(W.E.Talk) Chen Kaige: How can international film festival truly be international'?(2)

Here are the excerpts of the interview:

CNS: How do you view this year's nominees? And how can a film festival in China genuinely achieve an international presence?

Chen Kaige: The selection process for the second Golden Panda Awards was far from easy. This year, we combined open submissions with targeted invitations, gathering works widely through a selector system and reciprocal recommendations with partner festivals. In total,5,343 entries from 126 countries and regions were submitted.

From these, 125 nomination recommendations were generated. Many of the nominated works and professionals are internationally recognized—for example, Oppenheimer, winner of multiple Academy Awards, and Turkish director Nuri Bilge Ceylan, who has won honors at Cannes.

The hardest question for us has been: what kind of film deserves to be named Best Picture? Which director deserves Best Director? And most importantly, how can a festival held in China truly be international?

Throughout the judging process, I felt strongly that the Golden Panda Awards genuinely carry the atmosphere of an international festival. This comes down to the scope of the entries: 3,910 works were from overseas, accounting for 73.2% of the submissions. The jury also included members from Europe and the United States with deep experience in international film evaluation.

A British juror told me that after participating in many global festivals, he knows what kind of work truly resonates with audiences. And indeed, a film's ability to connect emotionally with viewers is at the heart of what we emphasize in judging. This is what any international film festival must achieve—that the chosen works evoke a shared emotional response across humanity.

CNS: How does the Golden Panda Awards compare with other international honors?

Chen Kaige: The Golden Panda Awards bring together four categories—films, TV series, documentaries, and animation. Few festivals cover such a wide range, and in that sense the Golden Panda's ambition is clear.

I use the word ambition in a positive way. The name itself is well chosen: there is hardly anyone in the world who doesn't know the giant panda. The word "panda" carries inclusiveness and uniqueness. I hope that with the panda's international recognition, the Golden Panda Awards will grow into a globally known honor, appreciated by audiences of many cultures.

Though still young—this is only its second edition—the festival has already attracted great enthusiasm. Jurors from overseas came with genuine passion for Sichuan, for Chengdu, and for the Golden Panda Awards, taking their responsibilities seriously. That is not something one can say of every festival jury. It shows that the Golden Panda has already invited judges with a true love for cinema, television, documentary, and animation.