On December 11, reporters learned from the press conference of the 5th Hainan Island International Film Festival (HIIFF) held in Haikou that the 5th HIIFF, co-hosted by the China Media Group and the People's Government of Hainan Province, will be held from December 16 to 22, 2023, in Sanya, Hainan Province.
Vast oceans, new forces of light and shadow! As one of the 12 pioneering projects of the Hainan Free Trade Port, HIIFF has developed alongside the port's construction and has become an important window showcasing its image. The 5th HIIFF closely centers on the construction of the Hainan Free Trade Port, emphasizes film copyright protection, focuses on the integration of "film + culture and tourism," strives to shape a new calling card for cultural and tourism integration, creates more new formats, new consumption, and new hotspots for this integration, and continuously releases new momentum for the in-depth integrated development of culture and tourism.
This year's festival features sections including the Opening Ceremony, Golden Coconut Awards Competition, Film Screenings, Golden Coconut Forum, Masterclass, Golden Coconut Carnival, and the Closing Ceremony & Golden Coconut Awards Ceremony. Zhang Jun, Executive Deputy Minister of the Publicity Department of the CPC Hainan Provincial Committee, Director of the Provincial Film Bureau, and Secretary-General of the HIIFF Organizing Committee, introduced that Nuri Bilge Ceylan, a world-renowned film master who won the Best Director Award at the 61st Cannes International Film Festival and the Palme d'Or at the 67th Cannes International Film Festival, and who served as a jury member for the Main Competition Section at the 62nd Cannes Film Festival and as the Jury President of the 2019 Shanghai International Film Festival, has been invited to serve as the President of the Jury for the Golden Coconut Awards Competition at this edition of HIIFF. Other invited jury members include: French cinematographer Caroline Champetier, Iranian director Shahram Mokri, as well as Chinese director and actor Da peng, Chinese actor and producer Huang Xiaoming, Chinese actress Ma Yili, and Chinese screenwriter Liu Yi.
The Golden Coconut Awards collected outstanding films completed after August 15, 2022, from around the world, receiving a total of 4,018 film submissions from 109 countries and regions. The Golden Coconut Awards Competition is divided into three main categories: Feature Films, Documentary Features, and Short Films. The Golden Coconut Awards Jury will select ten awards from the shortlisted films: Best Film, Best Director, Grand Jury Prize, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Screenplay, Best Technical Award, Best Children's Film, Best Documentary, and Best Short Film. The winners will be announced and awarded at the Closing Ceremony and Awards Ceremony.
Regarding film screenings, it is estimated that 80 to 100 films will be screened. In addition to the screenings of this year's Golden Coconut Awards shortlisted films, the festival has also set up screening sections such as "Ends of the Earth," "Retrospective Classics," "Hainan Focus," "Island-wide Carnival," and "Coconut Wind and Sea Charms." Nearly a hundred outstanding films will be screened in cinemas across Sanya, Haikou, Danzhou, Ledong, Lingshui, Wuzhishan, as well as in open-air venues in some cities and counties. Among them, "Hainan Focus" is a special screening section, including Guangming Cinema public welfare screenings, and special showcases of Italian, Kazakh, Indian, Hong Kong classic, and Hainan films.
This year's festival will hold a 4-day "Light and Shadow Culture and Tourism, Culture Benefiting the People" special event at the summit of Luhuitou Scenic Area and the Aranya Community, respectively, covering scenic spot screenings, camping parties, film-themed markets, and derivative merchandise sales. In addition, multi-day screening events will be held at the cinema of The St. Regis Yalong Bay Resort, and 3 days of free screenings and related supporting activities will be hosted at the Surf Town in Wanning.
The festival will hold several forum events, including the "High-Quality Development of the Hainan Free Trade Port Film Industry" themed forum, which is based in Hainan and faces the world; the "Documentary Images: Harmonious Coexistence of Humanity and Nature" themed forum, which explores more possibilities for documentary imagery; and the Film and Television Digital Copyright Management Forum & Film Technology Innovation Forum, which focuses on copyright and technological power. The forums will work together to explore new visions for China's film industry, film creation, and future imagery.
On the same day, the key visual poster for the 5th HIIFF was officially released. With the theme of "Surging Light and Shadow, Freedom of the Canopy," the design continues the combination of previous editions with Hainan's characteristic elements, integrating figures and real-scenery landscape elements. The work uses a group of children running and playing in the sunshine and by the sea as its creative starting point, combining Hainan's blue sky and ocean elements, and incorporating the imagery of a movie screen, presenting an interactive picture of humanity and nature. The overall key visual poster implies that HIIFF, like a child, braves the sea and rides the waves, full of vitality, and also expresses the firm will of the booming development and continuously expanding opening-up of the Hainan Free Trade Port. It is worth mentioning that the image of this year's festival key visual poster was shot in Meilian Community, Sanya, Hainan, and the children on the poster are students from Baogang Primary School and Meishan Primary School in Yazhou District, Sanya.
The preparations for the 5th HIIFF are advancing in an orderly manner. With the goal of "year-round screenings, island-wide screenings, public viewing, and a full industry chain," it deeply explores Hainan's cultural resources to build HIIFF into a film cultural feast that "carries forward highlights, innovates characteristics, and elevates benchmarks," with a more international vision, Chinese demeanor, and Hainan characteristics.
Zhang Jun, Executive Deputy Minister of the Publicity Department of the CPC Hainan Provincial Committee, Director of the Provincial Film Bureau, and Secretary-General of the HIIFF Organizing Committee; Zhou Chunhua, Member of the Standing Committee of the Sanya Municipal Party Committee, Minister of the Publicity Department, and Deputy Secretary-General of the HIIFF Organizing Committee; and Xiao Zhen, Chairman of Sanya JinYeHai Film Co., Ltd., attended the press conference, introduced the latest preparation status of this year's festival, and answered reporters' questions on site.
Source: Sanya Convergence Media Reporter Feng Chenyang / Text, Yuan Yongdong / Photo
Editor: Li Jingchao
