Latest news with #Bi
France 24
6 days ago
- Politics
- France 24
Chinese students lament US plans to block visas
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday that authorities would "aggressively" revoke the visas of Chinese students, long a major revenue stream for American colleges. Washington will also tighten visa checks on future applications from China and Hong Kong, Rubio said, days after the US government moved to ban Harvard University from enrolling non-Americans. "This US policy may seem to be a hasty decision, but it has had an immeasurably devastating impact," Bi Jingxin, a student at a college in the Chinese capital Beijing, told AFP on Thursday. "If we Chinese want to study in the US, the most important thing is its faculties and cutting-edge academic achievements," Bi, 21, said. Rubio's proposals, he added, show that Washington was "not behaving in a way that's conducive to the spread of the United States'... international academic image". "It seems that Trump and his team are acting recklessly, without any thought for the consequences," Bi said. Elsewhere on the sun-dappled campus of Beijing International Studies University (BISU) -- one of the country's most prestigious -- the mood was unseasonably gloomy. "If (the US) is targeting us so strongly, it chips away at my best options (for studying abroad), as well as my impression of the United States," 23-year-old Zhang Yue said. While she may have considered a course at an American college before, "now, my expectations of (the country) have been lowered", she told AFP, adding that she might opt for a European adventure instead. In his Wednesday statement, Rubio indicated that officials would particularly go after students "with connections to the Chinese Communist Party or studying in critical fields". Outside BISU's library, a student who asked to be identified by his surname, Wang, said that attitude "seemed a bit unreasonable". "Students go to (the US) purely for academic progress, so they shouldn't have to deal with these kinds of inconveniences," the 19-year-old told AFP. Classroom chaos Young Chinese people have long been crucial to US universities, with 277,398 attending them in the 2023-24 academic year alone, according to a State Department-backed report of the Institute of International Education. Beijing's foreign ministry on Thursday blasted Washington for acting "unreasonably" and said it had lodged diplomatic representations. Also affected are large numbers of Chinese high school students preparing to study in the United States later this year, as well as a thriving private industry that helps prepare them for their lives overseas. One teacher at a Beijing-based international school said it was "heartbreaking" to see "highly aspirational" pupils wracked with uncertainty over their international futures. "The timing and short-termism of this announcement means that many of our students... have had to make major changes to their potential pathways," the teacher said, requesting anonymity as they were not authorised to speak to the media. Daniel Strom, co-founder and lead consultant at Elite Scholar Advising, an educational consultancy, said many clients "remain hopeful that Trump's proposals will be reversed in the courts". But, he added, some of them had begun to look at alternatives in Britain and Canada if their plans to go to America fell through.
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Janus Films Acquires Bi Gan's Cannes Prize-winner ‘Resurrection' For North America
Janus Films has acquired North American rights to Bi Gan's Resurrection, with the film winning the Special Jury prize at the recently-concluded Cannes Film Festival. Marking Bi's third feature, Resurrection stars Jackson Yee, Shu Qi, Mark Chao and Li Gengxi. More from Deadline Sergei Loznitsa's 'Two Prosecutors' Scores Fresh Deals For Coproduction Office - Cannes Netflix Buys Richard Linklater's 'Breathless' Homage & Love Letter To Cinema 'Nouvelle Vague' In Record Domestic Deal For A French-Language Movie Breaking Baz @ Cannes: "Even If I'm Fired, I Stay," Declares Defiant Thierry Frémaux; Festival Victors Dance The Night Away After Strongest Selection In Years The deal was negotiated by Janus Films and Losange Films. Resurrection unfolds in six parts spanning a century, set in a world where humanity has lost the ability to dream. However, one creature remains entranced by the fading illusions of the dreamworld. Bi previously directed Kaili Blues and Long Day's Journey into Night — with the latter premiering in Cannes' Un Certain Regard section in 2018. Resurrection was produced by China's Huace Pictures and Dangmai Films with France's CG Cinema, and features a score by French band M83. 'Bi Gan's Resurrection is a kaleidoscopic, time-skipping, genre-mashing odyssey through cinema and dreams that will thrill fans of daring, visionary filmmakers like David Lynch, Andrei Tarkovsky, Leos Carax and Wong Kar-wai,' said Janus Films. 'We're very proud and excited to bring this surreal, provocative, epic experience to screens across North America and to champion the work of Bi Gan, a director we have long admired.' Losange Films added: 'Losange Films is delighted to embark on this new collaboration with the Janus Films team. Resurrection is a powerful and singular film that has been sparking passionate reactions from festival audiences, international buyers, and the press. It's a film that truly calls for a tailored, original, and ambitious release strategy. With their impeccable taste and exceptional vision, Janus Films are the ideal partners for us.' Best of Deadline 'Hacks' Season 4 Release Schedule: When Do New Episodes Come Out? Everything We Know About 'Hacks' Season 4 So Far 'The Last Of Us': Differences Between HBO Series & Video Game Across Seasons 1 And 2
The Star
24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Star
Roundup: Chinese director Bi Gan wins Special Award at 78th Cannes Film Festival
