n the run-up to the 15th BRICS Summit, the China Film Administration hosted the China Film Festival across three African destinations: Kenya’s Nairobi, South Africa’s Johannesburg and Nigeria’s Lagos. Eleven outstanding domestically produced films were screened, including three exceptional Guangdong movies.
These remarkable Chinese films include The Captain, One and Only, Coffee or Tea?, Ride On, Cloudy Mountain, Moon Man, Beijing 2022, and Lighting Up the Stars, as well as three Guangdong movies, White Snake, Starry Road, and I Am What I Am.
Specifically, White Snake is a Cantonese opera film that has won the Huabiao Film Award and embodies the spirit of Chinese aesthetics. Starry Road portrays the unyielding spirit of Guangdong’s young generation as they confront difficulties head-on. I Am What I Am magnificently brings forth the captivating traditional art of Chinese lion dance. These films have struck a chord with African audiences, igniting fervent responses.
At the opening ceremony, Zhu Hongxing, a young actor from the Guangdong Cantonese Opera Theater who played Xiaoqing in White Snake, performed a sword dance on stage, earning resounding applause from the live audience.
The Chinese Film Festival was organized by the China Film Archive and the Guangdong Provincial Film Administration. GDToday, a subsidiary of Nanfang Media Group, co-organized the China Film Festival in Lagos.
During the festival, the Guangdong Provincial Film Administration held a Chinese (Guangdong) Film Screening event at the Confucius Institute of the University of Cape Town in South Africa. It also signed a memorandum of understanding for film exchanges and cooperation with the Kenya Film Commission, and interacted with local cinematic luminaries, including the head of the Lagos Film Commission in Nigeria, to foster further collaborative initiatives.
