Miami, January 31, 2013 – As part of Miami Dade College’s (MDC) 2013 Miami International Film Festival(MIFF) MDC’s Confucius Institute is hosting the International Symposium on the Chinese Film Industry & Chinese Films for Mandarin Education. The event, held March 7-9 during MIFF, will feature renowned speakers and workshops at the college’s Wolfson Campus and the MIFF gala celebration. Film screenings will be held at MDC’s Tower Theatre in Little Havana and the Miami Beach Cinematheque on South Beach.
An insightful addition to this year’s Festival, the symposium will offer an invaluable opportunity for leaders in the Chinese, Latin American and American Film and cultural industries to network and exchange ideas. Workshops will explore trends and current perspectives on Chinese cinema. Educators who attend will also learn effective methods for using films to teach and learn Mandarin. Both English and Chinese will be spoken at the conference, with appropriate translation.
Screenings, titled “Spotlight on China,” will showcase highly recognized Chinese films from 2012, including Romancing in Thin Air by director Johnnie To; Full Circle by director Yang Zhang; and Beijing Flickers by director Yuan Zhang.
Keynote speakers include internationally renowned film director Yang Zhang; Dafeng Zhong from Beijing Academy; Professor Xinxun Wu, Film, TV Arts & Technology of Shanghai University; and Professors Tan Ye and Lening Liu, respectively of the University of South Carolina and Columbia University.
The renowned Confucius Institute of MDC promotes international education, cross-cultural understanding and global citizenship. The symposium is co-sponsored by the Miami International Film Festival (MIFF), MDC’s Wolfson Campus, the Florida chapter of the Chinese Language Teacher Association and the United Association of Chinese Students, Scholars & Alumni of Miami (UACSSA).
The deadline for workshop presentation submissions is Feb. 8. Submissions should be sent to arelyruiz@bellsouth.net. Early registration also ends Feb. 8 and costs $30. The deadline for general registration is March 1 and costs $50.
WHAT: International Symposium on the Chinese Film Industry & Chinese Films for Mandarin Education
WHEN: March 7-9
WHERE: MDC Wolfson Campus
300 NE Second Ave.
Film screenings held at various venues
Miami International Film Festival (MIFF), celebrating its 30th anniversary March 1 – 10, 2013, is considered the preeminent film festival for showcasing Ibero-American cinema in the U.S., and a major launch pad for all international and documentary cinema. The annual Festival, produced and presented by Miami Dade College, attracts more than 70,000 audience members and more than 400 filmmakers, producers, talent and industry professionals. It is the only major festival housed within a college or university. In the last five years, the Festival has screened films from more than 60 countries, including 300 World, International, North American, U.S. and East Coast Premieres. MIFF’s special focus on Ibero-American cinema has made the Festival a natural gateway for the discovery of new talent from this diverse territory. The Festival also offers unparalleled educational opportunities to film students and the community at large. Major sponsors of the 2013 Festival include Knight Foundation, Lexus and Miami-Dade County. For more, visit
www.miamifilmfestival.com or call 305-237-MIFF(3456).
For more information and to register, contact Dr. Xuejun (Jim) Yu at 305-237-7581 or xyu@mdc.edu, or go to http://www.miamifilmfestival.com/program/chinesespotlight.aspx. To register from China, contact Dr. Wenghui Zhang at 786-302-4094, wenghuizhang@163.com.