Source: Yangcheng Evening News•Yangcheng School Authors: Huang Zhouhui, Liang Shanyin, Chen Xiaonan Publication time: 2023-12-08 23:04
At the Closing Ceremony & Golden Kapok Award Ceremony of the 20th Guangzhou International Documentary Film Festival on the evening of December 7th, the list of 2023’s outstanding documentaries was announced, with 17 works as the winners.
A total of 7,280 documentaries from 156 countries and regions participated in the Documentary Film Festival this year, marking a fifty-fold increase compared to its inaugural edition in 2003. 17 exceptional works were awarded the Golden Kapok Awards, among which “Charting the Decade”, “My Story and My New Era”, “Harnessed Yellow River Enjoys Tranquility”, “10 Years of Dream Pursuit”, and “Refueling in the New Era” received the “Special Award of the Organizing Committee”.
The documentary “Of Color and Ink” directed by Chinese-American filmmaker Zhang Weimin earned the honor of “China Story: Best Feature Documentary”. Prior to that, the film had already been awarded the “Best International Documentary” at the 47th São Paulo International Film Festival. Documenting Chinese artist Chang Dai-Chien’s overseas life after he left the Chinese mainland in 1949, it showcases his journey of bringing Chinese aesthetics to the West for artistic creation.
“The documentary also serves as a dialogue between me and Chang Dai-Chien,” recalled Zhang Weimin. Twelve years ago, he came across a stack of film negatives, with Chang Dai-Chien gazing toward his homeland across the ocean captured in the frames. Over the next twelve years, Zhang Weimin visited over 20 countries and regions, filming and organizing over 200 hours of historical visual materials, including first-hand oral testimonies from Chang’s families, close friends, art collectors, and scholars from various fields.
On a French auction website, she discovered a newspaper of “Paris Express” published in 1961, which featured a report on the artistic dialogue between Chang and the famous French surrealist André Masson during an exhibition in Paris. “The dialogue between the two artists delved deep into the traditions, cultures, and philosophies of the East and the West. It should be recorded in the art history of China and even the world,” said Zhang Weimin.
Director Zhou Hao’s documentary “Before Sandstorm” has made it to the final evaluation of the 20th Guangzhou International Documentary Film Festival. Initially intending to feature a grandiose narration of how Chinese people combat desertification, the film inadvertently captured the daily conversations of two elderly farmers while they worked on tree-planting in the desert.
“We thought we knew about the farmers, but we didn’t,” said Zhou Hao. Through his film, he hoped to further acquaint the audience with those seemingly familiar people. At the same time, he wanted to recreate a feeling of “eavesdropping on the conversation by accident” – just like a passer-by unintentionally overhearing the casual chatter of two old farmers while they are planting trees.
Source:Yangcheng Evening News
17 works were awarded the Golden Red Cotton Outstanding Documentary Award
On the evening of December 7, the closing ceremony of the 20th China (Guangzhou) International Documentary Festival and the press conference for the results of the Golden Cotton Outstanding Documentary Selection were held. At the meeting, the list of outstanding documentaries of this year’s Golden Red Cotton was officially announced, and 17 works won awards.
A total of 7,280 documentaries from 156 countries and regions participated in this documentary festival, and the number of participating films reached 50 times that of the festival’s inception in 2003. In the end, 17 outstanding works were awarded the Golden Red Cotton Outstanding Documentary Award. Among them, “Drawing Ten Years”, “Me and My New Era”, “Yellow River Anlan”, “Ten Years of Dreaming” and “Come on!” Five works of “New Era” were awarded “Special Recommendations for Excellent Documentaries by the Organizing Committee”.
The documentary “Spirited Away” directed by Chinese-American director Zhang Weimin won the honor of “Outstanding Documentary Feature Film on Chinese Stories”. Previously, the film had been awarded “Best International Documentary” at the 47th Sao Paulo International Film Festival. “A Thousand Miles Away” traces Zhang Daqian’s overseas life experience after leaving mainland China in 1949, and shows the story of Zhang Daqian’s bringing Chinese aesthetics to the West for artistic creation.
“The process of shooting the documentary was also the process of dialogue between me and Zhang Daqian.” Zhang Weimin recalled that he got a stack of film 12 years ago, and Zhang Daqian in the film looked at his hometown on the other side of the ocean. In the following 12 years, Zhang Weimin visited more than 20 countries and regions, photographed and compiled more than 200 hours of historical materials and video materials, including first-hand oral narratives from Zhang Daqian’s family, close friends, collectors of works and scholars from all walks of life.
On the French auction website, she found a copy of the Paris Express published in 1961. This newspaper reported a full-page report on the dialogue between Zhang Daqian and the famous French surrealist artist André Masson on Eastern and Western art creation during the “Giant Lotus” exhibition in Paris. “The dialogue between Zhang Daqian and André Masson launched an extremely in-depth discussion around traditional Eastern and Western culture and philosophy, and should be recorded in the history of Chinese and even world art.” Zhang Weimin said.
Director Zhou Hao’s documentary “Listen, the Birds Are Chirping” was shortlisted for the final selection of the 20th China (Guangzhou) International Documentary Festival. The film originally intended to tell the story of how the Chinese control desertification through a grand narrative, but it accidentally recorded the daily conversations between two old farmers while they were planting trees and working in the desert.
“We think we know farmers very well, but in fact we don’t know them well.” Zhou Hao said that he wanted to use the film to let people get to know more about those groups of people who seem familiar but are actually strangers. At the same time, he wanted to create the feeling of “accidentally eavesdropping on other people’s conversations” – two old farmers were planting trees, and someone walked by them accidentally and heard them chatting about home matters.
Text｜Huang Zhouhui, Liang Shanyin, Chen Xiaonan
Translation | Hong Ting
Source | Yangcheng Evening News Yunshang Lingnan
Editor | Wang Yuying
Proofreading | Gui Qing
