Chinese audiences embrace Brazilian cinema at film festival

BEIJING, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Keen to explore the world of Brazilian cinema, movie enthusiast Dai Jiakun was bursting with excitement last week as she attended the opening ceremony of the Beijing International Film Festival's Brazil Film Week.

"I've never been to Latin America, but I've heard a lot about the movie 'Pictures of Ghosts,' with high praise and ratings. So, I deliberately chose this Brazilian movie at this year's film festival," said Dai.

For many Chinese viewers like Dai, the samba-style works by prominent Brazilian artists from the other side of the globe are becoming increasingly intriguing.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Brazil, and the Beijing International Film Festival invited Brazil as the guest country. As part of the festival, a Brazilian Film Week was organized, bringing four outstanding Brazilian films to Chinese audiences.

Renowned Brazilian director Carlos Saldanha served as a member of the international jury for the festival's "Tiantan Awards". The combined box office revenue of his signature animated movie series "Ice Age" has exceeded 3 billion U.S. dollars.

"I am very happy to see my movies screened in China. I have witnessed the huge potential of China's film consumption," he said, deeply impressed by the surging enthusiasm of Chinese audiences for Brazilian movies.

In recent years, thanks to the strong promotion by the governments of both countries, film and television cooperation between China and Brazil has further deepened.

In April 2023, during Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's visit to China, the two countries announced the signing of an agreement on cooperation in television production. Films co-produced by Brazilian and Chinese companies will enjoy national treatment in both countries, benefit from existing public funding mechanisms, and be considered national products in each other's markets.

In a video message at the opening ceremony of the Brazil Film Week, Brazilian Minister of Culture Margareth Menezes said that these films showcase various aspects of Brazilian culture, expressing the hope of presenting the diversity of Brazil to Chinese audiences through movies.

During the forum for exchanges between Chinese and international filmmakers, representatives from the Beijing International Film Festival and the Rio de Janeiro International Film Festival signed a memorandum of cooperation. They agreed to establish mechanisms to encourage visits, discussions and field research, as well as to create a system for recommending films to each other, thereby enhancing film-industry cooperation and exchanges between the two countries.

Regarding the movies as an important bridge for communication between the two countries, Ilda Santiago, a Brazilian film curator and the executive director of Festival do Rio, told Xinhua that the Brazilian films being showcased at the festival give an evident sense of the scope and breadth of Brazilian cinema.

"I hope these films speak directly to the values and perhaps the challenges that are shared by all of humanity," she said, noting that the film industry of the two countries should learn from each other, complement each other's strengths, and promote the development of the cultural industry.

"We have the mission of deepening the relationship between our two peoples even further. We take this first step with audiovisual products, but it doesn't end here," said Cassius Rosa, vice minister of culture of Brazil.