Stepping onto the red carpet at the opening ceremony of the 14th Beijing International Film Festival, director Hu Mei described her mood at the time as "finally seeing the light." The new film "A Dream of Red Mansions: A Good Match " directed by her has been launched since 2006. It has gone through numerous tests and difficulties, and finally received news that it will be released nationwide. "It's been 18 years, don't mention it!" she laughed humorously.
Hu Mei has been to the Beijing Film Festival several times before, but this is her first time to participate with a new work. That afternoon, Beijing was bright and full of vitality. Hu Mei attended with 14 young actors from the crew and Yu Dong, chairman of Bona Pictures. When they stepped on the red carpet, Hu Mei heard an audience member exclaim: These girls are so beautiful, why don’t they recognize any of them! When I learned that this was the crew of " A Dream of Red Mansions ", I couldn't help but sigh, no wonder everyone is so cool!
Hu Mei felt happy when she heard these comments. "At the time of filming, these children were all between 12 and 15 years old, and now the youngest of them is 18 years old. Six years later, they have all grown up, and I would like to take this opportunity to bring these outstanding young actors to life. Introduced to audiences around the world. "
Hu Mei started reading the novel "Dream of Red Mansions" when she was ten years old. "Because there were no books to read, and there were no movies or TV shows at that time, it was difficult to listen to the radio." The lack of books made her read "Dream of Red Mansions" over and over again. The book was chewed to pieces, and the scene about the Grand View Garden in the book is still vivid in her mind. Later, through girlhood, youth, and into middle-aged and old age, every time I re-read Hu Mei, I have a new experience. "The spiritual enjoyment brought to me by "Dream of Red Mansions" cannot be replaced by any other book."
"Dream of Red Mansions" film and television drama There have been many versions. This time Hu Mei uniquely adopted the theme of "conspiracy and love", which has never been done before. She and her team checked a lot of historical data and consulted many authoritative experts in the early stage, and finally formed the current version of the story. She believes that as a literary and artistic worker, it is unshirkable to inherit history and culture, but artistic creation cannot kneel before the predecessors. “We must uphold the spirit of innovation, be faithful to the original work, and use modern film language to connect with young audiences. A barrier to communication, only in this way can the works leave the mark of the times and allow traditional culture to learn from the past and adopt the new, and continue to thrive. "
The theme of this year's Beijing Film Festival is "Mutual Learning of Light and Shadow, Mutual Benefit from Like-minded People". In Hu Mei's view, this is similar to her own filming. The original intention of "A Dream of Red Mansions: A Good Marriage" coincides with the original intention. Internationality is one of the important features of the Beijing Film Festival. It attracts guests and friends from all over the world with an open mind, helps Chinese films go global, and transforms Chinese films from a big film country to a powerful film country. The Beijing Film Festival plays a very important role. Hu Mei's previous film " Enters the Capital " tells the story of the Qing Dynasty Hui Troupe entering Beijing and opening up the history of Chinese Peking Opera. The film won the Best Director of the Year at the 35th China-US Film Festival in 2019 and the Best Director, Best Producer and Best Supporting Actress awards at the 4th China-Canada International Film Festival in the same year. The film was well received by many audiences when it was screened abroad, which made Hu Mei full of confidence in spreading the excellent traditional Chinese culture to the world through films. She believes that the more national, the more global. As a director, in addition to having more and more rich life experience and a broader vision, he must also have firm cultural confidence and a passion for mutual learning among civilizations. Only the works produced in this way can resonate with everyone.
When "A Dream of Red Mansions" was screened internally, many experts who came back from abroad gave it high praise after watching it, which made Hu Mei feel very pleased.
Hu Mei is very grateful to the Beijing Film Festival for supporting the crew this year. She said: "The Beijing Film Festival has a special liking for films with Chinese traditional cultural themes. They are not focusing on me or our crew, but on how to promote and spread Chinese traditional culture. In this regard, Beijing Film Festival "The festival is very open and forward-looking." Hu Mei said that her biggest wish is that after enjoying the movie "Dream of Red Mansions", the audience will have the urge to sit down at their desk and quietly reread the novel "Dream of Red Mansions".
