Senior Movie Artists Share Memories of SIFF

http://www.chinacoproduction.com 2008-06-11 China Film Co-Production Corporation

They witness her growth, they watch her shoulder their dreams. They have the deepest and the most penetrating, compassionate eyes like grandparents. Here they are, our city' s senior cinematic artists. And this young girl these artists have been watching grow is undoubtedly the Shanghai International Film Festival, who is celebrating her 10th birthday.

" Change" seems to be the first word coming out of every single one of these senior movie artists. Some of the oldest movie artists are in their 80s and even the youngest are in their 60s. However, 14 years have passed, SIFF is still young. And with youth comes much energy and passion.

The famous film director Wu Yigong witnessed the evolution of Shanghai International Film Festival for ten years. In 1993, Mr. Wu initiated the first Shanghai International Film Festival as the chief of Shanghai Film Bureau. Wu harbored deep love for films and for the film festival, and he stood still on the stage with tearful eyes for a long time at the closing ceremony as the stage-lights faded into darkness. Wu recalled: " That was a debut for us all. We, with no experience, could only strive to find our own style." He showed enthusiasm towards this year' s movie festival. SIFF has become a symbol for Shanghai, the international metropolis, said he.

Director Li Xiepu brought his movie Deng Xiaoping 1928 to the 7th Shanghai International Film Festival.
" Compared with past festivals, the Shanghai International Film Festival evolves in terms of quantity of movies screened and the quality of those movies. In addition, every year more and more well-known judges and actors are participating in the festival. The Shanghai Film Festival enjoys a much more intimate relationship with both international and domestic audiences as well as the festival' s ever-increasing popularity among those audiences."

Famous artist, Qin Yi, is a regular guest of Shanghai International Film Festival. She recalled the moment when she awarded two actresses for their groundbreaking performances. In 1995, she awarded Miss Guo Keyu, the leading actress in Hong Ying Tao (Red Cherry) for Best Actress. That short awards ceremony left Qin Yi with a deep impression she would never forget. And last year, she awarded the French actress, Catherine Deneuve, the "Excellent Contribution Award of Film Arts" award. Two actresses, from different countries, of different generations, cherished their friendship and cared about each other, which made Qin Yi's two awarding experiences unforgettable.

Senior movie artists are deeply concerned with Chinese domestic movies. The senior performance artist Niu Beng expressed his excitement when he recalled the Chinese movie Charging Out Amazon which premiered at the opening ceremony of the 6th Shanghai International Film Festival. " That film was a true benchmark for Chinese cinema. I was so moved and inspired by this film. It was truly amazing! "

Mr. Zhong Xinghuo, another senior artist, expressed his own memories of the Shanghai International Film Festival in a unique way concerning the Chinese Character "Jue" . "Jin Jue" is really interesting. The character' s name means a golden cup for drinks which have been used for countless generations in Chinese history for the purpose of celebration. Although our current era undergoes profound changes every day, we still should maintain our national features so as to make our distinctive Chinese mark on the other significant film festivals of the world.   

Speaking of the film festival, the older generations of cinematic artists have one deep but shared memory-their dreams. Performance artist Liang Boluo said even through a lot of people of their generation are retiring from the film industry, they still have an everlasting and deeply emotional bond between the Shanghai International Film Festival and their artistic aspirations and dreams. Unanimously, all of the senior artists genuinely wish to give more of their passion and their insight to the festival.

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