2009 Feb 25 Movies? Movies. Movies!!
My oh my are there some good movies playing in town in the next few weeks. The New Beijing International Movie Week kicks off on February 27, which stretches a week like a fat man stretches sweatpants- the abundance of quality flicks our organizer friends have dug up have screenings lasting until March 21st, with the overflow spilling out into April- but lets not get ahead of ourselves here.
The event includes over 70 films playing at 11 venues, and many of the filmmakers will be flying in to attend screenings just to answer questions and watch you watch their movies.
You can expect to see zombies, landmines, flames, dead twins, junkie prostitutes, cartoons, corrupt Columbian politicians, Chinese hiphop artists, dead bodies for sale on the internet, Rastafarian coffee, North Korea, Gaza, and samurais.
Courting Condi plays at Yugong Yishan on March 1st at 7pm.
And that’s just a tiny taste. Check out the March issue of the Beijinger or www.beijingfilmfest.org for movie descriptions, venues and show times.
The Beijinger asked Peter Salladé, filmmaker liaison and chief volunteer of the event, a few questions about the magic behind the Movie Week.
How did the crew organizing the NBIMW form?
You can say we formed thanks to the Beijinger! A few of us planned to start an international film fest back in Fall 2007, so we put an ad up looking for volunteers on the this website (then known as thatsbj.com). We re-run the ad every now and then and everyone willing to pitch in is welcome! It's a volunteer organization, and the only requirements are patience and dedication. Come join! Come lead!
Follow Your Heart plays at CAFA on March 2 at 1.30pm.
As a unit, do you possess any cinematic qualities of your own, like those of The Transformers or The Planeteers?
Well, we all have our disparate backgrounds and interests. But the coolest ones are secret. There's a little bit of celebrity intermixed. Almost all our volunteers have worked on movies in some aspect in the past and are planning to continue to do so in the future. If you want to compare us to a super-cartoon-team, we are HULU XIONG DI!!!!
How did you pull together this year's crop of films?
Most of our entries come from a well-known website run by IMDB.com, bringing together indie filmmakers and festivals. Thousands of festivals worldwide use it and it nets us a good variety of film fest fare that you will see anywhere in the world... except for Beijing. That's why we have to do this festival. So Beijing can enjoy the same fun pool of international indie movies normally available in other 'burbs, like Guangzhou or Kunming.
We also get some local selections in too. And random people calling. It's all good, we try to fit in as much as we can.
Reel Zombies plays at The Boat on March 7 at 5pm (or later).
What sort of criteria do you use to select films?
First the submissions coordinator watches some of the movies, catalogs, and flags all of them with some basic notes. Then they're passed out to "submissions committee" members, pretty much consisting of volunteers and friends who are Chinese or have a good idea of what their Chinese friends would find informative and entertaining. The movies end up sorting themselves out pretty fast. We do not show anything violent, sexual, or containing elements harmful to the prosperous nature and harmonic well-being of Chinese culture!
Who is KK Downey plays at Yugong Yishan on March 2 at 7pm.
What are your top 5 films of this years festival?
My personal picks do not usually reflect the taste of anyone else involved. Please understand that the ones I like aren't always the most appealing to the mainstream. This is why I'm not on the judging panel for awards! Fortunately there are no "bad eggs" in this batch! So I think everyone will enjoy- Four Minutes Til Noon, Buscando A Miguel, Courting Condi, Warrior Queen, and Yo Soy Otro!
What are your film screenings like? Do you try to create any
particular kind of atmosphere that surrounds the screening?
Informal and inclusive. The goal is to not talk and be self-aggrandizing, the goal is to start the movies on time, and facilitate discussion afterwards. Filmmakers will be present, and our mailing list and website should be reflecting who they are.
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masterbrand123
Re: Movies? Movies. Movies!!
Cant get enough of film.