In the past 2023, the most watched Chinese film within the international film festival was undoubtedly "The Light of the White Tower ". After premiering at the Berlin International Film Festival, the film frequently appeared in other film festivals, and finally ended up winning the highest award "Golden Balloon Award" at the Three Continents Film Festival in Nantes, France, ending its year-long film festival journey. . The screenwriter and director of "The Light of the White Tower" Zhang Lu has always been low-key and reserved, but in his interview, he thanked his producer Xu Jiahan many times, "Thanks to her persistence for today's "White Tower" "The Light of the White Tower"."
"The Light of the White Tower" is the third collaboration between Xu Jiahan and director Zhang Lu after "Fukuoka" and "The Long Confession". At the same time, she and her company Midnight Out of Focus Pictures, where she is a co-founder and partner, have also worked with many new directors to create many dazzling debut feature films: " roaming " won the 23rd Busan International Film Festival Nominated for the "New Wave" Award in the main competition unit of the festival, and shortlisted for the Forum Unit of the 69th Berlin International Film Festival; " Xiaowei " won the Jury Prize at the 13th First Youth Film Festival.
Xu Jiahan is known as the "koi producer" behind the production of artistic films at the three major film festivals, but she modestly stated that she is a "new producer". Xu Jiahan described himself as "lucky", "I believe that behind these two words, vision, talent, and hard work are silently supporting me. I always remind myself to move forward and move forward."
Halfway through, she became a producer.
Xu Jiahan graduated from Smith College and Columbia University in the United States. She admitted that she had "never studied film production" because she had been studying cultural anthropology and film theory. In 2015, Xu Jiahan participated in an exchange program with an American school and went to Paris, France to study for a year. She began to participate in film festivals such as Cannes, Berlin, Venice, and Busan.
At the film festival, she met several international students who shared her passion for movies, and two of them became her future partners. With a common love for movies, several international students jointly founded a media called "deepfocus". The introduction is "a cinephile handbook with Paris as its origin. We send back the first movies from all corners of the planet." Hands-on film criticism and information. At the same time, we also travel to major film festivals around the world to deeply observe the entire world film industry." In this way, the three young partners jointly created the now well-known film self-media "deepfocus" in the industry. Although
was successful, Xu Jiahan quickly realized that it was not enough to just support movies from the distribution side. "If you want to really help directors open their way to financing and international hairdressing, we must You have to intervene from the upstream of the industry - that is, development and production - in order to provide the director with the most effective help."
So Xu Jiahan became a producer halfway. In just a few years, her works swept through many A category A film festival, among which "The Light of the White Tower" won five awards at the 2023 Beijing International Film Festival. Xu Jiahan used international vision as a guide and solid film theory as a shield to find art and market of intersection.
As a producer, I feel an unprecedented connection with movies
For Xu Jiahan, the core of production work is the cooperation between people. As a hub, the producer is not only responsible for the screenwriter and director, but also for Investors, publishers and the entire crew are responsible. In 2023, when she sat at the premiere and watched the familiar movie "The Light of the White Tower" appear on the big screen, Xu Jiahan said frankly, "I felt an unprecedented connection with the movie, because the movie is mixed with bitterness and... Sweet filming memories, mixed with the main creators’ arguments, deliberation, and confirmation of every detail.”
Although “The Light of the White Tower” has frequently won awards, from a market perspective, this movie is a bit obscure and implicit. Lack of gimmicks to attract the audience. Xu Jiahan admitted that the financing of "The Light of the White Tower" was indeed very difficult at the beginning. "At the beginning, I joined a small film and television investment company. Because they were considerate of small companies, the decision-making process was fast. They liked the artistic expression of the film. That’s why I chose to join.In the later stages, we have state-owned enterprises and more investors joining us. I also spent a lot of time studying and discussing their recycling methods with the investors, trying to meet the demands of various investors. "
As a producer, Xu Jiahan said that it usually takes at least a year and a half to accompany a movie from outline to release. "So, for me, this project must make me feel passionate and motivated. The artistry of a movie is a must. If you spend money and time to make a mediocre movie, it is simply a waste of life. The second is market competitiveness. If a film wants to obtain investment and meet the audience in theaters, even a small-cost film or an art film must be competitive in the corresponding market. Based on these two points, producers must be professional. Nowadays, people talk too much about feelings about movies, but in fact, professionalism is particularly important. "
Nowadays, the film and television industry iterates very quickly. Many small companies, new companies, and art film companies have been established, and many have disappeared. When talking about this topic, Xu Jiahan feels that film companies are most likely to fall into PR-oriented The trap is to emphasize too much on brand publicity and financing publicity. In fact, the core of a film company is always professional ability. "Aesthetic abilities, early development abilities, the ability to formulate reasonable budgets, and execution abilities all need to be continuously tempered. "
Recalling the years when she frequently participated in film festivals such as Cannes, Berlin, and Venice, Xu Jiahan said that at that time, she felt that perhaps being recognized and appreciated by the three major film festivals was the motivation to make movies. "Now I have a new We understand that what keeps us passionate about making movies is not box office or awards. Only by finding the deep relationship between movies and ourselves, colliding with talented people and showing their talents on a larger stage, can we There is a sense of happiness in making movies. ”
