French luxury goods group Chanel was this week the featured sponsor of First Frame, a section of the first international film festival in Xining, China.
It’s a bold move, given the Chinese authorities’ cautious official stance on feminism and sexual violence. But it’s one that could put the group on the right side of history in the long run. And it may also be justified by the strength of the films chosen, which have been widely praised.
The section, which opened for the fourth time this year, focuses on stories about women told by filmmakers of all genders.
According to Chanel, the brand wants to “encourage filmmakers to write about women and bring more decent female stories to the public.” The 15 films in the section’s program covered a wide range of women’s perspectives; their pain, their struggles, their thoughts, their emotions, and their relationships.
Zhao Jiayi, the lead actress in “Last Casting Call,” a 2023 First Frame selection, said the section gave her an “eye-opening experience,” because the filmmakers and the judging panels who choose the award winners from among them seemed to prioritize stories. “You can tell that listening to women’s voices is the biggest focus of this section,” Zhao said.
Ava Cahen, artistic director of Cannes Critics' Week, presided over the first all-female jury, alongside Chinese actor Chen Hailu and Taiwanese producer Yeh-Ju Fen.
Chen and Ye took the opportunity to express their amazement at the overall quality of the department’s films at a press conference. “I can tell that some of the films were limited by financial constraints, but they still made the best films they could make. I am impressed with each and every one of them,” Ye said.
This year’s Best Picture award went to Xu Huijing’s “Unstoppable,” which depicts Chinese mixed martial arts champion Zhang Weili’s journey to reclaim the golden belt she lost to rival Rose Namajunas in 2021. The film shows Zhang’s grueling training schedule, emotional rollercoasters, conflicts with her support team, and bouts of loss and pain.
Zhang attended the festival and said there: “The film recorded the most painful year of my life.” She added: “When I saw myself losing that battle, [in the film] And as I tried to pull myself together again, it felt like it was yesterday again. I couldn't stop myself from crying.
The film premiered in Xining, received very positive reviews domestically, and is now looking for foreign distributors.
This year’s short film award went to Zhang Chenxi’s “Braided,” a mother-daughter relationship, the only animated work in the section. Yuan Yuan’s “When Winter Comes,” a short film that follows a Chinese mother who goes to New York City to search for her missing daughter, also received a special mention.
