Oscar-Winning Actress Natalie Portman to Promote 'A Tale of Love and Darkness' in Beijing
Industry scuttlebut earlier this year seemed to suggest that the Beijing International Film Festival was set to take it down a notch in 2016 and become a little more low-profile.
According to the rumors, pressure was being applied from a rival proposed festival from our coastal neighbors in Qingdao.
It seems those rumors have been well and truly scotched now though, with an impressive line-up of screenings and high-profile figures signing up to attend.
Not only is the respected Italian director Giuseppe Tornatore on his way, but now, according to the Beijing Morning Post, Oscar-winning actress Natalie Portman will add some extra glamor to events when she walks the red carpet on the 16th.
A Harvard graduate proficient in French, German, Spanish, Japanese, and being a native of Israel, Hebrew, Portman comes Tiger Mom-approved for young Chinese audiences.
The 34-year-old will travel to Beijing to promote her directorial debut A Tale of Love and Darkness (trailer above). Portman wrote, directed, and stars in the film which revolves around a young boy living in Jerusalem following the end of WWII.
The Wrap called the experience of seeing Portman act in fluent Hebrew for her role in the film, “a bit of a delightful shock, like seeing someone you’ve known a long time suddenly demonstrate that they can juggle knives.”
According to local reports, Portman will take part in a forum on the 17th and will also meet with fans after the screening of her film that afternoon at the Beijing Film Archive [中国电影资料馆] on Baiziwan Road in Chaoyang.
Portman has been acting since she was a child, making her feature film debut in 1994’s Léon: The Professional at the age of 13. She wowed audiences in her role as a ballerina in Black Swan (as well as winning a Golden Globe and Oscar) but she’s perhaps best known for playing Luke Skywalker's mom in the Star Wars prequel trilogy. Though she may not want to dwell on that – she’s on the record as saying the films did here more harm than good.
All seven Star Wars films will be shown at the Beijing International Film Festival.
Additional reporting Congzhe Zhang
Photo: natalieportman.com
