1. Unit 4

2. Unit 4
Films and film events

3. Reading
Important film events
around the world

4. Warming up
Can you name some famous film
festivals held around the world? Where
are they hold?
2. What do people usually do during a
film festival?
3. Do you think all the films are worth seeing?

5. 4. In your opinion, what makes a film
good?
5. If a film, an actor or actress, or a
director wins awards in a film festival,
do you think it means the film, the
actor or actress, or the director is
good? Why or why not?

7. Read the transcript quickly and answer these questions.
1. How many film festival representatives appeared on the show?
Six.

8. 2. Which film festivals are mentioned
in the transcript?
The Cannes Film Festival, the Berlin
International Film Festival, the
Sundance Film Festival, the Venice
Film Festival, the Toronto
International Film Festival and
Shanghai International Film Festival.

9. 3. At which festival are you not likely
to find Hollywood film?
The Sundance Film Festival.

10. Choose the right answer to each question.
1. The reason why the host asks Maria to
speak first may be that ________.
A. Maria sits closest to the host
B. Maria is the most famous of all
C. the Venice Film Festival has the
longest history
D. the Venice Film Festival pays
attention to art most

11. 2. Some critics compare the Cannes Film
Festival to the Academy Awards because
________.
A. they can both make films famous
B. they equal each other in popularity
C. they have both taken a step backwards
D. they both favour films from the USA

12. 3. What can we learn from the passage?
A. Most festivals give awards to American
films.
B. Hollywood films can be shown at the
Sundance Film Festival.
C. Each representative sings the praises of
his or her own festival.
D. Hollywood films are in the majority at
the Berlin Film Festival.

13. Reading strategy:
identifying similarities and differences
When reading a text which introduces different events or items, it’s important to pay attention to their similarities and differences. To find the similarities, look for words like and, also and another. For difference, look for words like but and unlike:

14. ‘Unlike the Venice Film Festival…’
‘Unlike the Venice Film Festival…’. Superlatives often show us differences as well: ‘The Venice Film Festival is the oldest film festival in the world’ and ‘Our festival was founded in 1993, so we are perhaps the youngest festival’.

15. How well do you understand the transcript
How well do you understand the transcript? Read it again and answer the following questions.
1. Which film festival views film as a type of contemporary art?
The Venice Film Festival views film as a type of contemporary art.

16. 2. How did the Sundance Film Festival come to be well known?
In 1981, Robert Redford, who has acted in and directed many big Hollywood films, became the sponser of the festival and changed the focus to independent films made on very modest budgets. Since then it has become well known.

17. 3. Why was the Cannes Film Festival started?
Because many people felt the Venice Film Festival was giving awards to only German and Italian films.

18. 4. What is the difference between the Cannes Film Festival and the Berlin International Film Festival?
Films, many of which are American, shown at the Cannes Film Festival are often made with large budgets and have well- known actors and directors, while films that are likely to be overlooked at Cannes have a real chance of winning at the Berlin Film Festival.

19. 5. Which film festival gives out the Golden Cup Award?
The Shanghai International Film Festival gives out the Golden Cup Award.

20. The oldest film festival; part of a larger festival
Fill in the table below with the correct
information from the transcript.
Film festival
Started in
Features
Venice Film Festival
1932
The oldest film festival;
part of a larger festival

21. Sundance Film Festival
Started in
Features
Sundance Film Festival
only include small independent films made on very modest budgets; boycott all Hollywood films
1978

22. Film festival
Started in
Features
Cannes Film Festival
the largest festival in the world; films shown are often made with large budgets and have well-known actors and directors; shows a board range of films from many different countries
1939

23. Berlin International Film Festival
Started in
Features
Berlin International Film Festival
gives awards to films from all over the globe
1951

24. Toronto Interna-tional Film Festival
Started in
Features
Toronto Interna-tional Film Festival
the second largest festival in the world; gives some special awards to Canadian films
1976

25. Shanghai International Film Festival
Started in
Features
Shanghai International Film Festival
the youngest film festival; has a good reputation worldwide
1993

26. Match these new words from the transcript with their meanings
Match these new words from the transcript with their meanings. Write the correct letters in the blanks.
a provide money for a project
b a person or company who pays for a
event
c including a great variety

27. d tell someone that the opposite of what
they said is true
e a standard by which something is
judged or a decision is made
f create a plan or idea
g refuse to buy or use something
h let someone experience something

28. 1. criterion (Line 17) ____
2. finance (Line 18) _____
3. boycott (Line 24) _____
4. hatch (Line 25) _____
5. sponsor (Line 28) _____
6. expose (Line 31) _____
7. contradict (Line 38 )_____
8. broad (Line 45)_____ e a g f b h d c

29. Yu Peng attended a lecture about the Academy Awards
Yu Peng attended a lecture about the Academy Awards. Use the words in the box below to help him complete his notes.
deliberately overlooked restriction
resemble entries edge

30. Answers:
1. ____________ 2. _________
3. ____________ 4. _________
5. ____________ 6. _________
overlooked
entries
restriction
edge
deliberately
resemble

31. Discussion
Do you like films from a specific
country? If so, which country and
why.
2. What is your favourite film? What do
you like about it?

32. 3. What are your opinion on Chinese
films? What are some of the special
features of the Chinese films?
various settings
different themes, including those of
urban life or life in the countryside
topics covering serious issues, common
daily problems, historical events, etc.

33. 4. How do you think important film
events contribute to the development
of the film industry? How have film
events been part of the film industry?

34. a great honour and acknowledgement
for directors, actors and actresses
a special occasion for presenting good
films
a time and a place for directors, actors
and actresses to share their opinions
and experience
an occasion for the promotion of films

35. Homework
Read the text “Import film events around the world” again and find out the important words and expressions.
2. Finish the reading exercises in your
workbook.