Thursday evening's red carpet ceremony featured famous film directors, movie stars and singers from both at home and abroad.
This second annual Pingyao International Film Festival will feature 1,200 films, three times last year's amount. 55 of them will have gala screenings during the event itself. They come from 25 different countries and regions and nearly half of these films are making their world premieres in Pingyao, an ancient town with a history of more than 2,700 years.
Roberto Rossellini, an Italian master filmmaker, arrived at the 2018 PIYFF red-carpet opening in Pingyao, north China's Shanxi Province, Oct. 11, 2018. /CGTN Photo
This year's theme is "A Boutique Festival for the People." The organizers believe film, as a medium, is closely connected with China's culture and the daily lives of the people.
Chinese Director Jia Zhangke, who founded the festival, told CGTN, “Movies originated from magic and acrobatic performances. These kinds of traditional busking once brought people happiness and left them with joyful memories. With this as the theme, we hope filmmakers can rethink the relations between arts and life.”
Chinese actor Liao Fan, a multiple awards winner, was waving to the audience on the 2018 PIYFF red-carpet opening in Pingyao, north China's Shanxi Province, Oct. 11, 2018. /CGTN Photo
11 filmmaker parties and two fairs will be held during the event, all free of charge for the audience, in accordance with Jia's theme.
Another highlight of this year's festival is the focus on female filmmakers, with half the competing directors being women. The opening film, "Half the Sky", is the second BRICS co-production directed by five female directors and it focuses on the self-worth and achievements of women in the BRICS countries. Several Indian films being shown also focus on women and their status in modern society.
The opening film "Half the Sky" was directed by five female directors from Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, at the 2018 PIYFF in Pingyao, north China's Shanxi Province, Oct. 11, 2018. /CGTN Photo
South African Director Sara Blecher explained, “We want to look at how we judge women and what makes a person woman versus a man. Sometimes that line is really close to the edge, a shifting line. That's what you are trying to look at in the movie.”
Just as in its first year, this year's festival sheds light on the work of young directors and aims to help them grow.
The ticket price is set at around 60 yuan at the 2018 PIYFF that opened in Pingyao, north China's Shanxi Province, Oct. 11, 2018. /CGTN Photo
Marco Mueller, the artistic director of the Pingyao International Film Festival, said, “The festival could really be a way to finally map what should be called 'Chinese New Cinema' and 'Young Chinese Cinema' in a sense that every filmmaker represents a way to tackle with contemporary problems, to express his own experience and to finally to be able to talk about China in a way that will be immediately accessible for audiences outside of China.”
The 2018 PIYFF also pays tribute to New Wave cinema in the former Soviet Union and 10 Soviet films will be screened in restored versions during the festival. /CGTN Photo
Besides the film screenings, academic seminars will be held, including some film masterclasses and forums. The festival is definitely a feast for film lovers as the activities and exhibitions are all free to the public.
(Cover: The annual Pingyao Int'l Film Festival is held in an abandoned yet refurbished diesel engine factory in the ancient city. /CGTN Photo)