FánHuā Chinese Film Festival in Florence
The Festival, conceived by its President Xiuzhong Zhang, was launched in Florence in 2021 in collaboration with the Fondazione Sistema Toscana-Area Cinema and with Cinema La Compagnia.
"FánHuā" - literally "variety of blooming flowers" - is a name that reflects perfectly to the flourishing and varied film production which has been developing in China.
Paolo Bertolin, our selector and artistic director, wrote: "In recent decades, the Chinese cinematography has gained artistic prominence at the foremost European festivals, receiving several awards; innovative young directing talents continue to emerge in China, among auteur works and commercial productions. I hope that Chinese cinema will become increasingly screened and popular in Italy as well, thanks to festivals and streaming platforms."
We are planning to present our Festival in other venues, to show Italian audiences environments of incredible beauty, a great culture with its millenary traditions and the real contemporary everyday life of a far-away people, so they may discover the fascination of China in all times. The programmes we propose are also an invitation to the new generations of Chinese residents, who have grown up in Italy, to increase the knowledge of their country of origin.
All the films are shown in the original language with subtitles in Italian and some of them also in English; each screening is introduced by Paolo Bertolin, who offers the audience in-depth analysis and keys to understanding the movies and their authors.
Xiuzhong Zhang
President
Xiuzhong Zhang - 'Gianni' for Italians - a Chinese entrepreneur born in Henan, lives in Florence, where he graduated in Sculpture at the Academy of Fine Arts. After completing his studies, he settled in Florence with his family and in 2013 he started a business as cultural operator linking Italy and China, thus cultivating his passion for arts and cultural documentaries. He is Honorary Member of the Accademia delle Arti del Disegno and a researcher at the China National Academy of Painting. In 2012, he entered the world of cinema by starring in the film 'Sogni di Gloria' by Patrizio Gioffredi, alongside Carlo Monni.
Paolo Bertolin
Artistic Director
Paolo Bertolin is a film programmer, critic and producer. Among the leading experts on Asian cinema, he is a selector for the Venice Film Festival since 2008. Artistic consultant for Locarno Open Doors from 2016 to 2021, he has been collaborating with several international film festivals such as La Quinzaine des Réalisateurs and La Semaine de la Critique in Cannes, besides the ones of Beijing, Mumbai, Hanoi, Rotterdam, Bratislava, Nyon, Udine Far East, Turin, and in various capacities with leading film institutions including the Doha Film Institute in Qatar. He has been recently appointed Artistic Director of the New Zealand Film Festival, which takes place in six cities across the country. He is a member of the Asia Pacific Screen Awards Academy and of the European Film Academy. As film reviewer, he writes for Italian and international publications, including "il manifesto", "Cineforum", "Segnocinema", "The Korea Times", "Cahiers du Cinéma", "Positif" and "Senses of Cinema".