Partners Profiles
With a history of more than 50 years, Beijing Film Academy (BFA) is the largest institution of higher learning for film and television production and the dramatic arts in Asia. Admission to BFA is extremely competitive. Each year over 100,000 eligible students apply with only 400-500 being awarded places.
While all performers are final year students at the Academy the directorial and technical team boast a track record of stunning theatrical accomplishments including key elements of the opening ceremony for the Beijing Olympics.
The academy has earned international recognition for its achievements. For over 40 years, graduates of BFA have won national and international acclaim for their contributions to creative life.
With five schools comprising Performance, Photographic, Animation, International Exchange and Continuing Education the range of courses on offer include script writing, film theory, film directing, film and television production, film acting, film and television art design, advertisements, animations, sound art, cinematography, photography, and entertainment management.
http://www.bfa.edu.cn/eng/EIndex.htm
The Confucius Institute for Scotland is a national centre to promote economic, educational and cultural ties between Scotland and China. Based in the University of Edinburgh, the centre is one of almost 300 which have been set up around the world by Hanban - the Chinese government department responsible for promotion of Chinese language overseas.
Structured as a partnership between the University of Edinburgh and Fudan University in Shanghai, the Institute was officially opened by Scotland’s First Minister, Alex Salmond, in autumn 2007.
Since opening the Institute has established a positive reputation and become a vibrant part of the educational and cultural scene in Edinburgh and in Scotland.
As a centre of excellence in teaching and learning of Chinese the Institute offers an extensive range of language and cultural classes as well as public talks.
Culturally, the Institute has previously helped to deliver five star events the first of which was as the umbrella organisation under which CinemaChina2007 was brought to Scotland. In 2008 as well as coordinating the ten month long China Now in Scotland festival which comprised over 150 events attended by audiences totalling over 70,000 people, the Institute brought to the City Art Centre a compelling five star documentary photography exhibition, ‘China: A Photographic Portrait’.
In 2007 and 2008 the Institute has been awarded the accolade of ‘Confucius Institute of the Year’ by the Beijing Headquarters in recognition of the quality and impact of its work.
Creative Technology is one of the world’s leading suppliers of audio visual and technical staging services to the entertainment, television, corporate and event industries. Since its inception 23 years ago, Creative Technology (CT) has evolved to operate from locations in the UK, USA, Europe, Middle East and Asia Pacific providing the highest quality AV, staging, multimedia and video display services worldwide.
Constantly investing in new innovative applications of the latest Technology, CT’s products include indoor and outdoor LED, Plasma and LCD displays, High Definition multi-imaging, Digital Camera systems, High power video projection, LED scenic video, LED lighting effects, media processing systems and interactive show control.
The CT team includes many of the industry’s best Project Managers, engineers and operators with cumulative experience running in to hundreds of years. As suppliers to some of the world’s most exciting sports events such as Wimbledon, the Tour de France, Asian Games, Rugby World Cup and the Olympic Games, CT are well placed to support events of any size, in any location.
Working closely with the Beijing Organising Committee Ceremonies team, CT developed, designed and delivered the complex processing and switching requirements used on the dramatic video LED floor and scrolls, one of the pivotal elements during the 2008 Beijing Olympic opening ceremony.
Drawing on both equipment and skills from within its international organisation and utilising the invaluable experience gained from numerous sporting and special events Creative Technology in Shanghai & London have further developed their relationship with BFA and the visual director of the show Mr Yang Qingsheng, for this unique and exciting production of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’.
The University of Edinburgh was established as a centre of academic excellence over 400 years ago. Its rich history and reputation is recognised globally as is its forward thinking, best exemplified in the recently opened
School of Informatics, which places Scotland at the forefront of the global information technology industry.
Today with over 25,000 students from across the globe the University is a centre of excellence in learning, teaching and research. Operating across a number of campuses the University is not only geographically embedded in the city but also has an extensive cultural impact on the life of the capital. Perhaps this is best exemplified by its year round Festivals Offices which coordinates the University’s involvement in all of Edinburgh's various festivals throughout the year
In 2005, The University of Edinburgh signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Beijing Film Academy, one of the provisions of which was the hosting of cultural events.
When the proposal to bring this adaptation of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ was advanced, the University was able to offer BFA exclusive use of the magnificent McEwan Hall in the University of Edinburgh’s central campus for ten days in August 2009.
With the experienced staff from the University of Edinburgh’s Festival Offices on hand to support the Confucius Institute team, all involved are looking forward to being part of what will undoubtedly be one of the ‘must see’ shows in the fringe 2009.
