Light Up Children’s Film Dreams:
The China International Children’s Film Festival 2019 Is Coming
On July 30, the launch ceremony of the China International Children’s Film Festival 2019 was held in the China Soong Ching Ling Science & Culture Centre for Young People which is neighboring the beautiful Yuyuantan Park. The preparation for the festival was declared open officially.
With the approval of the China Film Administration, the festival will be hosted by the Publicity Department of the CPC Guangzhou Municipal Committee, the China Children’s Film Association (CCFA), the China Movie Channel, and other hosts. The Education Bureau of Guangzhou Municipality will take part in the organization of the festival. The festival’s theme is “See the World through Children’s Eyes and Grow Up with Films: A Connection of Homeland’s Dreams and Children’s Films”.
For several decades, the China Children’s Film Association, together with many filmmakers, has been working consistently and diligently at children’s film. From November 14 to 18 in 2019, the festival will be jointly held by the Publicity Department of the CPC Guangzhou Municipal Committee, the China Children’s Film Association (CCFA), the China Movie Channel, and the Education Bureau of Guangzhou Municipality in Guangzhou, which indicates that children’s film is to embark on a new stage under the guidance of related governmental departments. The festival is not only a significant international exchange event for children’s films at home and abroad, but also an important stage for the state to boost children’s film education. It will provide children with Core Socialist Values education by extensive screenings and related activities. It will also provide children with film dreams in their hearts many opportunities to learn and communicate, and improves moral and aesthetic education among every schoolchild by involving them in the screenings and other activities. The children in the host city Guangzhou will grow up healthily with excellent children’s films.
The five-day festival will contain a diversity of activities. More than 300 important guests and professionals in film industry and education field from home and abroad will come to Guangzhou to participate in those colorful activities.
At present, it has been confirmed that around 70 films will be screened in the festival. The domestic and foreign children’s films will account for half of all films respectively. These Films contain children’s feature films and animated feature films. The film screenings will cover major cinemas, primary and middle schools, children’s palaces, special schools and schools in rural area in Guangzhou. The total number of screenings will not be less than 200.
The festival will be held just at the time of celebrating the 70th anniversary of the founding of People’s Republic of China. In order to encourage the national publicity and educational activity “Me and My Country”, a new section “Best of New China’s Children’s Films and Animated Films” is specially added to the festival. 5-10 fine-selected impressive children’s films after 1949 will be shown in the section, with a view to let the children see the classic Chinese films, remember the country’s past and learn the excellent Chinese film culture.
In order to strengthen communication with foreign children’s films, the festival will organize German Children’s Film Section, in which 5 fine-selected German children’s films will be shown in the appointed place exclusively.
The festival will last for only 5 days, but the film education activities will be held through every month of the year with the aim of involving and benefiting more audiences. Since June, the children’s film screenings in cinemas, schools and communities have already started in Guangzhou, which has won warm applause and praise. At present, the activities are still in progress.
The wide geographical spread of the film screenings is the main character of the festival. The excellent children’s films will be disseminated at grass-roots level and root in the hearts of massive school children.
The festival will recruit child voice actors/actresses, emcees and jurors. When the selection is completed, the recruited children will take a professional training for a short time and take part in some related activities in the festival. Child voice actors/actresses will dub the foreign films, and child emcees will host Q&A and ceremonies. Foreign children living in Guangzhou are also invited to participate in the activities. The festival will also organize the School Children’s Short film Exhibition.
Film review activity “Vote for My Favorites” is a unique and important part of this year’s festival. Hundreds of children will vote for their favorite films as jury members, and the results will be announced in the closing ceremony. On the one hand, this activity enables school children deeply understand children’s films from the social and aesthetic aspects. On the other hand, this activity also promotes China’s children’s film production by providing a precious opportunity for children’s film directors to know school children’s preferences and tastes face to face.
The great participation by school children is another character of the festival.
The festival will organize international forums on children’s film/film and TV education in schools, conference for the promotion of new children’s film releases, children’s film project Pitch & Match, announcement of the results of the 4th National Call for the Scripts for Children’s Films and Animated Films, and children’s film copyright trade fair. Those high-level professional activities will promote film and TV education in schools, and boost the production and industry of China’s children’s film.
The colorful film world always strongly appeals to children, and to light up children’s film dreams is the festival’s aim. The festival will move forward against all odds.
