On March 24th 2017, Canada China International Film Festival (CCIFF) successfully held the press conference at Le Crystal Hotel in Montreal, Canada. In the press conference, CCIFF released the details that the 2nd edition will be held in Montreal through September 15th to 18th 2017 and reported the work preparation and progress.
During today’s press conference, over 100 guests were in attendance, including Dr. Graham Carr, Provost and Vice-president Academic Affairs of Concordia University, Mrs. Xiaoying Shi, Vice-Consul General, Consulate General of People’s Republic of China in Montreal and Consul Ms. Haomiao Zhang. Mr. André Picard, Executive Director, Institutional Programming and Productions of National Film Board of Canada representatives from Telefilm Canada, SODEC, Montreal Art Counsil, Totalcasting, Mel’s Studio, Sunlife, Realisations, Theatre Lyrichorega 20, China-Canada Friendship Society、Comission Scolaire Marguerite-Bourgeoys Mrs. Huang Ping, NAD Professor Gino Vincelli, and Air China Office in Montreal. In addition, CCIFF is honored to welcome distinguished Director Chloe Leriche, Matt Zimbel, Mrs. Beverly Shaffer, Mrs. Chloe Leriche, Matt Zimbel, Shuibo Wang, and famous actor Sasha Samar.
The Premier Edition of Canada China International Film Festival was held successfully in Montreal, Canada in September 2016. During the span of the four-day festival, CCIFF welcomed over twenty thousand audiences, held over 100 screenings for 85 excellent films, and conducted 44 seminars and masterclasses.
The vice of the Consulate General of People’s Republic of China in Montreal, Ms. Xiaoying Shi mentioned that as a perfect city for film shooting, Montreal attracted several directors and film producers. She also indicated that since last September Chinese Premier Li Keqiang’s visit to Canada, the relationship between China and Canada has been strengthened and consolidated. Canada China International Film Festival plays an important role in the culture exchange between these two countries. The Executive Principal of National Film Board, Mr. André Picard emphasized that the film co-production between Canada and China has made enormous progress during the recent years due to the development of technology. Guest speakers all congratulated the success of the first Canada China International Film Festival and wished the second edition would achieve greater success.
Each year, Canada China International Film Festival features a different the annual theme. The 2016 festival featured the China Canada Year of People-to-People and Culture Exchange. In 2017, the festival will feature a theme to celebrate Canada’s 150th anniversary and Montreal’s 375th anniversary. In the process, CCIFF will host a series of events to facilitate relationship building across the two nations. The Year of Canada-China Tourism, the Year of the People’s Republic of China’s 70th Anniversary, and the Year of Canada-China 50 Year Relationships will be the themes for 2018, 2019, and 2020 respectively.
In order to facilitate cultural exchange and foster collaboration in film, the second edition of Canada China International Film Festival has initiated unique components such as Classic Film Review and Television Drama screenings. Numerous Canadian and Chinese films that witness the special bond between the two countries over the years will be shown to audiences. The China National Film Museum, which has conducted Chinese Film History exhibitions throughout the world, will bring history of Chinese Cinema to the Canada China International Festival this year, creating an opportunity for dialogue with local audiences.
Canada China International Film Festival, as a unique film festival that combines art with technology, successfully combined the entertainment with technology in CCIFF 2016, and received immense support and recognition by industry professionals. This year, the CCIFF committee will continue to invite professionals to present on the entertainment and technology sector as well as the advancements in the industry. Additionally, the Canada China International Film Festival Committee has developed its own Augmented Reality phone application for audiences to experience the art and technology. The APP will not only provide detailed information regarding the festival events and schedule, but also feature film trailers with the AR technology.
This year, Canada China International Film Festival will hold press conferences at the 7th annual Beijing International Film Festival and the 20th Shanghai International Film Festival. In addition, CCIFF will also bring Canadian industry representatives to attend the Shenzhen International Cultural Industry Fair (ICIF) to extend co-production capacity and possibilities. CCIFF will also receive creations from the 5th China (Guang Zhou) International Chinese Association of Computer Human Interaction video competition. Moreover, the CCIFF committee will host series of events in Los Angeles, Toronto and Ottawa.
In the end, the Executive President of CCIFF, Ms. Miao Song, briefly summarized the press conference and thanked all the guests for their attending and support. She also emphasized that the Canada China International Film Festival would not achieve such a great success without the passion and help from all its members, and she truly hope that the CCIFF will make more progress with the committee in the future.
Currently, the online film and drama submission platforms are opened. The first round of submissions has successfully ended in February and second round of submission has started. For more information, please visit official website at www.cciff.ca or contact us at: info@ccif.net.