Themed “The Birth of a Character”, the Actors’ Forum had four parts: academic speeches, keynote addresses, a roundtable dialogue and honorary speeches. It was hosted by the China Film Association and the Xiamen Municipal People’s Government, co-hosted by the China Film Performance Art Academy and organised by the Film Art Center of the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles.
The forum was moderated by Zhang Guangbei, Secretary-General of the China Film Performance Art Academy. In her address, Zhu Hongzi, Party Secretary and Chairman of China Film Press Co., Ltd., said that the “Actors’ Forum” invites actors to share their creative experiences and acting experience and to learn from one another. She hoped that film actors, guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, would truly “act for the people” and achieve new successes.
Liu Shibing, Professor at the Beijing Film Academy; Tao Yuling, performing artist and adviser to the China Film Performance Art Academy; and Yin Li, Vice Chairman of the China Film Association and director, gave speeches or remarks. The “roundtable dialogue”, moderated by Zhao Ningyu, Professor at the Beijing Film Academy, centred on how to create a character and how to experience life, with a lively discussion among this year’s Golden Rooster nominees Zhou Yemang, Zhu Yawen, Qi Xi and Zhu Yilong. In the closing session, renowned film performing artist Wang Xiaotang gave an honorary speech titled “The Track Changes, the Character Remains”. She named a number of younger actors who had impressed her, praised the realism of their performances, and drew on her life to share the experience she has gained over many years in film.
Participants said that the success of a film depends on actors who, using their bodies as the medium, their emotions as the projection and their life experience as the ultimate pursuit, create rich and varied characters on screen. The birth of a character comes from life: an actor’s performance must be true to reality to create empathy and resonance with audiences. The birth of a character comes from dedication: an actor’s dedication to the art of acting makes a character memorable and a screen classic. The birth of a character comes from innovation: an actor’s creative work must keep pace with the times and resonate with them, and, guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, truly “act for the people”.