CANNES, France, May 24 (Xinhua) -- Chinese director Bi Gan won on Saturday the Special Award at the 78th Cannes Film Festival for his epic fiction feature Resurrection, known in Chinese as Kuang Ye Shi Dai. Introducing the first award of the evening, Jury President Juliette Binoche described Resurrection as 'an exceptional movie.'" In his acceptance speech, Bi thanked the Festival and his cast. He also expressed his gratitude for all those who have constantly contributed to the development of cinema. Resurrection, directed by the 35-year-old Bi Gan, premiered late Thursday night. He used this two-hour and forty-minute film to show his love for cinema, starting the movie with a silent movie style. Festival organizers introduced Resurrection as a work that showcases the continued evolution of Bi's creativity, while staying true to the sensory and poetic qualities that define his unique cinematic style. For French film critic Gerard Marion, Resurrection was like a universe. "It's something that I rarely saw in cinema, especially by a Chinese director," he told Xinhua. Bi took the audience to a "very particular universe where we should just let the sound, image, motion and decor take us there," Marion said. In his review, Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian, called Bi Gan's Resurrection "bold and ambitious, visually amazing, trippy and woozy in its embrace of hallucination and the heightened meaning of the unreal and the dreamlike." Bi first attended Cannes in 2015 with his debut feature film. The Festival said that he has since established himself as a major player in shaping and defining the new generation of Chinese arthouse cinema. In the press conference after the closing ceremony, Jury President Juliette Binoche said that all members of the Jury agreed to award Bi Gan with the Special Award, because Resurrection "is like a UFO, an amazing invention." For her, Resurrection was so different. "Visually, it really moved me. I found it extraordinary. This film allows for dreams, subtexts that we feel and that are real. It's full of poetry and allows us to feel something within ourselves," she said. For his part, Bi explained why he created Resurrection. "There should be a film about the cinema that can comfort people in this world full of changes," he said. During the closing ceremony, all the awards of the Competition section were announced. Iranian director Jafar Panahi's film A Simple Accident was crowned the Palme d'Or. The Grand Prix was given to the film Sentimental Value directed by Joachim Trier. The Jury Prize was shared by two movies, Sirat directed by Oliver Laxe, and Sound of Falling directed by Mascha Schilinski. Brazilian movie The Secret Agent (Portuguese: O Agente Secreto) was the big winner of the night, taking home Best Director (Kleber Mendonca Filho) and Best Performance by an Actor (Wagner Moura). The Jury gave Best Performance by an Actress to Nadia Melliti for her role in The Little Sister (French: La Petite Derniere). Belgium's famous Dardenne brothers won Best Screenplay for Young Mothers (French: Jeunes Meres). This year, a total of 22 feature films were selected to compete for the Festival's highest honor, the Palme d'Or. The 78th Cannes Film Festival ran from May 13 to 24.
The Star
24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Star
2nd LD Writethru: Chinese director Bi Gan wins Special Award at 78th Cannes Film Festival
CANNES, France, May 24 (Xinhua) -- Chinese director Bi Gan won on Saturday the Special Award at the 78th Cannes Film Festival for his epic fiction feature Resurrection, known in Chinese as Kuang Ye Shi Dai. Introducing the first award of the evening, Jury President Juliette Binoche described Resurrection as 'an exceptional movie.'" In his acceptance speech, Bi thanked the Festival and his cast. He also expressed his gratitude for all those who have constantly contributed to the development of cinema. Resurrection, directed by the 35-year-old Bi Gan, premiered late Thursday night. He used this two-hour and forty-minute film to show his love for cinema, starting the movie with a silent movie style. Festival organizers introduced Resurrection as a work that showcases the continued evolution of Bi's creativity, while staying true to the sensory and poetic qualities that define his unique cinematic style. For French film critic Gerard Marion, Resurrection was like a universe. "It's something that I rarely saw in cinema, especially by a Chinese director," he told Xinhua. Bi took the audience to a "very particular universe where we should just let the sound, image, motion and decor take us there," Marion said. In his review, Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian, called Bi Gan's Resurrection "bold and ambitious, visually amazing, trippy and woozy in its embrace of hallucination and the heightened meaning of the unreal and the dreamlike." Bi first attended Cannes in 2015 with his debut feature film. The Festival said that he has since established himself as a major player in shaping and defining the new generation of Chinese arthouse cinema. During the closing ceremony, all the awards of the Competition section were announced. Iranian director Jafar Panahi's film A Simple Accident was crowned the Palme d'Or. The Grand Prix was given to the film Sentimental Value directed by Joachim Trier. The Jury Prize was shared by two movies, Sirat directed by Oliver Laxe, and Sound of Falling directed by Mascha Schilinski. Brazilian movie The Secret Agent (Portuguese: O Agente Secreto) was the big winner of the night, taking home Best Director (Kleber Mendonca Filho) and Best Performance by an Actor (Wagner Moura). The Jury gave Best Performance by an Actress to Nadia Melliti for her role in The Little Sister (French: La Petite Derniere). Belgium's famous Dardenne brothers won Best Screenplay for Young Mothers (French: Jeunes Meres). This year, a total of 22 feature films were selected to compete for the Festival's highest honor, the Palme d'Or. The 78th Cannes Film Festival ran from May 13 to 24.
The Star
24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Star
1st LD: Chinese director Bi Gan wins Special Award at 78th Cannes Film Festival
CANNES, France, May 24 (Xinhua) -- Chinese director Bi Gan won on Saturday the Special Award at the 78th Cannes Film Festival for his epic fiction feature Resurrection, known in Chinese as Kuang Ye Shi Dai. In his acceptance speech, Bi thanked the Festival and his cast. He also expressed his gratitude for all those who have constantly contributed to the development of cinema. Resurrection, directed by the 35-year-old Bi Gan, premiered late Thursday night. He used this two-hour and forty-minute film to show his love for cinema, starting the movie with a silent movie style. Festival organizers introduced Resurrection as a work that showcases the continued evolution of Bi's creativity, while staying true to the sensory and poetic qualities that define his unique cinematic style. Bi first attended Cannes in 2015 with his debut feature film. The Festival said that he has since established himself as a major player in shaping and defining the new generation of Chinese arthouse cinema. This year, a total of 22 feature films were selected to compete for the Festival's highest honor, the Palme d'Or.
