Premiere held to conclude Looking China Filmmaking Project

A premiere screening was arranged to conclude the Looking China International Youth Film Project in Ordos, Inner Mongolia autonomous region, July 16.

With support from Beijing Normal University’s Huilin Foundation and its Academy for International Communication, the ceremony was hosted by the Ordos New Media Center in the city’s Kangbashi district. 

The premiere was organized for the foreign filmmakers descending on Inner Mongolia to finish a filmmaking project through which they demonstrated their own interpretation of Ordos and Inner Mongolia with short films. 

With help from instructors and volunteers, the 10 filmmakers each completed a 10-minute film under the theme of Ecology, Biology and Living after a shooting schedule lasting more than 10 days. 

The ceremony was attended by Su Cuifang, director of the Ordos publicity department; Liu Jianxun, vice-mayor of Ordos; Geoff Poister, a professor from the school of communication at Boston University; the 10 filmmakers from the United States, Demark and France, and the volunteers and officials. 

In both English and Chinese, Su extolled the efforts made by the filmmakers and volunteers. 

In her speech, she reviewed the past three years of the Looking China International Youth Film Project that took place in Ordos. 

“Over the past three years, 21 films have been produced owing to this project. These films display every aspect of Ordos to the world,” Su said. 

At the end of her speech, Su expressed her belief that Ordos will become even more beautiful and more people from around the world will fall in love with the city. 

Before the screening of the films, Huang Huilin, the sponsor of the project and dean of the Academy for International Communication of Chinese Culture at Beijing Normal University, extended her thanks through a video recorded beforehand for the hard work of the filmmakers and volunteers, and also her congratulations on the success of the project.

The 10 films premiered at the ceremony were Green China Dream by Ducros Richard from France; Jia’s Happy Life by Victoria Oliveira DaCunha from the US; Blue Sheep by Zachary John Flint from the US; Hu Peng by Kate Leah Zizmor from the US; Ranger Jia by Brianna Lynn Burns from Denmark; The Horse Culture by Benjamin Christensen; Mysterious Treasure: Sala Wu Su by Kelsey Miller Dowling from the US; The Whistling Dune Bay by Ambre Rambaud from France; The Farmer by Anna Elizabeth Kathrine Krarup from Denmark, and A Home In Paradise by Rémi Thevenart from France. 

Following the screening, Professor Geoff Poister, who led the team, shared his feelings about the trip in Ordos. The audience members also had in-depth exchanges with the filmmakers. 

At the end of the ceremony, officials presented certificates to the filmmakers and staff members involved in the project to honor their dedication to the program. 

The Looking China International Youth Film Project was initiated in 2011, and has taken place for seven consecutive years. It offers opportunities to young filmmakers from foreign countries to use their cameras to display their own unique interpretation of China. By the end of 2017, 405 young people from 49 countries, including the United States, United Kingdom and France had produced 404 short films, which had won nearly 100 awards at foreign and domestic film festivals.

Themed Ecology, Biology and Living, this year’s program will be held in various areas, including Beijing, Chongqing, Inner Mongolia, and Liaoning, Hubei and Jiangsu provinces. 

This year marked the third time that Ordos has hosted the program. Over the past two years, 11 directors from Israel, Pakistan, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia and Malaysia have produced more than 10 short films, with some of them winning prizes or being shown at domestic and foreign film festivals. The opportunity to host such an important event has given Ordos an unrivalled opportunity to promote itself around the world.

A premiere screening concludes the Looking China International Youth Film Project in Ordos, Inner Mongolia autonomous region, July 16. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The filmmakers attend the premiere screening. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]