See what the atmosphere was like at past events!
In 2024, the event was expanded to a film week, thanks to the success of the first year and the growing interest, and was held at the Uránia National Film Theatre from 24 to 28 May. A total of five Chinese films and one Hungarian film that has been in China (Mastery 2023) and a selection of short films by students from BuSho and the Beijing Film Academy.
The most important criteria for selecting Chinese films were quality and enjoyment. Besides two classic and award-winning films (Beijing Story/My Memories of Old Beijing 1983, A Girl from Hunan/A Girl from Hunan 1986) two recent major hits with the public (Mr Wu/Saving Mr Wu 2015, I live I die I grow rich/Dying to survive 2018) and a Chinese film that was still in Chinese cinemas at the time (A west lakeside/Dwelling by the West Lake 2024) was on offer.
Among the Chinese professional guests in attendance were Wu Guanping, Dean, Professor and Editor-in-Chief of the Beijing Film Academy, Xie Fei, award-winning film director and former Vice Rector of Education at the Beijing Film Academy, and Ding Sheng, Professor at the Beijing Film Academy and an important Chinese action film director. Several other creators (a female lead and the director of the latest film) sent short video messages to the Hungarian audience.
Xie Fei and Ding Sheng took part in the post-screening discussion and audience meeting, where they shared many interesting facts about the making of their films. Professor Wu gave a short presentation of the films before the screenings and took part in two post-screening discussions. In one of them, in connection with the opening film, he presented contemporary Chinese film trends, and in the other, he discussed the Beijing story in the context of film history. The film director Barnabás Tóth also participated in the Mastery audience meeting after the event. Judit Nagy, President of the Chinese-Hungarian Friendship Association, Li Mengyi, gastro-vlogger and founder of the Chinese-Hungarian Youth Friendship Association, and Ádám Ruzsinszky, Production Manager of Origo Film Studio, were the guests of the stage discussion following the last screening, and based on their experiences in the cultural, film and media fields, they discussed the potential role of the film weeks in international cultural relations.
The discussions were moderated by Viktória Váradi.
The success of the event and its social support was reflected in the number of viewers, which increased day by day with each screening. The last screening was almost full in the Uránia auditorium, and many people sat through the 45-50 minute on-stage discussions. The event also attracted media attention, with several interviews and short reports before and during the start of the film week, and several online news portals covered the programme and the film screenings.
The film week was the first and so far the only Chinese film event in Hungary after the Hungarian-Chinese interstate film agreement signed in May 2024.
For the first time, a joint event with the Contemporary Chinese Book Club took place during the Film Week, focusing on the relationship between Chinese films and literature.
The book club was opened by Jin Hao, Director of the Chinese Cultural Centre in Budapest, followed by a short presentation by Wu Guanping, Dean of the Beijing Film Academy. Finally, a round table discussion was held with experts to discuss the topic.
Invited guests at the round table were:
VIKTOR DUDÁS
film expert
GEREVICH ANDRÁS
writer and university lecturer
TORMA LAURA
PhD student at ELTE
DR. VIKTÓRIA VÁRADI
one of the main organisers of the Imagery Chinese Film Week
Host of the book club:
ZOMBORY CLARA
sinologist, literary translator
During the film week, a joint event with the Contemporary Chinese Book Club took place, with a roundtable discussion on the relationship between film and literature, featuring film and literature experts, writers and translators.
The success of the event and its social support was reflected in the number of viewers, which increased day by day with each screening. The last screening was almost full in the Uránia auditorium, and many people sat through the 45-50 minute on-stage discussions.
Beijing Film Academy, Chinese Cultural Centre, Imázsia Nonprofit Ltd.
Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Hungary
Friends of Hungarian-Chinese Youth Association, Eurasia Centre
Uránia National Film Theatre
BuSho International Short Film Festival, Contemporary Chinese Book Club
Hungarian-Chinese Friendship Association, MMA-MMKI, Centrum TV