opening ceremony for 2010's documentary film festival
Wang Hongwei, who rose to fame through the characters he portrayed in director Jia Zhangke's films Xiao Wu (1998), The World (2004) and Still Life (2006), prefers to spend his time backstage, without red carpets or adorning actresses.
But Wang finds the current way he spends his time is meaningful. He compares it to being in a base camp for independent filmmakers.
Wang is referring to his participation in the 9th Beijing Independent Film Festival (BIFF) which will run from August 18 to 26 in Songzhuang, in Beijing's Tongzhou district, a place where avant-garde artists often congregate.
A special festival
Film screenings occupy a large part of the BIFF, with about 100 do¬mestic and foreign works shown this year. This includes documentaries, features and experimental pictures.
Egg and Stone by Huang Ji, People's Park by US filmmaker John Paul Sniadecki and The April Chill by Georgian filmmaker Tornike Bziava, are a few of the movies that will be screened.
The BIFF has seven awards, three for documentaries, two for feature films and two in experimental pic¬tures. The winner will receive a cash prize under 5,000 yuan, a gesture of encouragement for future produc¬tions.
There will also be a series of lectures and forums during the eight-day festival, such as Break¬ing Boundaries: Exploring New Documentary Forms, held by Brian Winston, former professor of cinema studies at New York University.
To honor the 100th anniversary of Italian modernist film director and screenwriter Michelangelo Antonio¬ni, who is revered for his redefinition on narrative cinema concept and new approaches to film storytelling, BIFF set up a screening of a special film, Antonioni and China.
Lixianting's Film Fund
BIFF is launched by Lixianting's Film Fund, set up by Chinese art critic and curator Li Xianting in 2006.
"Having worked in contemporary art for years, Li realized the signifi¬cance of independent films," said Wang Hongwei, artistic director of Lixianting's Film Fund.
At the moment, BIFF is not the only project Lixianting's Film Fund is working on. Though the com¬pany only has eight employees, an important part of their work is col¬lecting independent films. There are currently around 600 independent films stored at the fund's archive, mostly works by filmmakers from the Chinese mainland.
According to Wang, the archive is open for everyone. But because it is not located downtown, most visitors are usually industry insiders.
In 2009, Lixianting's Film Fund set up a training program for film¬making.
"It's in the eighth run this year," said Wang. "We used to hold it two or three times a year, but last year we made it an annual event because the lecturers, who are also filmmakers, are limited on time."
The program is open to all ages and professions.
"We cannot provide a degree," Wang told the Global Times, adding that the program is just for general interest.
Beginning this year, the fund is considering publishing related books and magazines, and distributing the material to art galleries and related institutions to facilitate communica¬tion, according to Wang.
Impacting the mainstream
BIFF is not the only domestic independent film festival. China also holds others such as the Chongqing Independent Film and Video Festival and Yunnan Multi Culture Film Festival. But these festivals are all in a tough financial spot.
At its beginning, Wang said, BIFF held small screening in cafes or libraries, without a fixed place. There were few activities. "Filmmakers gathered around and had [discus¬sions,]" he said.
Many of the films screened are not mainstream and focus on soci¬etal problems like chaiqian (forced housing relocation) and shangfang (petitioning to upper-level governments). Consequently, they do not gain commercial profits, said Wang. The subject matter makes it hard to receive support from the government or companies.
Only a small number of Chinese people have interest in independent films, even among academics and industry insiders.
But Wang is confident. "It's hard at the moment, but the work is mean¬ingful. The significance will shine through in the future," he said.
Wang uses Sundance Film Festival in the US as an example. "It later influenced the Hollywood," he said.
Ma Li, an independent filmmaker whose films were screened at Inter¬national Film Festival Rotterdam, said that globally, it's difficult for independent films to attract a large audience. Because independent films have existed longer in some Western countries than in China, they are more accepted.
Wang Yang, a documentary filmmaker of China Gate, believes the development of Chinese independent films has hit a glass ceiling. Over the past decade however, a number of notable independent films debuted.
"Though the environment makes it difficult to create quality indepen¬dent films, raising the standard is still an important task. The task for Chinese independent filmmakers is to improve techniques, which improves all art forms," Wang wrote in an e-mail to Global Times.
"The space for independent films needs to widen. Independent films are not seeking confrontation, they are an art expression. They are an important supplement to main¬stream culture and may influence the mainstream works," Wang wrote.
He agrees that China needs more independent film festivals, while standard of current festivals should be raised. Wang suggests that such festivals should include a more general audience, so that mainstream audiences gain a better understand¬ing of independent films.