The 69th Cannes International Film Festival kicked off Wednesday evening but there is almost a complete absence of Chinese filmmakers on juries and – with the exception of several red carpet walks — in various major festival sections, even though China is the world's fastest growing film market.
There are no Chinese films in any categories at the Cannes Film Festival, including "Competition" and "Un Certain Regard," and there are no Chinese jurors on any competition sections. A similar situation happened at the 45th Cannes Film Festival in 1992, 24 years ago. This was called by many Chinese movie fans as "disappointing" and one of "the most embarrassing moments" in Chinese film history.
The lack of Chinese films at Cannes is also due to the bad timing for Chinese filmmakers and their new films. For example, Johnnie To, the director who had films competing in Cannes and was a juror for the film festival, has a new film in the making but the unfinished final editing prevented him from debuting the film in Cannes.
Director Yang Chao's critically-applauded "Crosscurrent" was looking at Cannes, too; however, the Berlin International Film Festival invited Yang and promised him to let the film into the main competition section. Yang said he eventually chose Berlin over Cannes because he couldn't foresee Cannes' situation at that time.
Other Cannes-relevant Chinese directors, such as Lou Ye and Wang Xiaoshuai, are working on new films. Hou Hsiao-hsien, who won Best Director award at the Cannes Film Festival for "The Assassin," is just starting to work on his next project and the process is slow. Wong Kar-Wei has an even slower filmmaking habit. Jia Zhangke is working on his film project while Jiang Wen, whose "Devils on the Doorstep" won him the Grand Prix in the 2000 Cannes Film Festival, has turned away from the art-house film scene and will act in a "Star Wars" film.
Though Chinese are absent from major categories, the Chinese still have a presence at the festival. Gong Li, the legendary Chinese actress, showed up at the red carpet of Cannes festival's opening along with Li Bingbing, Ni Ni and some other Chinese stars. There are also several Chinese-foreign co-productions will have promotional activities there, including the upcoming blockbuster "Time Raiders", with director Daniel Lee, actor Jing Boran, actress Ma Sichun and novelist Xu Lei (the film is adapted from his "Grave Robbers' Chronicles") attending a press conference for the release of a trailer and posters. The film will hit Chinese theaters this summer.
A familiar face at Cannes, famous Chinese director Jia Zhangke will also serve as mentor for the eighth edition of the Fabrique des cinémas du monde (World Cinema Workshop). Organised in close connection with the festival and the Film Market by the Institut Français with France Médias Monde and the International Organisation of La Francophonie, the professional program aims at promoting the growth of young directors and their projects on the international market.
But Gong Li told Chinese media in Cannes that it was still a pity there were no Chinese films at all in this year's festival's categories ,and she also shared her concerns: "China's film market is good but the biggest problem is they just want to entertain themselves without overcoming Hollywood's influence."
She added, "Many Chinese directors just pay attention to numbers and box office returns, instead of the quality of the films. A good film is not just entertainment; it should sink into your heart."
The 69th Cannes International Film Festival will be held from May 11 - 22.
