Confirmed: 11th Beijing International Film Festival Postponed

原创 Drew Pittock theBeijinger

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Last Saturday, organizers for the 11th annual Beijing International Film Festival (BIFF) announced that the event, originally slated to take place this month, would be postponed until Aug 14 to 21. According to Chinese film observers, the delay grants more time for foreign filmmakers and industry professionals to be included in the festivities.

Saturday’s announcement is actually a confirmation of rumors that began circulating late last month when an anonymous source told the Global Times that the festival’s schedule still hadn’t been finalized. At the time, Shanghai-based film critic Xiao Fuqiu explained, “A postponement is highly possible as BIFF has not released any news so far,” adding, “Holding the 11th BIFF will be meaningless without the participation of enough international filmmakers and guests, so postponing and waiting for the global pandemic situation to improve might be the best choice.”

Outdoor film screenings have become a much-loved part of Beijing International Film Festival

Addressing the official news over the weekend, Xiao reiterated that because the festival has no awards or competition element to it, the focus has always been on creating a space for international auteurs to share ideas and foster new partnerships, while also celebrating some of the world’s finest creators, both old and new.

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Echoing that sentiment, Beijing-based film critic and BIFF judge Shi Wenxue said that “Inviting film creators, researchers, and industry personnel from different countries is a common norm for any international film festival including BIFF, so there can be artistic exchanges, technological collisions, and capital flow.”

Last year's event got off to a rocky start when this poster was unveiled

Incidentally, last year’s BIFF was also postponed until August due to the coronavirus pandemic and ended up having a significantly larger online presence during its eight-day run. Unfortunately, however, the festival was perhaps more memorable for its original poster design, which was widely ridiculed by netizens until the organizers eventually relented and gave BIFF a visual makeover. To date, no poster – nor a list or schedule of screenings, discussions, and lectures – has been unveiled for the 2021 event.