BEIJING, China (Reuters) — The seventh annual Beijing International Film Festival (BIFF) marked its opening Sunday (April 16) evening, with a traditional red carpet ceremony that was attended by stars and filmmakers.
Celebrities including Jean Reno, Aaron Kwok, and Ian Somerhalder, walked down the red carpet as fans yelled their names and took photos. The musical director Marius De Vries, who is famous for directing “La La Land”, showed on red carpet as well.
Danish film director Bille August, who will preside over the jury for the festival’s Tiantan Awards, showed up at the event. His film “Pelle the Conqueror” won the Palme d’Or, Academy Award and Golden Globe.
Rob Mincoff, who is known for directing the double Academy Award-winning animated feature “The Lion King”, and French actor Jean Reno are also on the jury for the main competition. Others include Italian producer Paola del Brocco, Romanian film director Radu Jude, Hongkong director Mabel Cheung and Chinese actress Jiang Wenli.
Fifteen films were nominated for the Tiantian Awards, including “Mekong Operation”, a box office hit last year in China and “Caffe”, the first film of a Chinese-Italian co-production. The winners will be announced next week at closing ceremony.
Peking Opera films, such as “The Ophan of Zhao”, will be also shown on the screen at the festival.
The Beijing international Film Festival will run until April 23, with more than 200 films shown.
No Korean film will be screened at this year’s festival due to orders by the Chinese authorities against Korean entertainment and business industry, over the political dispute between the two countries.
