Summit highlights film makeup, modeling

The art and technique of film makeup and modeling were on display at the recently held Summit on Exploring the Beauty of Films, which was part of the 3rd Beijing International Film Festival.

The summit — jointly hosted by the Organizing Committee of the Beijing International Film Festival and China Film Museum, with help from the Makeup Committee under the China Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers — took place April 8 and 9 at the China Film Museum in Beijing.

The summit, formerly called the Youth Film Festival of China Film Museum, and held annually by the museum since 2007, intends to build a bridge between the society and its audience, organizers said.

Its academic, artistic and scientific features have won wide acclaim in recent years and become an influential event.

This year's summit, included as part of the Beijing Film Festival for the first time, discusses the aesthetic effects and principles of films from professional angles.

Dozens of professional film makeup artists, both from China and abroad, shared their ideas, skills and experience at the summit.

The artists include Wang Xizhong, who is one of the pioneers of Chinese film makeup arts and who successfully portrayed a series of historic figures in films; and film makeup artists, including Zhang Litang, Liu Binkui and Shen Dongsheng.

The event also had top international artists, such as Leonard Engelman, president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and director of the Raimbault series.

Several hundred film artists, including Tao Yuling, Tang Guoqiang, Pu Cunxin and Liu Jin, were invited to the two-day event.

The summit included themed speeches, and discussions among the makeup artists and with film performers and students. Makeup arts were also demonstrated for the public through film-appreciation and onsite-makeup shows.

Previous summits have focused on different topics of the film industry, such as directing, playwright, issuing, special effects, etc. It will further widen the topics around the industry chain in the future, its organizer added.

A series of activities, including an exhibition on the art and techniques of movie makeup, were held before or following the forums.