Hundred Flowers Campaign

The Hundred Flowers Campaign, also termed the Hundred Flowers Movement (simplified Chinese: 百花运动; traditional Chinese: 百花運動; pinyin: Bǎihuā yùndòng), was a period in 1956 in the People's Republic of China during which the Communist Party of China (CPC) encouraged its citizens to openly express their opinions of the communist regime. Differing views and solutions to national policy were encouraged based on the famous expression by Communist Party Chairman Mao Zedong: "The policy of letting a hundred flowers bloom and a hundred schools of thought contend is designed to promote the flourishing of the arts and the progress of science." After this brief period of liberalization, Mao abruptly changed course. The crackdown continued through 1957 as an Anti-Rightist Campaign against those who were critical of the regime and its ideology. Those targeted were publicly criticized and condemned to prison labor camps. Mao remarked at the time that he had "enticed the snakes out of their caves."

Golden Rooster Awards

The Golden Rooster Awards (Chinese: 金鸡奖; pinyin: Jīnjī Jiǎng) are awards in film given in mainland China. The awards were originally given annually, beginning in 1981. The name of the award came from the year of the Rooster in 1981. Award recipients receive a statuette in the shape of a golden rooster, and are selected by a jury of filmmakers, film experts, and film historians. The awards are given out by the China Film Association.

Originally, Golden Roosters were only available to mainland Chinese nominees, but in 2005, the awards opened up the acting categories to actors from Taiwan, Hong Kong, and elsewhere in an effort to compete with Taiwan's Golden Horse Awards.

In 1992, the Golden Rooster and the Hundred Flowers Awards were combined into a single national festival.

The Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Awards have taken place on alternate years since 2005, with the Golden Rooster taking place on odd years. Films in the past two years are eligible for the Golden Rooster awards since 2007.

Hong Kong

Hong Kong (香港; "Fragrant Harbour"), officially Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, is an autonomous territory on the southern coast of China at the Pearl River Estuary and the South China Sea. Hong Kong is known for its skyline and deep natural harbour. It has a land area of 1104 km² and shares its northern border with Guangdong Province of Mainland China. With around 7.2 million inhabitants of various nationalities, Hong Kong is one of the world's most densely populated metropolises.

After the First Opium War (1839–42), Hong Kong became a British colony with the perpetual cession of Hong Kong Island, followed by Kowloon Peninsula in 1860 and a 99-year lease of the New Territories from 1898. Hong Kong remained under British control for about a century until the Second World War, when Japan occupied the colony from December 1941 to August 1945. After the Surrender of Japan, the British resumed control. In the 1980s, negotiations between the United Kingdom and the China resulted in the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration, which provided for the transfer of sovereignty of Hong Kong on 30 June 1997. The territory became a special administrative region of China with a high degree of autonomy on 1 July 1997 under the principle of one country, two systems. Disputes over the perceived misapplication of this principle have contributed to popular protests, including the 2014 Umbrella Revolution.

Film festival

A film festival is an organized, extended presentation of films in one or more cinemas or screening venues, usually in a single city or region. Increasingly, film festivals show some films outdoors. Films may be of recent date and, depending upon the festival's focus, can include international and domestic releases. Some festivals focus on a specific film-maker or genre (e.g., film noir) or subject matter (e.g., horror film festivals). A number of film festivals specialise in short films of a defined maximum length. Film festivals are typically annual events. Some film historians do not consider Film Festivals as official releases of film, like Jerry Beck. The best known film festivals are the Venice Film Festival, the Cannes Film Festival, the Toronto Film Festival, Sundance Film Festival, and the Berlin International Film Festival, the latter being the largest film festival worldwide, based on attendance. The Venice Film Festival is the oldest major festival. The Melbourne International Film Festival is the largest film festival in the Southern Hemisphere and one of the oldest in the world. A 2013 study found 3,000 active films festivals worldwide—active defined as having held an event in the previous 24 months.

Zhao Wei

Zhao Wei (born 12 March 1976), also known as Vicki Zhao, is a Chinese actress, pop singer, and film director. She is considered one of the "Four Dan Actresses" in China.

While studying at Beijing Film Academy, Zhao became an Asian superstar overnight in 1998-1999 for starring as Xiaoyanzi ("Little Swallow") in the TV series My Fair Princess, for which she also won a Golden Eagle Award. As the drama enjoyed unprecedented popularity domestically, Zhao is regarded by many as Mainland China's first "national idol" since the economic reform began in 1978. In 1999 she also began a singing career with her debut album Swallow.

Zhao has starred in many box-office smash-hits over the years, including Shaolin Soccer (2001), Red Cliff (2008-2009), Painted Skin (2008) and Painted Skin: The Resurrection (2012). She has received awards from the Shanghai International Film Festival, Huabiao Awards, Changchun Film Festival, Hundred Flowers Awards and Shanghai Film Critics Awards for films like A Time to Love (2005) and Mulan (2009). While focusing her career on films, she also starred in highly-popular TV series such as Romance in the Rain (2001) and Moment in Peking (2005).