A total of 15 films have been shortlisted for the Tiantan Awards at the ninth Beijing International Film Festival (BJIFF) which opened on April 13. 

Judges from diverse cultures and backgrounds under the lead of Rob Minkoff will choose the winners. Chinese actress Carina Lau and director Cao Baoping are also on the jury.

The Wandering Earth

Among the 15 films, Chinese audiences are most familiar with “The Wandering Earth”, China's first space-based science fiction blockbuster.

Directed by Frant Guo and starring Wu Jing, the film was adapted from Hugo Award winner Liu Cixin's novel of the same name.

It tells a story in a distant future when the Earth is going to be devoured by the Sun expanding into a red giant. People on the Earth build thousands of massive rocket boosters to move the planet off the solar system to a new galaxy.

Released on the first day of Chinese New Year, it has been the biggest box office winner of the year so far with over 1,057 billion yuan (about 156.76 million U.S. dollars), and has also had a positive commercial and critical reputation.

The Eleventh Chapter

“The Eleventh Chapter” is a mystery film directed by Chen Jianbin, and stars Chen himself alongside Zhou Xun and Leah Dou.

What interesting about "The Eleventh Chapter" is that it is set in a drama troupe, meaning it triggers deep thinking about "art and reality, rational and emotional, real and false".

The Composer

The Composer is a film co-produced by China and Kazakhstan.

The film tells the story of Xian Xinghai, a famous Chinese musician, who was displaced during the Great Patriotic War of the Soviet Union. After being rescued by Kazakh musicians, he inspired the Chinese and Kazakh people to fight against fascism with his music.

Besides for these stories, “A Fortune Man”, “Ben is Back”, “Fear”, “Happier Times, Grump”, “Iro”, “Sunset”, “Tehran: City of Love”, “The Keeper”, “The Unorthodox”, “The Waiter”, “Le Poirier Sauvage” and “Half the World” are also among the shortlist. 

The Tiantan Awards

Founded in 2013, the Tiantan Awards have been advocating for the beauty that lies in variety and diversity. They aim to select the best films and reward the best filmmakers on a global scale, advancing the exchanges between film industries around the world.

It features 10 prizes: Best Feature Film, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Music and Best Visual Effects.

The awards winners will be revealed on April 20 at the closing ceremony in Beijing. 

(Top image designed by Jia Jieqiong.)