Things You can See during “Youth Film Fortnight“

During “Youth Film Fortnight”, you cannot find shining red carpet or the blinking flash. There’s no a long queue of film fans waiting for their stars, screaming. Before this activity, the organizers have already informed the time and place on Douban. On that day, film lovers all arrived at XianFeng bookstore early, holding a book, and waiting for the film. Those who arrived a bit late didn’t get a seat, but they did not care about sitting on the ground. The environment is by no means better than watching DVDs at home, let alone the Dolby surround and soft sofas at any theater. But people gathering here all have passion for films. They love films and love to share their feelings about films with each other. Here at Xianfeng, they can even communicate with masters and get another point of view on films. Besides those film enthusiasts, there are also other audiences, including mid-school students and graybeards. Some white-collars often come here to watch indie films at weekends. There is an atmosphere of peace and harmony here in Xianfeng.

June 13, Street Corner by Wang Jing
Wang Jing’s films have been shown on International Film Festival, 37th in Rotterdam and 32nd in Hong Kong. Wang Jing has the same name with the famous director of commercial movies; anyway, they are different persons. After the film Street Corner, we saw Wang Jing standing quietly there. She is such a cute lady with short hair, wearing a blue T-shirt and no make up. If any audience asked her questions, she answered it calmly with a soft voice. She was so kind and not pretentious at all. Somebody asked her what was the implication of this film, and she answered this question with a poem: I stand on the roadside; a driver is making a turn; I do not like where I am, and I do not like the place I am going to; why am I so upset, watching the driver making a turn? Wang Jin was so warm-hearted, and every body was moved by her sincere words. Sitting in the front row were some high-school graduates, and they also shared feelings about this film with all the audiences. They believed this film had something in common with their own life. It was a good chance for the film lovers to communicate with such a professional director. They learned from WangJing some details in producing a film.

June 27, Ma Wu Jia by Zhao Ye
It is the only feature film in this film fortnight that gets awarded from CIFF. It’s really dark. The kid in this film finally killed his mother. It’s a scary ending. Audiences discussed about it. A young girl asked: ‘why the boy ought to kill his mother? Is she really that bad?’ This time, the horned guest was a famous architect, Qian Taiqing, and he had a different vision to see this problem. He answered that: ‘life is like a river, and a river is not always dramatic or logical. When you are young, you could be too conceptualism, and that’s why you can not understand why there are parents who are really selfish. There are a lot of things which are beyond your imagination.’ He saw the problem in the view of an older generation which has profound experience in life. Therefore, his answer opened another window for the youth.

July 25, Mao Ke Er by Wei Ah Yan
On July 25, two pieces of black valances were hung in XianFeng bookstore. With sofas and dark light, this place seemed like a small theater. People who sit on the side of the sofa could not see the screen clearly, but they were so eager for the film that they insisted sitting there. Some who came late had no seat, so they had to stand behind. There were so many audiences gathering together which created a strong atmosphere, and under this atmosphere all the audiences lived with the actors, laughing and crying with him.
Mao Ke Er told a story about two boys. To be more precise, a story between boys and animals. When the audiences saw the boy ridding a pig running over ice, they all laughed. When they saw the other boy crying for the chicken which was about to be killed, they felt sad, and some of them even cried.
This story was simple. And the honored guest this time was Professor Zhang Xianming from Beijing Film Academy, and he is also the leading actor in the film Wushan Storm. Zhang looked casual that day, wearing a white T-shirt and large pants. He sat on the stages. In the front row, there was a girl from Central Drama Institute. She said that she did not like this film. In her opinion, the rhythm of this film was too slow, and the combination of content and form was not good. She argued that good film should be like the works written by Shakespeare; they need to be attractive to all kinds of people. This girl evaluated a film the same way people evaluate dramas. Hearing this, professor Zhang was not pissed off at all. He said to her that all her opinions, including her opinion towards Shakespeare were her individual point of view which could not represent others’. Arguing with a master, this kind of thing could only happen in this Youth Film Fortnight.

August 22, Bing Ai by Feng Yan
‘I asked myself, is there anything which is so precious to me that I can never give it up? I found there is no such a thing for me----compared to Bing Ai, I have nothing precious. ’ said Professor Zhang Xianming. After watching the film of Bing Ai, we felt pathetic for ourselves. Bing Ai is a normal woman living in the countryside; she loves her life and the earth she lives on so much. On the contrary, we, who live in the city, are surrounded by fake things all day long, such as house property and stork market, and we feel so empty and lonely.
This summer, Nanjing was so hot. In Xianfeng bookstore, there were more then 60 audiences. Some of them said that film was an illusion, especially those commercial films. When we watch films in big theaters, we are always shocked by good sound effect and magnificent pictures, and that releases the pressure. But documentaries are different. It shows you the reality, and reality bites. After watching this film, there will be seldom any one who would actually do something for those people living in mountains, for changing others’ life is somewhat day dreaming. But, there will be numbers of people who would seriously reconsider their lives. They may figure out a thing which can make them feel true in the world. If people do this, it will be more meaningful than being happy in a theater. (Words by Yang Ting)