than 40 awards. At the forum, Lu said that he has benefited a lot from festivals: Every time he goes to one to see the films of other directors, he feels the vastness of the film world.

In private, Lu often book tickets online for film screenings, especially Akira Kurosawa's works. In his eyes, the feeling of watching movies in the cinema is completely different from that of DVDs. "The festival is a festival for filmmakers and a festival for spreading film culture," Lu said. Movies are a borderless language, a language that brings people around the world who love movies together.

Talking about the impact of internet platforms on the traditional cinema, Lu said his team will also get involved in online films in the future. He admitted that the flexibility of online films attracts him. As for the relationship between the two, Lu believes online platforms and traditional cinemas should "support" each other, rather than "bury" each other.

"There will certainly be competition, but they have a respectful relationship with each other." For example, he said, Netflix's "The Irishman" and "Marriage Story" did not lose their quality by airing online.

Lu also introduced his latest work "The 749 Bureau" – a sci-fi movie. "When the COVID-19 epidemic hit, especially seen in the lockdown in Wuhan City - everyone should wear a face mask. The plot of the film is almost consistent with that situation. In this film, we also shot the similar scene of the lockdown of a city, and I found that the cruelty of reality is far more frightening than what is shown in the film."

The director said the epidemic has also touched filmmakers. "Everyone is a small person in this era, and their inner feelings will feed back into their creation." 

Lu said that Beijing, a city that can inspire the creativity of young directors, should become a "port" for high-quality international film talents in the future, and the BJIFF, as the most important international film festival in Beijing, should showcase these resources and talents to the world.

The 10th Beijing International Film Festival kicked off on August 22 and will end on August 29.

Reporter: Ye Qing

Videographer: Xia Zhongming

Video editor: Deng Junfang, Ye Qing

Cover image: Liu Shaozhen

Project manager: Deng Junfang

Supervisor: Zhang Shilei