Women’s Voices, From ‘I’m Still Here’ to ‘Hard Truths,’ to Take the Stage at Beijing Film Festival (2025)

TheBeijing International Film Festival has developed a reputation for putting a spotlight on female voices in cinema.

Its15th edition, running April 18-26, is continuing that trend with its sixth annual “Women’s Voice” section, featuring the likes of Walter Salles’ Oscar winner I’m Still Here, the political autobiographical drama starring Fernanda Torres as a Brazilian woman whose dissident husband disappears, and Mike Leigh’s Hard Truths, his depression comedy-drama with Marianne Jean-Baptiste.

“In recent years, female creators and their stories have continued to emerge, and the voices of women on screen have become more diverse and powerful,” the Beijing festival highlights. “These works continue to break boundaries in form and theme, bringing us richer and more multidimensional female expressions.”

This year’s lineup “brings together masters and emerging creators from all over the world” who “show the complex faces of women” in various situations. “This is not only a cinematic feast, but also a profound dialogue about women’s emotions, bodies and destiny.”

Also featured in the “Women’s Voice” section at Beijing are Sarah Friedland‘s Venice Horizons best director, best debut film and best actress winner Familiar Touch, about an octogenarian moving into an assisted living facility; Rungano Nyoni’s Zambian family drama On Becoming a Guinea Fowl; Sandhya Suri’s Santosh, the Indian police procedural about two women forming an unlikely alliance; François Ozon’s When Fall Is Coming, a black comedy about a retiree with a complicated past; and Magnus von Horn’s The Girl With the Needle, loosely based on the story of Denmark’s most infamous serial killer, portrayed by Trine Dyrholm.

The main competition programat the 15th Beijing film festival will also feature women’s stories, such asFrieda’s Case, the feature debut of Maria Brendle about a women on trial for the murder of her young son; and Tobias Schmutzler, Kevin Schmutzler, Apuu Mourine and Vallentine Chelluget’sNawi: Dear Future Me, Kenya’s Oscar submission about a young girl fighting against a forced marriage and for her education and future.Chinese actor-directorJiang Wen(Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,Let the Bullets Fly) will serve as the head of themain competitionjury at thefestival.