The fourth edition of the Pingyao International Film Festival is currently underway in Pingyao, in Northwest China. The festival is being held from 10-19 October and was founded by Chinese auteur Jia Zhangke along with Marco Muller.
Ivan Ayr’s Meel Patthar will be screened as part of the Crouching Tigers, which is the competition section of the festival. Earlier, his film Soni had won the Roberto Rossellini Award for best film at the festival.
This year, 12 films will be featured in the competition section among the overall line-up of 53 films. GGTN.com reported that Jia had originally planned to pay tribute to the 1920s in film but the plan was disrupted due to the upheaval caused by the global pandemic. In light of this, this years’ festival theme is “Only Film.”
A statement on the festival website reads, “In 2020, film has become one of the industries most affected by COVID-19. Yet under the pandemic, film has never been forgotten. Instead, it has exuded a more dazzling light. People come to realize more clearly that film has gradually become a popular art that we cannot leave behind. Film puts insignificant figures under the magnifying glass of the big screen, picturing individual experiences of thousands of independent lives and bringing comfort to other living beings on the earth. Film gathers people to face the darkness and fight against forgetfulness together [sic]."
The statement further declared that film is not a deserted and isolated city, because it carries the passion of film lovers who are eager to return to the cinema, as well as those devoted filmmakers who are always moving forward.
"In October 2020, the Pingyao International Film Festival will once again bring with new films and innovated ideas. Together, we walk into the city of cinema, bringing down the barriers. We are certain that, only films can make the darkness bright,” the statement reads.
The line-up of films includes Merawi Gerima’s Residue, Carlo Hintermann’s The Book of Vision, Philipp Yuryev’s The Whaler Boy, Ivan Ikic’s Oasis, Joao Paulo Miranda Maria’s Memory House, Massoud Bakhshi’s Yalda, a Night for Forgiveness, Harumoto Yujiro’s A Balance, and Gael Lepingle’s Atomic Summer.