Danish film legend Bille August will head the jury for the 7th Beijing International Film Festival considering 15 shortlisted films, organizers announced.
The Danish national treasure-level director, will preside over the Tiantan Awards, the competitive section of the film festival.
August, who made "Pelle the Conqueror" and "The Best Intentions," has won two Golden Palm awards at the Cannes Film Festival and one Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
The international committee consists of six members, including Mabel Cheung, the female Hong Kong director, Italian producer Paolo Del Brocco, Chinese actress Jiang Wenli, Romanian film director Radu Jude, American director Rob Minkoff, and French actor Jean Reno.
The festival received 424 entries from 59 countries and regions on six continents, including 274 international films and 150 domestic films. The jurors have to select the winners of 10 awards (Best Feature Film, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Music, Best Visual Effects) on the basis of collective viewing and full discussion, in accordance with international practices and rules.
After five rounds of selection, 15 films from 19 countries are nominated for the "Tiantan Award," including two Chinese films "Operation Mekong" and "Mr. No Problem," and 13 films from other countries, namely: "A Kid" from France; "Alma de Sant Pere" from Finland; "Coffee" co-produced by Italy, China and Belgium; "Dim The Fluorescents" from Canada; "House of Others" co-produced by Georgia, Russia, Spain and Croatia; "Kanon" from Japan; "Luka" from Georgia; "Night of a 1000 Hours" co-produced by Luxembourg, Austria and Holland; "The Death and Life of Otto Bloom" from Australia; "The Poisoning Angel" from France; "The Sis" from Iran; "Tiger Theory" co-produced by the Czech Republic and Slovak Republic; and "Two Lottery Tickets" from Romania.
The 2017 "Tiantan Award" competition section is scheduled to be held in Beijing from April 16 - 23. The Beijing Film Academy will organize the event through its professional team and industrial resources. All awards will be unveiled and handed out at the closing ceremony of the 7th Beijing International Film Festival.