"Tiantan Award Panorama·Sydney" Concludes Successfully, Chinese Films Receive Widespread Acclaim

From 14th to 19th June, the Beijing International Film Festival "Tiantan Award Panorama·Sydney " was held at Event Cinema George Street. The six-day screening programme brought together six award-winning Chinese films from the main competition section "Tiantan Award" of the Beijing International Film Festival, covering various genres including family, suspense, and realism, namely "G for Gap", "Song of Spring!", "The Shadowless Tower", "Beyond the Skies", "Strangers When We Meet", and "Lost in the Stars".

"Tiantan Panorama" is a special screening programme launched globally by the Beijing International Film Festival, aimed at providing audiences worldwide with the opportunity to watch high-quality Chinese films in their local cinemas through a series of screenings of "Tiantan Award" nominated and award-winning films."'Tiantan Panorama' hopes to build not only a platform for film exchange, but also a bridge for mutual learning between civilisations and mutual understanding and trust," noted Bian Jian, Deputy Secretary-General of the Beijing International Film Festival Organizing Committee and Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Beijing Radio and Television Station, in his opening ceremony address.

As the opening film of this touring exhibition, "G for Gap" took centre stage, with the film's director Long Fei and actress Yue Hong attending in person to engage with the audience face-to-face about the original intention behind the film's creation. This film employs a light comedy framework to tell the story of an ordinary person who pauses before setting off again, exploring the deconstruction of values surrounding "success" and "failure", "moving forward" and "standing still".

Director Long Fei shared during the post-screening discussion: "We didn't want to tell a story about 'the science of success'."Yue Hong, the actress who portrays the mother Jiang Meiling in the film, remarked: "Whichever path you choose, it belongs to you and is worthwhile. Life can only be lived once, and regret is actually part of it."

Many viewers expressed that they saw themselves reflected in this story. One viewer said with emotion: "This film answered all the confusion I'm experiencing at my current stage in life." Others commented: "After watching the film, I realised that stopping isn't so frightening after all, and I could finally have a proper rest." Some wrote on social media platforms: "Sometimes, we just need a small pause to remember where we come from" and "I was deeply moved after watching it. I wish everyone could fearlessly be themselves, daring to move forward and daring to stop!"

Following "G for Gap", the other five films were subsequently screened for Sydney audiences. Many viewers shared their viewing experiences and photographs from the event on platforms such as Instagram and Xiaohongshu. Some audience members expressed their appreciation for the films in this screening programme, being moved by the emotional expressions within them and finding resonance in the characters' experiences. Numerous posts also mentioned gratitude for this screening event, describing it as "a surprise beyond imagination".

On Letterboxd, some local viewers spontaneously rated the screened films, wrote brief reviews, and marked them as "liked". "The Shadowless Tower" sparked resonance regarding family relationships, with one user commenting: "You won't become your parents, but you ultimately carry their shadows.""Mom!" has moved many audiences to tears across different regions and time zones: "I never expected to see this film in Sydney, and I cried so thoroughly" and "The film made me reconsider the relationship between time and love". The black and white imagery of "Beyond the Skies" has been described as "like flowing ink wash", and its anti-genre structure has also sparked considerable interest among film enthusiasts. "Lost in the Stars" has been praised as "surreal in plot with strong memorable moments" and "despite being able to guess the twist, it still packs quite a punch". Meanwhile, "Strangers When We Meet" has brought intense emotional turbulence: "My emotions were like a roller coaster. The rural scenery depicted in the film is also visually stunning."

In recent years, Chinese films have continued to gain popularity in the Australian market. Films such as "Ne Zha", "Hi, Mom", and "The Wandering Earth 2" have consecutively achieved both critical acclaim and box office success—a "double triumph"—in Sydney, Melbourne, and other cities. This global tour of "Tiantan Panorama" landing in Sydney represents an important opportunity for many local audiences to gain a deeper understanding of the diversity of Chinese filmmaking.

As Wang Shuyu, Cultural Counsellor at the Chinese Consulate General in Sydney, said in her opening ceremony address: "Tonight is not just about box office success. What we see is the quieter, more complex, and more heartfelt side of Chinese cinema." She encouraged the audience to "open a window or door in these films that you have never noticed before". 

Films may come to an end, but the windows and doors remain open.