A group photo of the premiere of the Peking Opera movie "Red Maned Horse".

　　From the initial glorious song of the Peking Opera "Dingjun Mountain" in 1905 to the empowerment of Peking Opera art of today's film technology, the integration of Peking Opera and film has always witnessed the upholding of the integrity, development, inheritance and innovation of Chinese culture. 2025 coincides with the 120th anniversary of the birth of Chinese films. Yesterday, the "Peking Opera Film Project" film screening of the 15th Beijing International Film Festival and the premiere press conference of "Manjianghong" and "Red Mane Horse" were held at the China Film Museum.

　　"Peking Opera Film Project" is a national-level project, a historic project, a project with both moral integrity and art, and a rescue project. The Beijing International Film Festival has held the "Peking Opera Film Project" screening event for ten consecutive years. This year, the largest number of films screened in history, including 21 Peking Opera movies including "Dragon and Phoenix Presenting Good Luck", "Farewell My Concubine", "The Top Scholar", "Qin Xianglian", "Making a Fight in the Heavenly Palace", and "Jiujiangkou".

　　This year's Beijing Film Festival also specially set up a Beijing screening "Carnival - Peking Opera Film Project Film" unit, and screening activities for 10 Peking Opera films in the "Peking Opera Film Project" at the Daguanlou Cinema - the birthplace of Chinese films. After the film festival, Daguanlou Cinema and Capital Cinema will jointly carry out long-term designated screenings of 21 films in the "Peking Opera Film Project". It is reported that this year, China Film will gather its own publicity and distribution forces and start from the end of April, leading 119 holding theaters across the country to launch a nationwide long-term screening of Peking Opera movies to facilitate more people to watch Peking Opera movies. Huang Xiaowei, director of the China Film Museum, said that the China Film Museum is preparing for the digital transformation of the "Peking Opera Film Project" exhibition, and further explores new carriers and new paths for inheriting and spreading Peking Opera art.

　　At the premiere of the Peking Opera movies "Manjianghong" and "Red Mane Horse", many artists took the stage to communicate with the audience around the filming behind the scenes. "Manjianghong" starring Yu Kuizhi and Li Shengsu said: "Stage art should be magnified and performances should be expressed more naturally and closer to life. Grasping the balance between the two will be very helpful for our future Peking Opera performances."

　　Ni Maocai, the starring actor of "Red Mane Horse", believes that: "In the AI ​​era, the preservation of Peking Opera art in digital form is a kind of pride for us as Peking Opera people and a new way of expressing our national cultural confidence." Starring Zhao Baoxiu said: "The Peking Opera movie "Red Mane Horse" involves many Peking Opera schools, which is a precious inheritance. The 'Peking Opera Film Project' is beneficial to the present and the future."

　　The two films received enthusiastic response from the audience, and some young audiences said: "The combination of Peking Opera and movies gives us the younger generation more opportunities to get in touch with Peking Opera art and understand Peking Opera culture. The spiritual core of traditional culture has achieved cross-age resonance through the language of film lenses, and has also allowed us to see the extraordinary charm of Peking Opera art telling traditional stories through light and shadow." (Beijing Daily reporter Wang Run)

[Editor in charge: Tang Wei]