Greece at the 12th Beijing International Film Festival – Tribute to Theodoros Angelopoulos
In an extensive tribute to the award-winning Greek director, 14 of his films with Chinese subtitles were screened in Beijing
In one of China’s most famous Film Festivals, at 12th Beijing International Film Festival, which took place from August 13 to 20, was attended by Hellas. It had a special place at this year’s Beijing International Film Festival extensive tribute to Theodoros Angelopoulosthe largest of its kind to date in China, with 14 subtitled films in Chinese, as stated in the announcement of the General Secretariat of Hellenism Abroad and Public Diplomacy.
The Greek stand in the online Market Section of the Festival (with traffic exceeding 1 million per day) displayed a greeting from the secretary general of Apodimos Hellenism and Public Diplomacy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ioannis Chrysoulakis, as well as rich materials in Chinese and English from the embassy. of Greece in China, the Hellenic Film Center (Hellas Film and Hellenic Film Commission) and EKOME in order to present the incentives that our country offers to audiovisual content producers and its comparative advantages for approaching foreign film producers, as indicated in the same productively. announcement.
As the organizers note, the 12th Beijing International Film Festival (BJIFF)-Beijing Film Panorama presented a selection of more than 100 outstanding Chinese and foreign films in 18 cinemas from August 12 to 21 to offer rich and 3D viewing.
In his greeting, Mr. Chrysoulakis called on Chinese filmmakers and producers to come to Greece and choose our country to tell their stories, to benefit from the leading international financial incentives offered by the Greek government, to be inspired by the enchanting Greek light and natural beauty, the incomparable rich history and timelessness of Greek culture, the warm hospitality of the Greek people and the presence of a high level of human potential for the production of quality audiovisual content.
He also underlined the importance of this year for Greece-China relations as the two countries celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1972.
He also noted that in the last year, despite the challenges of the pandemic, cultural actions were organized on both sides as part of the “Greece-China Year of Culture and Tourism 2021-2022” and emphasized that Greece, as the birthplace of ancient drama, made a decisive contribution, through the ideas and its culture, such as the concept of dialogue and critical thinking, in the perceptions and practices of theatrical and by extension cinematographic creation as we know it today.
It is noted that the tribute to Theodoros Angelopoulos was created by the organization China Film Archives with the help of the Hellenic Film Center, following the coordination of the Greek Embassy in Beijing and the Public Diplomacy Office there.