Film festival teams with streaming site to put movies online
The Beijing International Film Festival and iQiyi are the latest to move a festival online as cinemas remain closed during the Covid-19 pandemic
With cinemas still closed across China, the country’s cinephiles sadly won’t be able to get their fix at the theater this Labor Day weekend. But at least the Beijing International Film Festival is offering a curated selection of movies to stream online.
From May 1 to May 5, 32 movies will be offered for streaming through Baidu’s iQiyi streaming service. The selection includes not just Chinese films, but also international ones like Judy and Bombshell. Most of them will be available to iQiyi subscribers at no additional cost. But some of the flims, like Marriage Story, charge a rental fee. Subscribers will at least get a discount, though. A single viewing of the Oscar-nominated movie costs non-subscribers 12 yuan (US$1.70) while subscribers will pay 6 yuan (US$0.85).
