In a first for the festival, a new program will spotlight 64 Chinese-language films with potential for overseas audiences, introducing them to international distributors and festival programmers.
Another new feature is a dedicated section for virtual reality films, which are typically 30 minutes long and allow audiences to enjoy a 360-degree immersive experience by wearing a head-mounted display, making them feel as if they are inside the story rather than watching it on a screen.
Fifty VR works from China and abroad will be presented in multiple formats, including augmented reality, mixed reality, and three-screen installations. A competition section specially created for VR films will present three awards — a sign that VR films, once thought to be closer to a gaming experience, have now earned recognition from a major film festival.
For devoted moviegoers, the screenings remain the heart of the festival. A total of 260 films — more than 70 percent of them international titles making their Chinese mainland debut — will be shown across roughly 800 screenings in 28 Beijing cinemas, as well as two venues in Tianjin and the Xiong'an New Area in Hebei province.
To further encourage attendance, the Beijing government will provide subsidies of up to 5 million yuan ($723,000) from opening day through the May Day holiday, according to Huo.
This year, cinephiles themselves will take center stage at the opening ceremony, which will spotlight audience stories, including a family that has turned moviegoing into a Spring Festival tradition, and a couple who met and fell in love at the cinema.
"You'll understand why they call Binoche their matchmaker, and why they say cinema can bring lovers together across 1,000 miles," says Xu Tao, deputy secretary-general of the organizing committee.
A special retrospective will honor Binoche — the first actress to achieve a grand slam of best actress awards at Cannes, Venice and Berlin — with several of her films screening in Beijing for the first time.
Once describing herself as having a strong interest in Chinese culture, Binoche has long followed Chinese cinema. In 2019, when she served as jury president of the 69th Berlin International Film Festival, the Silver Bears for best actor and actress went to Wang Jingchun and Yong Mei for So Long, My Son. Last year, when she presided over the 78th Cannes Film Festival, Chinese director Bi Gan took home the Jury Special Prize.
Classics etched in the memories of generations will light up festival screens, with two of the most anticipated trilogies being Sissi (1955-57), chronicling the life of Empress Elisabeth of Austria, and The Lord of the Rings (2001-03), the epic fantasy series directed by Peter Jackson.
Even before the festival begins, anticipation is building. Somewhere in the city, a fan is likely compiling a watchlist — Sissi, Middleearth, Binoche on the big screen — waiting for the moment to tap "book". The festival has yet to open, but the excitement, it seems, is already sold out.
