At the Closing Ceremony & Golden Kapok Award Ceremony of the 20th Guangzhou International Documentary Film Festival on the evening of December 7th, the list of 2023's outstanding documentaries was announced, with 17 works as the winners.
The Golden Kapok Award Ceremony of the 20th Guangzhou International Documentary Film Festival
A total of 7,280 documentaries from 156 countries and regions participated in the Documentary Film Festival this year, marking a fifty-fold increase compared to its inaugural edition in 2003. 17 exceptional works were awarded the Golden Kapok Awards, among which "Charting the Decade", "My Story and My New Era", "Harnessed Yellow River Enjoys Tranquility", "10 Years of Dream Pursuit", and "Refueling in the New Era" received the "Special Award of the Organizing Committee".
The documentary "Of Color and Ink" directed by Chinese-American filmmaker Zhang Weimin earned the honor of "China Story: Best Feature Documentary". Prior to that, the film had already been awarded the "Best International Documentary" at the 47th São Paulo International Film Festival. Documenting Chinese artist Chang Dai-Chien's overseas life after he left the Chinese mainland in 1949, it showcases his journey of bringing Chinese aesthetics to the West for artistic creation.
"The documentary also serves as a dialogue between me and Chang Dai-Chien," recalled Zhang Weimin. Twelve years ago, he came across a stack of film negatives, with Chang Dai-Chien gazing toward his homeland across the ocean captured in the frames. Over the next twelve years, Zhang Weimin visited over 20 countries and regions, filming and organizing over 200 hours of historical visual materials, including first-hand oral testimonies from Chang's families, close friends, art collectors, and scholars from various fields.
On a French auction website, she discovered a newspaper of "Paris Express" published in 1961, which featured a report on the artistic dialogue between Chang and the famous French surrealist André Masson during an exhibition in Paris. "The dialogue between the two artists delved deep into the traditions, cultures, and philosophies of the East and the West. It should be recorded in the art history of China and even the world," said Zhang Weimin.
Director Zhou Hao's documentary "Before Sandstorm" has made it to the final evaluation of the 20th Guangzhou International Documentary Film Festival. Initially intending to feature a grandiose narration of how Chinese people combat desertification, the film inadvertently captured the daily conversations of two elderly farmers while they worked on tree-planting in the desert.
"We thought we knew about the farmers, but we didn't," said Zhou Hao. Through his film, he hoped to further acquaint the audience with those seemingly familiar people. At the same time, he wanted to recreate a feeling of "eavesdropping on the conversation by accident" - just like a passer-by unintentionally overhearing the casual chatter of two old farmers while they are planting trees.
Source:Yangcheng Evening News
