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Tilda Swinton dances before film screening at China Film Archive March 23. [John Sexton]
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A few minutes after I had taken my seat, Ms Swinton and Mr. Cousins came in. They waited at the front of the room for latecomers to find their places, while from time to time Ms Swinton guided visitors to their seats.
When everybody was settled, the room suddenly darkened and lively music began. Ms Swinton and Mr. Cousins started to dance to the rhythm. How energetic! The audience began to clap their hands. As the music faded away, they stepped onto a platform and unfolded a large banner reading "Scottish Cinema of Dreams" in both Chinese and English. As a spotlight followed them, Ms Swinton gave us all a heartfelt welcomes and then introduced the theme of the festival.
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Tilda Swinton delivers a welcome speech to the audience of "Scottish Cinema of Dreams" at China Film Archive March 23.
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According to her, we were sitting in the "forest" – transported from Scotland to Beijing – where she and Mr. Cousins had come up with the original idea of the film festival. This explained the surroundings – the trees, the brooks, the birdsong! Through this cinematic feast, she wanted to convey the message that outside of Hollywood there are many other centers of film, and Scotland, which has produced many brilliant filmmakers, has a rich cinematic heritage.
Then she and Mr. Cousins introduced the films that were about to be shown. At one point she even read a filmmaker's poem to illustrate her points. I was quite moved – I have never before met anyone who promotes their homeland films in such a passionate way.
After about two hours' screening, movie fans grabbed the opportunity to ask Ms Swinton for her autograph and to take pictures with her. She smilingly responded to their requests and gave every fan satisfaction. Luckily I got her autograph!
The Chinese film fans showed an enormous enthusiasm to meet the Oscar winner, and gave her presents to express their admiration and gratitude. Some fans have created a discussion forum dedicated to Ms Swinton on the Internet. They posted lots of photo threads and wrote about how blown away they were when they saw her at the film festival. I am sure that these passionate film fans really make Ms Swinton's China trip unforgettable.
But after this pleasant experience, I cannot help thinking it a great pity that Ms Swinton did not bring any of her own films to China. I believe that like me, many Chinese film fans would love to see more of her on the big screen.
The festival lasted from March 20 to 23 and screened 16 shorts and features at China Film Archive in Beijing. Most of the films were shown again at the Beijing Film Academy, where Ms Swinton also delivered a speech.
(China.org.cn, March 26, 2009)