Whether it is "Wandering", "The Long Confession" or "The Light of the White Tower", they have traveled around the world-renowned film festivals such as the Berlin International Film Festival and the Busan International Film Festival, and they have returned to the domestic scene and appeared on the Beijing International Film Festival. The stage of the film festival and Pingyao Film Exhibition will then be shown on the domestic big screen. For young people who are venturing into the film industry and mature film creators who are working quietly, this is a precious virtuous cycle. They can make their own films and gain access to International recognition allows these films to reach as many audiences as possible. They have gained the confidence to firm up their own styles and choices, and the power of diversity will be added to the expression space of Chinese films. The
Film Festival is important, and it provides a great opportunity for the film festival. , Making films for the sake of winning awards often becomes a shackle for many creators
In recent years, with the increasing emphasis on overseas markets for Chinese-language films, more and more Chinese-language films have "goed out" and been recognized by audiences around the world. , many new films and new directors with completely different styles have come to the fore. In the past, the most important work Xu Jiahan did was to communicate face-to-face with film selectors to understand their preferences and the cultural context and perspective of Western audiences. They accurately recommend suitable films. “For film festivals, the most important job of film selectors is to discover new films and discover new filmmakers. In fact, there are many film selectors who want to know more about Chinese movies, but they don’t know where to go. Therefore, overseas film festivals are very willing to establish long-term relationships with producers like us. Through the output of films, overseas audiences can learn about the diversity of Chinese film creation. This is a very long cultivation process. So what we do is actively introduce overseas resources from the early stage of the project. "
Taking "Wandering" as an example, Xu Jiahan recommended the film to a senior film selector in Hong Kong, China. He is also the selector of the Hong Kong International Film Festival and the Berlin International Film Festival. "He likes "Wandering" very much. ", and made a key recommendation to the team in Berlin. "At that time, "Wandering" had already been confirmed to participate in the Busan International Film Festival, and the team was very worried about the conflict of the international premiere. "Based on their love for the film, Berlin agreed that it would only be enough to ensure that the European premiere would be in Berlin, so "Wandering" was honored. I went to two international film festivals at the same time. "
However, when it comes to international film festivals, Xu Jiahan's attitude as a producer is more vigilant than flattering.She insisted, “Film festivals are important, but they are only one step in the process of films reaching audiences. For some films, the blessing of film festivals can make them more effectively introduced to audiences; for some audiences For example, they can have one more dimension to consider when choosing which movie to watch when entering the theater. However, as directors and producers, we must be very clear about why our movies are made. Make movies for film festivals and awards. , often becomes a shackle for many creators."
When choosing a co-director, both new directors and mature directors will be taken into consideration.
As a producer, how do you choose the director you work with? Xu Jiahan said that she would try to take into account both new directors and mature directors, "because they each have their own advantages. Mature directors are more experienced in script creation and shooting, but new directors always have some unexpected ideas, whether they are right or wrong." , will surprise me. And the hardships faced by these two types of directors are also different. In other words, what they need producers to do is not exactly the same. For mature directors, it is difficult to do everything Each work surpasses the previous one, or each work makes your collaborators feel refreshed and full of motivation. This is really a very difficult thing."
When it comes to discovering the criteria for new directors, Xu Jiahan believes that new directors First of all, you should be a person who has high standards for yourself. "But most directors can't do it. They may think that as long as they make a film and enjoy the glory and excitement, I don't accept this kind of director. Secondly, he must be able to endure loneliness. Thirdly, he must be an interesting person. People who can talk to each other will be more pleasant to get along with. I would also suggest new directors to conduct more research on film companies and film producers, and do not choose to cooperate just because they feel that they are "nice people" after a few conversations. A movie The cooperation can range from one year to four or five years. This choice should be made with caution."
In Xu Jiahan's view, although everyone is working on various new director projects, there are actually very few very good new directors. . "When we find new directors like Zhu Xin and Huang Zi, we will cooperate with them in a very patient and professional manner. We will not extract their value very quickly, nor do we do anything to encourage others. Everything will be created according to the rules. It has its rules. No matter how much money you have, no matter how big the IP, no matter how many resources and contacts you have, it will be useless."
As a producer, Xu Jiahan admitted that he cannot ignore market factors, "From the financing stage , I must discuss market issues with investors. But my experience is that box office is not the only way to recover. I will help investors settle the account at the beginning, and what channels can be recovered, roughly What is the cycle like? This is why I can maintain many good and healthy investment relationships."
Some people think that there are too many entertainment choices now, so there are fewer viewers who can calm down and slowly enjoy a literary film, Xu Jiahan said People do take up a lot of time with short messages and short videos. “I think the integration of movies, games, and VR is also an inevitable trend. Maybe the most ideal state is for a hundred flowers to bloom. Some people choose to spend a period of time in a dark cinema without mobile phones. time, feel the charm of light and shadow, and some people like a more immersive gaming experience. I think this is understandable. The key is that the audience cannot lose the ability to perceive. You are moved by a sculpture, a movie or a game. It's okay to be moved, but we should maintain this sensitivity and perception."
The audience's appreciation can "let a hundred flowers bloom", but Xu Jiahan is very clear about his own goals, "My position for myself is to be interesting. Movies. In fact, all platforms and institutions are looking for movies that have both market appeal and authorial expression. I believe that such movies will be what audiences are most looking forward to seeing in the future."
/Beijing Youth Daily reporter Xiao Yang
editor/Gong Lifang
