Chinese superstar Yao Chen returned to the Pingyao International Film Festival this year as a ju umpire for the Roberto Rossellini Prize this year. For the stars, the experience of sitting on the other side of the table provided a window into the wider state of global cinema.
“I think it’s not only a global challenge in the Chinese market, but a collective predicament,” Yao says, reflecting the current state of the industry. “If a movie fortress can’t stand the shock, then no one in that castle can protect itself.”
As a ju umpire, she was struck by a young filmmaker who wanted a fresh cinema language. Quoting Akinora Davis’ Nigerian film “My Father’s Shadow,” we added Gong, the best director of Pingyao’s Roberto Rossellini Awards, to a special mention in Cannes.
Known for his razor keen performances and social activities, Yao carves his niche as both box office and conscience producer. Splitting the hit series “My Own Swordsman,” Yao moved seamlessly into the film, headlined critical and commercial hits like “Catch in the Web” and “Lost, Found.” Behind the camera, she has built a reputation for defending socially resonating narratives under the Bad Rabbit Pictures Banner, founded by Yao along with cinematographer Cao Yu and producer Liu Hui.
“From the perspective of their spiritual core or the core of the film, they always report on humanity, within humanity, humans, gods, nature, and involve elements of music and dance,” she explains. “That drives me to trace the origins of our lives.”
Her recent productions include “Living the Land” by arthouse title Huo Meng, which won Best Director in Berlin, and “Village Rockstars 2,” the winner of Rima Das, waiting for the right moment to reach Chinese audiences. “Given the difficult market we are facing, we are looking for better timing to bring such a good arthouse film to the public and the audience,” she says. “In recent years, the environment or living space in arthouse films has become narrower and smaller. We are constantly looking for solutions to our problems, so we have trained ourselves to be better problem solvers.”
Yao emphasized that he would like to continue working in front of and behind the camera. “Over the years I’ve made many films that I can’t act on, and that’s also one of my ways of expressing myself,” she says. “In the next project, we’ll look for projects that will help you create and create them so that you can better control the quality of your creation,” she adds with a laugh.
