Diary of a CIFF Volunteer

This is a brief recapitulation of my first day at the CIFF, first of five days. I arrived at the RCM Gallery late this afternoon and was introduced to a film featured in the Experimental film competition called "Low-class Poems" directed by Zhao Da Yong. The movie is dark, simple, filmed hand-held style. Basically it depicts a group of people in prison, who are trying to entertain each other by telling stories, dancing, sharing secrets, smoking cigarettes. Even the two guards take part in the interaction. At this very moment the spectator feels like a spy.

There is a lot of laughs shared, but at the end we get to see through the soul of all the characters, one by one, silently. They are immobile, they remain quiet, the camera focuses on their face. It then becomes very intimate, like they wanted to express their pain, their fear with the audience through the camera. There is a lot of humility and honesty coming from the actors. I absolutely appreciated the movie.

Off to the CIFF's Opening Ceremony the Nanjing institute of Visual Arts, I get introduced to all the featured movies of the festival in a short clip. It still was enough to get me excited for what is coming in the next days!

My evening ended with the viewing of "Jalainur" directed by Zhao Ye. The movie goes very slow and tell the beautiful story of two friends, a steam-train driver and a train signalmen. It is now time for one of the two to retire, and his apprentice has decided to follow him wherever he goes. A beautiful story about how fragile friendship can be but also so necessary to all beings. The director has mastered the art of the contrasts by incorporating in the movie beautiful scenes of deep blue skies and golden sunsets. I found it very touching, great story about pure friendship.

So after such a great evening, I cannot wait to see what I am going to discover tomorrow...
 

                                                                                                                                                                       by Sophie Giroux