by Chen Ying, Jin Danyi
BELGRADE, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) -- More than one hour before the launch ceremony of the "Chinese Cinema" screening event in the Serbian capital was to begin last week, the Chinese Cultural Center, which can seat about 150 people, was already packed.
Serbian and Chinese filmmakers, officials, local Chinese culture enthusiasts and film lovers from China and Serbia gathered for the launch ceremony, an event bringing Chinese films to Serbian audiences and creating opportunities for filmmakers from the two countries to meet and exchange.
For Chinese director Song Wen, however, the event carried a meaning that went beyond the launch of a film program.
Long before becoming a filmmaker, Song was a teenager captivated by cinema. One of the films that left a particularly deep impression on him was "The Bridge," a Yugoslav classic that became familiar to generations of Chinese viewers.
"I was fascinated by films when I was in middle school," Song recalled in an interview with Xinhua. "At that time, 'The Bridge' was also frequently shown on television. It was one of the films that had a particularly deep influence on me in my early years."
Decades later, Song came to Serbia not only to bring Chinese films to local audiences, but also to discover what a new generation of Serbian filmmakers is creating and thinking about.
Zhang Zhe, charge d'affaires of the Chinese Embassy in Serbia, said Yugoslav classics such as "The Bridge" and "Walter Defends Sarajevo" are household film names in China.
Film, he said, is one of the most direct and vivid forms of cultural expression, a language capable of crossing borders and connecting people from different nations. The launch of "China Cinema," he said, had built another "bridge of light and shadow" between the peoples of China and Serbia.
Zhang Songwen, one of China's best-known actors, described film as "an invisible road" that allows stories to travel through time and people's eyes to reach distant places.
The opening of "Chinese Cinema," he said, was not merely the establishment of a screening space, but also a window through which Serbian friends can learn about China. He expressed hope that more Chinese films would be shown in Serbia, while more Serbian films would also reach Chinese audiences.
The exchange was made tangible at the ceremony itself.
Dragoljub Bajic, acting director of the National Theater in Belgrade, performed the screen song "Beautiful Night," adding a distinctly Serbian touch to an event centered on cinematic exchange.
The event concluded with a screening of Xie Fei's "A Mongolian Tale," a 1995 Chinese film that tells a story of love, identity and life on the Inner Mongolian grasslands.
The exchange continued beyond the screen.
Song and other Chinese filmmakers traveled to Serbia's western city Zlatibor to attend the second National Film and Television Festival, known as NAFFIT, from Sept. 3 to 6. They also donated audiovisual materials to the Yugoslav Film Archive, Serbia's national audiovisual archive on Sept. 7.
"I hope to discover works by young Serbian students and young directors at the festival," Song said. "I would like to bring these works back to China, so that Chinese audiences can learn what young people in Serbia are thinking about and interested in."
Miroljub Stojanovic, editor of publishing activities at the Film Center Serbia, said he looked forward to deeper exchanges and dialogue between the two sides, believing the visit would open broader space for cooperation in cinema.
At the end of the ceremony, Chinese and Serbian guests gathered around Zhang Songwen for photographs, while filmmakers continued talking about films, young directors and the possibilities of working together.
A Yugoslav film once opened a door into the world of cinema for a generation of young Chinese filmmakers, including Song. Decades later, in Belgrade, Chinese films were appearing on Serbian screens, while Chinese filmmakers were looking for new Serbian stories to carry home.
The bridge is now becoming a two-way exchange, with filmmakers, works and stories crossing borders in both directions. ■