To this day, Benjamin Barthelmy is still grateful for a decision he made 15 years ago: to go to China.
Benjamin was born in Paris, France in 1986 to an artistic family. He began to participate in film production when he was 11 years old. In 2009, Benjamin came to China and started his director career. Today, he no longer sees himself as a tourist, but as a person pursuing his movie dream here.
html He had the idea of coming to China when he was 35 years old.
Benjamin’s father is a screenwriter, his brother is a photographer, and his family is also a descendant of Ernest Hemingway. Influenced by the artistic atmosphere of his family, Benjamin determined to be a director from the age of 4.
"When I was 5 years old, my parents bought me a globe. I pointed to the location of Paris on the globe, and then looked for which country was on the other side - China." Benjamin recalled that at that time, I felt like going China is a great dream, like something an adventurer would do. In this way, "Going to China" was like a seed planted in Benjamin's heart.
Paris is known as the hometown of film. In the mid-1980s, film as an art was highly sought after in France, and film industry practitioners were highly respected. At the age of 11, Benjamin showed his amazing talent and made his first film. After graduating from high school, Benjamin was admitted to the Paris International Film School to study directing and music. By the age of 18, he had created and directed more than 20 short films. While in school, he was influenced by Steven Spielberg and Red Directed by Leigh Scott and Woody Allen, among others. Benjamin, who graduated from college in 2008, chose to start his own business independently. However, a financial crisis made it difficult for his company to survive. "At that time, my Chinese partner called me and asked me if I wanted to go to China?" Benjamin said, this was exactly what he wanted, so he came to China in 2009. After traveling to Xi'an and Shanghai, he finally started a business in Beijing. Opened his own film production studio.
"Since I was a child, my family has taught me to respect national differences and foreign cultures. China is the first destination that I dream of and want to explore on the ground. When I took a plane to Beijing for the first time, I looked down from the window of the plane. I had only heard of the Great Wall before, but I was very shocked after seeing it with my own eyes.” Benjamin said that he had thought about why he came to China, and now the answer is clear: he came here not only to pursue a career, but also to be attracted by the mysterious Eastern culture. In Benjamin's residence, there are many Chinese handicrafts that he acquired from various places. These handicrafts combine modern and traditional elements in design.
Things are changing here with each passing day.
Benjamin’s entrepreneurship in China has not been smooth sailing. His works are somewhere between art films and commercial films. Due to market demand, the film production studio he opened in Beijing failed to continue, but his works It’s really refreshing for the industry. In May 2021, Benjamin's film "Glory Blue" was nominated for the Best Director Award at the Cannes China Culture and Art Festival International Micro Film Festival.
Benjamin has traveled to many places in China due to film shooting needs, and he found that the comfort of living in China is incredible. "China has a vast territory, beautiful scenery, and modern life is changing with each passing day, which makes people enjoy it very much." Benjamin told reporters that once, he found a house built in the 1980s for filming a movie, but when the filming started, they had to The filming location was temporarily changed because the house was too old and no longer suitable for habitation. The original residents had moved to new houses built by the local government.
This also strengthened Benjamin’s determination to continue starting a business in China. In his view, China is developing rapidly and provides many opportunities. He's worked in many different fields, but has always been a director, sometimes a producer, and now, he's working on the new film Train to the Galaxy. "This film combines European and Chinese cultural elements, is based on a love story, and focuses on the protagonist's life full of fantasy, adventure and poetry. I hope that through this film, I can show my love for China to the world.
Determined to speak Chinese well
Over the years he has lived in Beijing, he has become more and more fond of this city. "Ten years ago, the air in Beijing was very bad in winter, but now it is completely different. Blue skies can be seen almost every day. The government controls air pollution." Very efficient. The air is getting better and better, and many birds are flying back to the city. "Benjamin told reporters that in the alley near the Lama Temple where he rented, he could hear the calls of many kinds of birds every morning when he woke up.
"After living in China for 15 years, I have regarded this place as mine. 'Second Home'. Benjamin said that he often recommended China to people around him, and his family and some friends came to China because of his recommendation. In addition to Beijing, Benjamin also likes Qinghai, the scenery and yaks there, and even has some grazing animals in Qinghai. Friend.
Before coming to China for the first time, Benjamin’s parents didn’t understand. His father thought he was going to a very old country. “In my father’s mind, China was still the same country he saw in documentaries in the 1970s. The look of the era. Through me, they discovered to their surprise that it wasn't like that at all. "
Benjamin said that China has surprised him and there is no end to describing it. Now he can only recommend all this to his friends in English because his Chinese is not good and he cannot accurately express complex content. "This year I give myself Set a goal: learn to speak fluent Chinese by the end of the year. "
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