On April 10, the Chinese Film Week 2018 was grandly opened in Miskolc, the second-largest city in Hungary. The film exhibition is scheduled for three days, during which time four excellent works recently produced in China – IP MAN 3, FAREWELL MY CONCUBINE: THE BEIJING OPERA, COCK AND BULL and LEGEND OF THE NAGA PEARLS were screened. Some of them have been honored with multiple awards at domestic and foreign film festivals.
Group photo of Chinese and Hungarian guests at the opening ceremony of Chinese Film Week 2018
The Chinese Film Week 2018 is jointly organized by the Shanghai International Film Festival (SIFF), Miskolc International Film Festival and Shanghai Art Film Alliance. The Miskolc International Film Festival is the most influential film festival in Hungary, as well as an important member of the Belt and Road cooperation mechanism initiated by SIFF. And the Film Week is another significant event in the film culture exchange between China and Hungary after SIFF and Miskolc International Film Festival signed the MOU on Belt and Road Film Culture Exchange in 2017, and also the first stop of the world film exhibition presented by Shanghai Art Film Alliance in 2018. The partnership among the three sides will further promote the understanding and exchange of film industries and movie audiences between the two countries and drive more cooperation moves.
Speech by YU Xiufen, Director of Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture, Radio, Film & TV
YU Xiufen, Director of Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture, Radio, Film & TV, addressed the opening ceremony of the Chinese Film Week. She stated: “It is a great honor for the Film Week to be held here in Miskolc, one of the film production hubs in Hungary. Cultural exchange is an important approach for the people in two countries to connect with each other. Therefore, the event will not only bring Hungarian audience a chance to know about our Chinese culture, but also allow the cultural practitioners of both countries to produce new ideas and promote new cooperation through cultural collisions. I hope that China and Hungary could organize more cultural events and exchanges like this, so that the Chinese and Hungarian peoples could forge deeper friendship all along.”
Speech by János KISS, Deputy Mayor of Miskolc
Mr. János KISS, Deputy Mayor of Miskolc, said in his speech: “We warmly welcome the Chinese Film Week to come to Miskolc. This is a great honor for our city, and also of great strategic significance to the development of Hungarian movie. Shanghai International Film Festival is gradually communicating Chinese culture and Chinese films to Europe. As cinema has brought beauty to both Miskolc and Shanghai, I sincerely hope that the Chinese Film Week would give Miskolc and the audience here a wonderful time, and that Shanghai International Film Festival and Miskolc International Film Festival could have more opportunities to work together in the future.”
In June 2015, the Chinese and Hungarian governments signed a MOU on the Belt and Road Initiative, the first Belt and Road intergovernmental cooperation document signed between China and a European country. As an important country along the Belt and Road, Hungary has been maintaining a friendly relationship with China. In May 2017, the two countries went further to establish a comprehensive strategic partnership. The Film Week this time has been held in line with the aim of enhancing the cultural exchanges between the two countries and promoting the understanding between the two peoples. The profound cultural heritage and rich cultural expressions carried by films will enable the Hungarian audience to appreciate and learn more about Chinese culture, further strengthening the bilateral communication and connection.
YU Xiufen, Director of Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture, Radio, Film & TV in an interview with Hungarian National TV Station
In order to successfully present the 2018 Chinese Film Week in Hungary, the Shanghai International Film Festival, the Shanghai Art Film League, and the Miskolc International Film Festival have begun their intense work long before. Thanks to the smooth communication between Chinese and Hungarian counterparts, and their meticulous preparations, the 2018 Chinese Film Week has been in good progress so far.
More guests from China and Hungary were present at the opening ceremony of the Film Week: Tibor BÍRÓ, Director of the Miskolc International Film Festival; Torma ANDRÁS, Rector of the University of Miskolc; PENG Qizhi, Director of the Film Division, YOU Haiyang, Director of the Radio & TV Division, and WU Qiong, Director of the Industry Division, Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture, Radio, Film & TV; FU Wenxia, Managing Director of the Shanghai International Film and Television Festival Center; and JIN Hui, Secretary General of the Shanghai Film Distribution Association.
At the opening ceremony, the 3D Chinese opera film FAREWELL MY CONCUBINE was showcased.
