Venice Film Festival, the stars dim

"The festival should not just be the showcase for those upcoming films, it should also be a place for research and discovery." On August 27, 2014, the 71st Venice Film Festival opened with the film festival's Alberto Babe Alberto Barbera said at a press conference.

Barbera was the President of the Venice Film Festival from December 1998 to April 2002, and has been the director of the Italian National Film Museum ever since leaving office. In 2011, he took the baton from Marco Mueller and took over the Venice Film Festival again. In his fussy, the number of participating films dropped from 180 in the Muller era to 55.

Measured in "red carpet", the Venice Film Festival bleak. Of the 55 exhibiting films, only 15 come from movies produced by Hollywood's "Big Six," which is "astonishingly low" compared with other Hollywood films.

Barbera also has to contend with the more pro-market film festivals, such as the Toronto Film Festival, which followed. There are two Barbara very optimistic, but also want to invite Venice to the film: David Finch's "disappeared lover" and Paul Thomas Anderson's "nature of the evil," because of market considerations, and ultimately to New York Film Festival.

"I think the festival should always remember its purpose, a place where new voices, new talent, and new forms of film are discovered," he said in an interview. Turkey's young director Kaan Mujdeci's debut titled "Sivas" was repeatedly used by him to illustrate the veneration of the Venice Film Festival. Without investment, Mudesi opened himself a bar in Berlin to make money. The film was finally made and won a special jury prize at this year's Venice Film Festival.

"He may be obscure and will not be competitive at the box office, but he's a real genius in the movie and I hope he can be better recognized by the world," Barbera said.

The best way is to invest in the author's movie

Southern Weekend: On September 3, two films related to China were released in front of and behind the foot. The first was "China is near" and the second was Wang Xiaoshuai's "intruder" shot by Marco Belocchio in 1967. In your opinion, what kind of Chinese story is now attracting the audience of Venice Film Festival?

Barbara: We did not deliberately find novel storyline, we are more concerned about the good director to create a good movie. Much of the story about Chinese villages, no matter what the angle, could be a very good movie. Not the content, the plot of the story, each story resonates with the international audience, the key is the director of the universal language to the story and feelings to the audience around the world. In the past, it was hard to find such a good movie, but now the Chinese film industry has made great strides. In particular, there have been considerable investments in technology and special effects. Chinese directors are also paying more attention to the domestic market.

Southern Weekend: more concerned about the domestic market, is a good thing or a bad thing?

Barbara: Of course it's a good thing. You should invest in different kinds of movies, not just the movie that pleases the audience, but also the author's movie. In a sense, my impression is that the current movie in China only cares about having a large audience, which can be quite limited. I think the best way to spread Chinese culture is to invest in the author's movie. Such films have more opportunities than traditional films to spread Chinese culture and Chinese social values ​​to international markets. Authors are less costly to film, but get the attention of more movie buffs and have easier access to international markets. So, the best thing is that commercial films and author films coexist.

Southern Weekend: This time to participate in the three Chinese Film Festival, how are you comment?

Barbara: Peter Chan is one of the best directors in China, and Dear is one of his best movies in recent years. We have never heard of similar things. Children have been kidnapped and separated from their families. This is a social issue in China that our country has never encountered before. From this perspective, it is very attractive. The story is also very good, well-controlled rhythm, very touching. I can not put this movie into the competition because I saw it too late, and I've invited Wang Xiaoshuai's "Intruder." Similarly, this is the best piece of Wang Xiaoshuai works in recent years, the plot is very compact, very attractive, actress performance is also very good.

Ann Hui's "Peach" won the award in Venice in 2011 and is also famous in the West. Her film "The Golden Age" tells the story of a very important Chinese woman writer (Xiao Hong). She is not very famous in the West. The combination of her personal story and the background of China is the core of the whole movie. The Western audience Interested to understand China in 1920-1940.

The future of the movie industry in Asia

Southern Weekend: China's Fantastic Art Network 2014 became the global video partner of the Venice Film Festival, what do you hope this brings to the Venice Film Festival?

Barbara: Love Fantastic Art sponsorship is for the Venice movie market, which is a relatively new project, 2012 began. We need an important player to help us invite more producers, agencies, buyers, especially Chinese and Asian practitioners, to attend the Venice Film Festival. The most prominent performance increase in the film industry is in Asia, not Europe, so we have special consideration for the Asian market. This is a huge market, in some ways, the future of the movie industry. IK can also use this platform to get to know more Western producers and find new opportunities for cooperation. This is a win-win event.

Southern Weekend: Their website also hosts the Venice Film Festival's "Online Film Festival." More and more people watching movies online, the future of the festival will have any effect?

Barbara: I think the festival should use all kinds of advanced technologies available. We can not expect people interested in the film to come to Venice to watch movies. The cost is too high and too unrealistic. Our original intention is to promote these excellent films, so we put part of the exhibition works online, but not all. This is also a new choice.

I do not think the internet will make the festival disappear. It is a unique experience for the audience and the media, attending film festivals, watching movies in the best of circumstances and having the opportunity to meet directors and performers. This is not a notebook experience.