Pingyao International Film Festival

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The Pingyao International Film Festival (PYIFF), officially as "Pingyao Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon International Film Festival",^[1] is a film festival held in Pingyao, Shanxi, China. It was launched in October 2017 by Jia Zhangke, a Chinese film director, screenwriter and leading figure of the "Sixth Generation" movement of Chinese cinema^[1] and prestigious festival director Marco Müller.^[2] The festival's goal is to bring attention to works done by young, lesser known directors in the Chinese film industry,^[3] as well as to encourage communication and cooperation between Chinese and international filmmakers.^[4]

History[]

Zhangke first announced the creation of the Pingyao International Film Festival (PYIFF) in 2017 during a press conference for the China Film Directors Center in Beijing, where this festival is commercially operated and government-guided.^[1] Marco Müller, PYIFF's artistic director, who has also served as former chief adviser and selector at the Beijing International Film Festival and former director of the Venice, Rome and Locarno film festivals, confirmed that the festival's name was permitted by Ang Lee, director of the 2000 film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.^[1] In a subsequent interview, Müller stated that in 2015 he and Jia Zhangke collaborated their resources for the purposes of creating a film festival in China, which was finalized after Müller visited the ancient city of Pingyao in 2016.^{[citation needed]}

PYIFF 2017[]

The 1st Pingyao International Film Festival took place in the Pingyao Festival Palace between 28 October and 4 November 2017. John Woo was among the guests during the opening ceremony and received the Honorary Award for Significant Contribution to Culture Exchange Between the East and West. The opening film of the festival^[5] was Youth!

Awards[]

• Roberto Rossellini Awards
  • Best Film: (director Elizaveta Stishova, Russia/Kyrgyzstan/Poland, 2017)
  • Best Director: Chloé Zhao (The Rider, USA, 2017)

Jury:
Vishal Bhardwaj (India – film director, script writer, composer and producer)
Liu Zhenyun (China – writer and scriptwriter)
Kaori Momoi (Japan – actress and director)
Renzo Rossellini (Italy – producer and president of the Roberto Rossellini Foundation)
Aleksey German JR. (Russia – director and writer)
Arnaud Desplechin (France – director and cinematographer)
Xie Fei (China – director and professor)

• Fei Mu Awards (Selected from the Chinese-language films)
  • Best Film: Angels Wear White (director Vivian Qu, China, 2017)
  • Best Director: Liu Jian (on Have a Nice Day, China, 2017)

Jury:
Anurag Kashyap (India, director, producer, writer, Actor)
(China, director, Writer)
Ivy Ho (Hong Kong, Producer)
(Japan, Producer)
(China, Painter, Editor and Film Critic)
Jean-Michel Frodon (France, journalist, Film Critic and Writer)
(Hong Kong, Film Critic, Researcher and Writer)

• Work in Progress Lab-Wings Project Award
  • (2016, director )^[6]

PYIFF 2018[]

The 2nd Pingyao International Film Festival was held from 11 to 20 October 2018.^[7] The ten-day event screened fifty-five films from twenty-five countries and regions in ten sections such as:

1) Crouching Tigers (directorial debuts or second features worldwide),

2) Hidden Dragons (exceptional genre films worldwide)

3) Gala

4) Best of Fest

5) Special presentation

6) New Generation China (latest work from young Chinese directors) sections.^[8]

Films that were screened in the 2nd Pingyao International Film Festival include:^[9]

Crouching Tigers | debut or second feature film by new directors

• Dear Son by Mohamed Ben Attia (Tunisia / 2nd film / Asian Premiere)
• The Load by Ognjen Glavonić (Serbia / 1st film / Asian Premiere)
• Empire Hotel by Ivo Ferreira (Portugal / 2nd film / World Premiere)
• Soni by Ivan Ayr (India /1st film / Asian Premiere)
• Meteors by Romain Laguna (France / 1st film / Asian Premiere)
• The Man Who Surprised Everyone by Natasha Merkulova & Aleksey Chupov (Russia / 2nd film / China Premiere)
• A Land Imagined by Yeo Siuw Hua (Singapore / 2nd film / Asian Premiere)
• The Crossing by Bai Xue (China / 1st film / Asian Premiere)

Hidden Dragons | imaginative and original genre film from around the world

• Los silencios (The Silences) by Beatriz Seigner (Brazil / Asian Premiere)
• En liberté (The Trouble with You) by Pierre Salvadori (France / China Premiere)
• Vulkan (Volcano) by Roman Bondarchuk (Ukraine / Asian Premiere)
• Kraben rahu (Manta Ray) by Phuttiphong Aroonpheng (Thailand / China Premiere)
• Cities of Last Things by Ho Wi-ding (Taiwan / China Premiere)
• When Love Blossoms by Ye Jiangtian (China / World Premiere)

Gala | new films by major directors

• Vada Chennai (North Chennai) by Vetri Maraan (India / World Premiere)
• Wildlife by Paul Dano (United States / Asian Premiere)
• Un peuple et son roi (One Nation, One King) by Pierre Schoeller (France / China Premiere)
• The Pluto Moment by Zhang Ming (China / China Premiere)
• Red Flowers and Green Leaves by Liu Miaomiao, Hu Weijie (China / World Premiere)
• Baby by Liu Jie (China / Asian Premiere)

Best of Fest

• Girl by Lukas Dhont (Belgium / China Premiere)
• Tarde para morir joven (Too Late to Die Young) by Dominga Sotomayor (Chile / Asian Premiere)
• Lazzaro felice (Happy as Lazzaro) by Alice Rohrwacher (Italy / China Premiere)
• Ayka by Sergey Dvortsvoy (Russia / Final version | World Premiere)
• Gangbyun hotel (Hotel by the River) by Hong Sang Soo (South Korea / Asian Premiere)

Special Presentations | special screenings, masterclass

• Half The Sky by Daniela Thomas, Elizaveta Stishova, Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari, Liu Yulin, Sara Blecher (China / International Premiere / Opening film)
• The Wind Guardians by Liu Kuo (China / Festival Mentor's Choice)
• Lust Stories by Anurag Kashyap, Zoya Akhtar, Dibakar Banerjee and Karan Johar (India / Netflix India / New Media)
• Throw Down by Johnnie To (Restored / Hong Kong / China Premiere / EAST-WEST Contribution)
• Beoning (Burning) by Lee Chang-dong + Masterclass
• Ang Panahon ng Halimaw (Season of the Devil) by Lav Diaz (Philippines) + Masterclass

New Generation China | selection of the most original new Chinese language films

• Don't Walk Away by Li Jiaxi (World Premiere)
• Three Adventures of Brooke by Zhu Yuanqing (Asian Premiere)
• Lush Reeds by Yang Yishu (Asian Premiere)
• Life of Zhang Chu by Lu Yulai (World Premiere)
• Crossing The Boarder by Huo Meng (World Premiere)
• Dead Pigs by Cathy Yan (China Premiere)
• My Dear Friend by Yang Pingdao (China Premiere)

PYIFF 2019[]

The 3d Pingyao International Film Festival is announced to be held on 10-19 October 2019.^[10]

References[]

Links[]

• Pingyao International Film Festival official website
• China’s Newest Film Festival Tests the Limits of Independence, The New York Times
• Can Pingyao be China’s Sundance?, Screendaily
• PYIFF 2017 festival catalog
• Pingyao Film Festival 2017: Marco Müller interview on the Year Zero of Jia Zhangke's festival