Pre-screening speeches by Chinese and Hungarian guests
Film Introduction
IP MAN 3
Directed by: Wilson YIP
Written by: Edmond WONG/ CHAN Tai-lee/ Jil LEUNG
Starring:Donnie YEN/ Mike TYSON/ Zhang JIN/ Lynn HUNG/ Patrick TAM
Genre: Drama/ Action/ Biography/ History
Country/ Region: Mainland China/ Hong Kong
Language: Mandarin/ Cantonese/ English
Plot:
Ip Man (Donnie YEN), who has opened a martial arts school in Hong Kong, and his wife Cheung Wing-sing (Lynn HUNG) are living a peaceful life. Unexpectedly, there is a harassment at the elementary school where their youngest son Ip Ching is studying. It is Tin Ngo-san (Bryan Leung), the former student of Ma King-sang (Patrick TAM), who is responsible for the disturbance. Therefore, Ip Man lead his student Tsui Lik (Louis Cheung) and others to protect the teacher Miss Wong (Karena Ng), the school principal (Tats Lau), and the pupils. Meanwhile, he also encounters the rickshaw puller Cheung Tin-chi (Zhang Jin), who is also a descendant of Wing Chun. The two sympathize with each other. However, the incident has not come to a conclusion there. It turns out that the boss of Ma King-sang (Mike Tyson) is the mastermind of the harassment, and the policeman Fat Po (Kent Cheng) is also involved. At the same time, Cheung Tin-chi starts the challenge to Ip Man, claiming that his Wing Chun is genuine while Ip\'s is not. How will Ip response to that?
FAREWELL MY CONCUBINE: THE BEIJING OPERA
Directed by: TENG Junjie
Written by: LI Zhongcheng/ WANG Yongshi
Starring:SHANG Changrong/ SHI Yihong/ YANG Donghu/ Lan Tian/ LI Jun
Genre: Opera
Country/ Region: Mainland China
Language: Mandarin
Plot:
The Beijing Opera FAREWELL MY CONCUBINE is based on The Western Han Dynasty Chronicle.
After the collapse of the Qin Dynasty, two regimes Chu and Han battle for the unification of China. Xiang Yu, the King of West Chu, is brave yet self-willed. He listens to the words of Li Zuoche, who is dispatched by the Han marshal Han Xin to deceive him. Despite the persuasion of his generals and his favorite concubine, he leads the army straight to the ambush arranged by Han Xin, thus trapped in Gaixia. The Han orders its army to sing Chu songs, which is later heard by Chu soldiers, making them believe that Han has occupied the territory of Chu. They collapse in disorder.
Xiang Yu knows that his day has gone. He calls forth his horse and starts to sing a sad melody. His favorite concubine, Consort Yu performs sword dance alongside, to comfort him. As the Han army is attacking on all four sides, Xiang Yu tries to break through; Yu is afraid that she would be a burden, so she commits suicide with the sword. Xiang Yu retreats to the Wujiang River, but is too humiliated to meet his villagers. He then kills himself, and Chu is eventually defeated by Han.
COCK AND BULL
Directed by: CAO Baoping
Written by: ZHANG Tainhui/ YANG Jianjun/ CAO Baoping
Starring: LIU Ye/ ZHANG Yi/ DUAN Bowen/ WANG Ziwen/ TAN Zhuo
Genre: Drama/ Comedy/ Crime
Country/ Region: Mainland China
Language: Southwest China Dialect
Plot:
A cruel murder occurs in a remote village of Western China, and a local mechanic, known for his honesty, comes under suspicion, which accidentally connects the destiny of three people: the mechanic, a hooligan and a nightclub worker. Then, a funny and ridiculous journey of escape thus begins.
LEGEND OF THE NAGA PEARLS
Directed by: YANG Lei
Written by: Tan CHEUNG/ XU Zhaoqing/ YANG Lei
Starring:Darren WANG/ ZHANG Tianai/ Simon YAM/ SHENG Guansen/ WANG Xun
Genre: Comedy/ Action/ Romance/ Fantasy
Country/ Region: Mainland China/ Hong Kong
Language: Mandarin
Plot:
The story takes place in the city of Uranopolis, where a smart thief, a dubious detective and an innocent prince meet by accident. At first, the three have different purposes and do not trust each other, but have to undergo a peculiar journey together. During the trip, they not only find friendship and love, but also finally save the world from destruction.
