On the weekend, a revolution in the world of digital video was quietly happening in Beijing. The shakeup was taking place at the First Beijing International DV Forum & Expo.
Over four days beginning from Nov. 27, independent film makers, film festival judges, directors, independent movie producers and DV lovers in general got a chance to get together and exchange ideas.
On the final day of the first ever Beijing DV forum and expo, Chinese fans got what they were waiting for, the award ceremony for the first China Youth Digital Video competition. Over 200 entries were competing in six categories including best plot, best documentary and best pilot.
Two films called China Ants and The Days We Have Together were among the winners. And the appearances by top Chinese director Xie Fei and the up and coming film maker Jia Zhangke obviously gave great encouragement to the winners.
DV, as a fairly new phenomenon in China, has not yet been widely accepted. Jia Zhangke, a young and creative director who has established his reputation in China and overseas, was also one of the judges in the DV competition.
These young people have made their first directorial dreams come true, and more and more people who feel inspired may get their chance in the near future.
(CCTV December 2, 2003)