The "Premiere" section of the 7th Hainan Island International Film Festival (HIIFF) is officially announced! This section aims to gather the year's most significant festival works, presenting a concentrated showcase of the latest masterpieces from global cinema masters and the groundbreaking creations of emerging directors. Among these works, there is both an ultimate pursuit of narrative tension and a bold exploration of forms of expression. All films in this section will meet mainland audiences for the first time, presented with 100% freshness. During the festival from December 3 to December 9, they will bring new landscapes before everyone's eyes.
American actor Haley Gates makes her directorial debut with Atropia, pulling audiences into an absurd yet highly realistic space where the boundary between "reality" and "performance" is blurred, offering an excellent satire on war, acting, and identity confusion. Also transitioning from acting to directing is James McAvoy, who has been in the film industry for decades. He adapts a true story from his homeland of England in a playful manner, embedding reflections on marginalized dreams and mainstream prejudices in California Schemin'. Polish master Agnieszka Holland uses a non-linear collage approach to movingly present the inner world and existential dilemmas of literary giant Kafka in Franz. The latest work from the Philippines' most important contemporary auteur, Lav Diaz, Magellan, continues his philosophical reflections on grand history. Collaborating with renowned Latin American actor Gael García Bernal, the film focuses on the issue of Latin American colonization.
At the same time, highly acclaimed new works from significant auteur directors on the world festival circuit will be screened on the island. Lucrecia Martel, who directed the landmark Argentine film The Swamp, returns to the audience's view with her first non-fiction work Nuestra Tierra, paying homage to Latin American indigenous people through moving images. After a six-year hiatus, Mark Jenkin's new work Rose of Nevada, starring George MacKay and Callum Turner, arrives at HIIFF once again with his signature grainy imagery and sparse narrative. Arnaud Desplechin, who has been selected for the Cannes main competition seven times, will bring his new work Two Pianos, detailing the complex emotions of a pair of former lovers. Johanna Moder's Mother's Baby, which competed for the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival earlier this year, responds to the fiercely debated issues of childbirth today.
In the face of drastic changes in viewing habits, cinema must break through on multiple fronts to restore its original charm. By screening these films, the "Premiere" section hopes to reflect the ceaseless curiosity and exploration of creators from different generations and countries regarding new stories and new expressions, opening up rich imaginations for the future of cinema.
More screening lineups for the 7th HIIFF will be announced soon. We look forward to embarking on a cinematic journey with filmmakers and cinephiles from home and abroad, and seeing a broader world through inclusivity and creativity.
HIIFF
The 7th HIIFF "Travel with Cinema" Global Classic Film Screening event is in full swing! Over thirty global masterpieces will take you around the world. For tickets, please click the link below to enter the mini-program.
Mini-program link: #小程序://猫眼电影演出玩乐I电影票演唱会/uJLPQ6qeyhimT1r
