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About Filming East Festival

The Filming East Festival is a registered arts charity in the U.K. The aim of the organisation is to promote Chinese language film in the UK and in the West, while providing a platform for Sino-foreign communications and collaboration in the film industries.

Founded in 2007 and sponsored by the UK Film Council, the 1st Filming East Festival took place in Oxford, England. The Lord Mayor of Oxford opened the festival and Ms Yixi Sun was appointed as the festival director.

In 2009, the Filming East Festival partnered with the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) and co-presented the “Focus on China” programme of film premieres and forum discussions.

Since 2012, the Filming East Festival has become a long-term partner of the British Film Institute (BFI), raising awareness of Chinese cinema to the British and international audiences.

The Filming East Festival screens films that reflect the cultural richness and diversity of Chinese speaking regions. To date, we have screened hundreds of feature films in the UK and have gained an ever increasing audience. Our partners in the film industry and in the press extend over many cities in the UK, supporting our successful delivery of film showcase and forums.

In 2018, we expand our services to provide international PR for Chinese language films and PR consultancy for foreign cinema to enter the Chinese market.

2020 | Chinese New Year Screening: Mountains May Depart

Chinese New Year Screening: Mountains May Depart “From China to Australia, the lives, loves, hopes and disillusions of three individuals in a society changing at breakneck speed.” – MUBI In collaboration with BFI, we are going to screen another amazing film of Jia Zhangke “Mountains May Depart (2015)”, as part…

Filming East & CAN Festival 2019

The 1st Filming East Shorts Award will assemble young Chinese ethnicity filmmakers working in the UK and screen the winners’ films across narrative, animation, fashion video and documentaries. The screening session will be followed by a Q&A session with the filmmakers sharing their thoughts and experiences.

MOTI X Filming East Festival Immersive Screening

MOTI X Filming East Festival Immersive Screening | Ash is Purest White In collaboration with MOTI UK, Filming East is pleased to announce this exciting immersive screening event at Lola’s Room in The Hippodrome Casino. Ash is Purest White (The Sons and Daughters of Jianghu) is a tragicomedy gangster-style melodrama…

2018 | Callout: Filming East & CAN Short Film Award

We are delighted to launch the Short Film Callout for the 2019 Filming East & CAN Festival. Organised by both Filming East Festival and Chinese Arts Now, the Short Film Competition is part of the ‘British Chinese Film Day’ of CAN’s festival in January and early February 2019, which aims…

2018 | Song of the Phoenix (Bai Niao Chao Feng) 12 February 2018

As part of the celebration of Chinese New Year (Spring Festival) in the U.K., BFI Southbank Center had a special screening of Song of the Phoenix in collaboration with Filming East Festival. Ms. Yixi Sun, the director of Filming East Festival gave an introduction at the fully occupied NFT 1.…

2017 | ‘Youth’ in UK/IRE Cinemas

The day-and-date release with China gives UK film-goers the chance to see the Youth on the big screen at the same time as domestic audiences and is set to be one of the biggest Chinese movie events of the year. Filming East is grateful to be able to support Trinity…

2007 | The 1st Filming East Festival

Founded in 2007 by Yixi Sun and sponsored by the UK Film Council, the Filming East Festival is a registered charity in England and Wales. Press conferences were held in Beijing and London, announcing that the first Filming East Festival would take place in Oxford and London.

2008 | The 2nd Filming East Festival

In 2008, Filming East Festival relocated to London. In addition to a series of special events throughout the year, the film showcase was held from November 21st to the 26th at the Odeon Cinema in Covent Garden. During the five days, more than 15 films were screened, including “The Banquet”…

2009 | The 3rd Filming East Festival

The Festival continued to expand its outreach in the UK, bringing Chinese cinema to the wider regions of South East England. More than 20 feature films and programmed short film sessions were screened in Chichester, Oxfordshire, Woking, Chertsey and Virginia Water. Filmmaking workshops and seminars were also delivered. 

2010 | The 4th Filming East Festival

Stepping into its 4th year, the Filming East Festival had been the largest Chinese film festivals in the UK and in Europe, with more than 3000 signed members. 

2011 | The 5th Filming East Festival

As part of the case study of international culture exchange, Filming East Festival was included in the communication studies book published by the Communication University of China, 2011.The Filming East Festival gained growing international recognition.and was included as a case study of international cultural exchange in the Communication Studies textbook…

2012 | The 6th Filming East Festival

In 2012, the Filming East Festival became an official event partner of the British Film Institute (BFI). In February, Filming East Festival and the BFI celebrated the Year of the Dragon with a selection of classic and contemporary Chinese feature films, dealing with themes of age, sport and philosophy: Golden…

2013 | The 7th Filming East Festival

Over the New Year period, Filming East Festival has shown a season of Chinese films, including “The Opium War” (Xie Jin), “Red” (Ann Hui) and ‘Ping Pang’(Ann Hui), marking the 3rd year of our collaboration with the BFI. Peng Wenlan, chairperson of the Meridian Society, who was also the UK…

2014 | The 8th Filming East Festival 

As presenting partner, Filming East Festival was involved in the British Film Institute’s year long celebration of the Chinese cinema programme “Electric Shadow”. The highlight of the programme included a 20 day film showcase of Chinese cinema and a tribute programme to Feng Xiaogang, the pacemaker of Chinese entertainment films.…

2015 | The 9th Filming East Festival

To coincide with the Chinese New Year celebration through cinema, the 9th Filming East Festival and the British Film Institute programmed three events in February and  March. This included a screening of “Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles” by Zhang Yimou and two other special events: “A Time Traveller’s Guide…

2016 | The 10th Filming East Festival

The 10th Filming East Festival opened at the BFI Southbank, with the UK Premiere of “The Calligraphy Master”. Directed by Yinnan Ding and Zhen Ding, it is a biopic of the prestige Chinese calligrapher and ink-painter Qi Gong.

Press

Read the latest news from Filming East, download film materials, or apply for media passes. Complimentary press access to public screenings and events may be granted to accredited media.

For press contact, please email press@filmingeast.com

 

 

 

Sponsorship

The Filming East Festival provides sponsorship and partnership opportunities that are designed to meet both the needs of the client and our audience. There is a broad spectrum of possible associations, including marketing exposure, naming opportunities, and corporate entertainment. Association with the Filming East Festival will provide your company with access to our valuable audience.

For sponsorship and partnership opportunities, please contact: sponsorship@filmingeast.com