Beijing International Film Festival

The Beijing International Film Festival or BJIFF (Chinese: 北京国际电影节) is a film festival in Beijing, China. Founded in 2011, the film festival is supported and sponsored by the government of the Municipality of Beijing. The festival is one of the world's most prominent film festivals, and since its launch has been heavily attended by Hollywood executives, directors, producers and studio heads, as well as filmmakers and actors from all over the world. It serves as an international venue for different cultures around the globe to communicate.[1][2][3]

Beijing International Film Festival
LocationBeijing, China
Founded2011

As China's box office has expanded exponentially over the past decade, the festival is aiming to provide a high-profile forum for the interaction between the Chinese and the international film industries.[4] Other film festivals in Beijing include Beijing Independent Film Festival and Beijing Queer Film Festival, both of which have fallen foul of harshening Chinese Communist Party (CCP) censorship under the rule of CCP General Secretary Xi Jinping.[5]

2012 Festival

Notable international guest speakers at the 2012 festival including James Cameron,[6] who unveiled the details of the upcoming Avatar sequels at the film festival;[6] Jim Gianopulos,[7] Jeremy Renner, Tom DeSanto, Jon Landau, who were there to discuss co-productions between Hollywood and Chinese film studios.

2013 Festival

Notable guests at the 2013 festival includes Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy,[8] Paul Hanneman,[8] Keanu Reeves,[8] and Peter Chan.[8] Luc Besson, Jean-Jacques Annaud, and Wolfgang Petersen also discussed their upcoming co-productions in China at the festival.[8]

2014 Festival

The 2014 festival saw Jean Reno, Alfonso Cuaron,[9] Paramount Pictures COO Frederick Huntsberry,[10] Oliver Stone, MPAA president Christopher Dodd, Peter Del Vecho, Carlos Saldanha, John Woo,[11] Timur Bekmambetov, Peter Ziering, Andres Vicente Gomez, Rajkumar Hirani and Jim Sheridan.[12] The festival also saw a large representation from the BFI, the British Film Commission and BBC, who are aiming for a closer co-production agreement with China.[13]

2015 Festival

The 2015 festival saw Arnold Schwarzenegger,[14] and Darren Aronofsky [15] attend the event in April.

2016 Festival

The 2016 festival saw Natalie Portman,[16] and Christoph Waltz [17] as well as Brett Ratner, Sam Raimi, Yojiro Takita, Giuseppe Tornatore and Iain Smith attend the event in April.[18]

2018 Festival
Main article: 8th Beijing International Film Festival

2020 Festival

The 2020 Festival was postponed indefinitely owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.[19] The government-backed event was supposed to have taken place April 19–26.

Censorship

Amid increasing criticism[20][21] of China's tightening of censorship, the 2018 Festival attracted controversy when Chinese Government censors banned the Festival from screening the Oscar-winning Call Me by Your Name (film),[22][23] throwing a spotlight on LGBT rights in China. In 2014, China had shut down the Beijing Independent Film Festival,[24][25] and in January 2020, The China Independent Film Festival (CIFF) shut down operations, citing censorship concerns.[26]

References
  1. "Stars turn out for the 8th annual Beijing International Film Festival". AsiaOne.
  2. "Stars turn out for the 8th annual Beijing International Film Festival". The Straits Times. 16 April 2018.
  3. "Lure of Biz in China Pulls Execs to Beijing Film Fest". Variety.date=2013-04-16.
  4. "Beijing Film Festival Brings Hollywood Power Players, Classic Cinema to China". The Hollywood Reporter. 14 April 2014.
  5. Chan, Tara Francis. (24 May 2018). China's 'Great Firewall' is taller than ever under 'president-for-life' Xi Jinping. Business Insider. Germany
  6. "James Cameron Considers Teaming With China for 'Avatar' Sequels (Q&A)". The Hollywood Reporter. 2012-04-26.
  7. "Beijing Film Festival Champions International Co-Productions". The Hollywood Reporter. 2012-04-24.
  8. "Hollywood Descends on China for Beijing International Film Festival".
  9. "Beijing Film Fest: Alfonso Cuaron Talks 3D Strategies, Next Project". The Hollywood Reporter.
  10. "Beijing Film Festival Brings Hollywood Power Players, Classic Cinema to China". The Hollywood Reporter.
  11. "Beijing: John Woo Talks U.S.-China Collaboration, Hollywood Lessons, Next Two Films (Q&A)". The Hollywood Reporter.
  12. "Beijing Film Fest Confirms Chris Dodd, Alfonso Cuaron, Oliver Stone to Attend".
  13. "Leading British Film Group in Beijing to Explore Closer Ties With China". The Hollywood Reporter.
  14. "Beijing Film Fest: Schwarzenegger says he'll be back".
  15. "Beijing Film Fest: exploring new opportunities".
  16. "Beijing Film Fest2016: Natalie Portman looks stunning".
  17. "Beijing Film Fest 2016: exploring new opportunities".
  18. "Beijing Film Fest2016: Top talent attend festival".
  19. Davis, Rebecca. (March 9 2020). Beijing International Film Festival Indefinitely Postponed Due to Coronavirus. Variety (magazine). Los Angeles
  20. (6 August 2020). Hollywood censors films to appease China, report suggests. BBC News. United Kingdom
  21. Tager, James. Made in Hollywood, Censored by Beijing. PEN America. New York City
  22. Pei Li and Adam Jourdan. (26 March 2018). Beijing festival pulls award-winning gay film amid content squeeze. Reuters.
  23. Ho, Pang-Chieh. (5 April 2018). Gay romance ‘Call Me By Your Name’ pulled from Beijing International Film Festival. SupChina. Beijing,
  24. Didi Tang. (24 August 2014). China shuts down Beijing Independent Film Festival. AP News. New York City
  25. Kaiman, Jonathan. (24 August 2014). Beijing independent film festival shut down by Chinese authorities. The Guardian. London, UK
  26. Goh, Brenda. (11 January 2020). Independent film festival in China shuts, says 'impossible' to pursue independence. Reuters. Deutschland

See also
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