Kick-off of the 1st edition of the Chinese film festival in Gabon

Several film buffs participated early Saturday evening in Libreville at the launch of the 1st edition of the Chinese film festival in Gabon.

The launching ceremony of this festival took place at the Gabon Mining building in the presence of the Gabonese Minister of Communication and Media, Laurence Ndong, the Chinese Ambassador to Gabon, Li Jinjin and the director of the Gabonese Institute of image and sound (IGIS), Serge Abessolo.

« This festival demonstrates the perfect collaboration between Gabon and China, particularly in the field of communication and media. “, declared Ms. Ndong in a speech on the occasion of the official launching ceremony of this festival which is one of the many activities planned by Chinese diplomacy as part of the commemoration on April 20 of the 50^th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Gabon.

« The festival is a moment of enrichment for us “, she underlined before recalling that several generations of Gabonese people grew up with Chinese culture thanks to Chinese films of karate, kung fu and others which flooded the country’s cinemas in the 70s, 80s and 90s .

The Gabonese were fans of Shaolin, Jackie Chen, Bruce Lee and other Chinese actors. Some Gabonese people of that time considered, by deduction, that all Chinese are great masters of karate or kung fu, in short martial arts.

The festival will last from March to June. As Gabon no longer has a cinema, the festival will be itinerant, according to the Chinese ambassador to Gabon, Li Jinjin, present at the ceremony.

The audience in front of the black screen © Mi Yu Chinese Embassy

« We will go to universities, high schools and the Libreville City Hall to present Chinese films with various themes and styles. », announced the Chinese diplomat to the many guests present at the inaugural ceremony.

« The objective is to show the Gabonese public the social and cultural landscape of China from various angles, and to discover the dynamism of modern China’s development. », an indiqué Li Jinjin.

« I hope this Festival serves as a bridge to further consolidate our friendship, strengthen mutual understanding, and enrich the connotation of the Sino-Gabonese Strategic Partnership for Comprehensive Cooperation “, he concluded.

“The Wandering Earth” is the title of the first film screened at the launch of the festival. It is a science fiction film by Chinese writer Liu Cixin which projects the world into 2075. The film tells of the imminent destruction of the sun which would make the current solar system unsuitable for the survival of the species human. To avoid a global catastrophe, a multi-country team is launching the “wandering earth” program. The program aims to divert the trajectory of the sun threatened by being crushed by Jupiter. The outcome of the story is very exciting.

For several years, China has been Gabon’s leading trading partner. In addition to trade, China is at the heart of Gabon’s development. The Middle Kingdom has built palaces (National Assembly and Senate), stadiums and roads in Gabon which are indelible marks of cooperation between the two countries.

Antoine Relax & Xinhua