interface news reporter | Hu Yujing
interface news editor | Zhang Youfa
html On June 19, the 26th Shanghai International Film Festival·Film Project Venture Capital (siff project) announced recommended projects, and the four-day venture capital event came to an end.Film Festival Venture Capital is a key link for young filmmakers before they enter the market. Fan Jingwen, head of Shanghai Film Festival Venture Capital, likens it to "pre-examination tutoring" for new filmmakers. The film industry is going through a period of adjustment, and Shanghai Film Festival Venture Capital’s mentoring role for newcomers has become particularly important.
Since its establishment in 2007, the Shanghai Film Festival's film project venture capital has witnessed a total of 98 projects entering production, 76 of which participated in domestic and foreign film festivals, 57 were shortlisted for Class A international film festivals, and 38 returned to Shanghai. It participated in international film festivals, and 68 films were released in domestic and foreign theaters.
For example, "This Friday in the Park", which just won the best film in the Asian Newcomer Award section of the Shanghai Film Festival's Golden Goblet Award, and "In the Belly of the Tiger", which was shortlisted for the Forum section of the Berlin International Film Festival at the beginning of the year, have been shortlisted for 2023. "Projects in Progress" unit. Earlier films such as " Daytime Fireworks ", " Master ", " Yong'an Town Story Collection " and " Parrot Kills " were all shortlisted for film project venture capital.
This year’s Shanghai International Film Festival Film Venture Investment has four units: young director projects, international cooperation projects, projects in creation and projects in production. A total of 380 valid project applications were received, and 34 projects were finally shortlisted.
Well-known director, screenwriter, and producer Lu Chuan, producer and producer Liang Lin, and actor and producer Yao Chen. , as the annual recommender of film venture capital projects, publicly commented on 18 young directors and projects in production. In the end, " Unknown" "Girls " and "Swimming in the Water" were respectively awarded the Young Director Recommendation Project and the Recommended Project in Production of this year's venture capital investment. "Hypocrite" and "Visitors from the Mountain" were awarded the Creative Recommendation Project and the Special Recommendation Project.
’s venture capital investment in the Shanghai International Film Festival also reflects the changes in the creative consciousness of young filmmakers.
Looking at the themes and stories of this year’s projects, the common theme is concern for the fate of vulnerable groups. The death of loved ones, the anxiety of old age, women’s search for identity, and the fate of little people in the tide of the times. These issues are encapsulated in different types and styles, presenting themselves as a kind of subconscious of the spirit of the times.
These thoughts have gained more opportunities to enter the market through the Shanghai International Film Festival. Perhaps we can see these expressions of the times truly implemented in the near future.
"Silly Roe Deer" has attracted the attention of Mo Fei Film and Television New Voices. Source: official
Young directors care about ordinary people and reflect on human nature, society and the times.
"The film industry is sometimes a mirror of reality," Yao Chen said in an interview with Interface Entertainment Expressing his overall feelings about this year’s venture capital projects, “After experiencing the epidemic period, a large number of young directors are discussing issues of life and death. In addition to expressing the confusion of individuals in their own age group, they also pay attention to the plight of the elderly. It is indeed the relationship between the environment and people. Presentation. "
's focus on the present and individuals is the highlight of this year's venture capital. Among the 18 publicly stated venture capital projects, the protagonists of the stories include an excavator driver with terminal cancer, an eldest daughter whose father is critically ill, and a middle-aged child who lost her only child. The elite mother, the nameless girl who juggles three family lives, the delivery boy who survives in Hong Kong... The narrative basically follows the logic of finding reconciliation with life, death and the times for individuals in trouble, reflecting the young filmmakers' understanding of reality. observation.
"My Brother" is such a story about finding the courage to say goodbye in the midst of death and depression. The film's director and screenwriter Lu Lu said that her creative idea first emerged before her father passed away a few years ago, when she stood in front of the ward window and waited. An anxious moment that kept echoing in her mind.
Many projects ooze anxiety about the future. Young filmmakers are not only worried about technology, reflecting on intimate relationships and female fertility, but are also beginning to pay attention to the elderly.
"If You Have Time, Remember to Come and See Me" tells the story of an excavator driver who will pass away in six months and embarks on a journey to say goodbye to his relatives and friends."Green Lake" and "Happy Life" both focus on the emotions and family life of elderly men. The protagonist of the former is a widowed old man who lives by the Green Lake in Kunming, while the latter is an old Shanghai father who has given up his family for everyone. People are looking for reconciliation with their daughters, and by bridging the intergenerational gap, rebuilding family ties and regaining the meaning of life.
Continuing from last year, this year’s venture capital projects still pay great attention to female themes, but at the same time, the perspective is more mature. "Pregnant Day" director Li Huifei stated that she wanted to try to explore the meaning of childbirth for women when the economy is stagnant and the relationship between men and women is unstable. The heroine of "Under Fourteen" regains her confidence in becoming a mother by searching for the truth behind a matricide case.
Venture Capital Forum on-site image source: official
The project unit's "Hanjiang Farewell", which is in production, won the "Annual Recommender Choice" honor added by three recommenders due to its strong style. The film also depicts a small person in the city. The feeling of loneliness and the process of seeking redemption.
“Under a heavy burden, people will rush towards some kind of lightness regardless of their own safety.” The film’s director Zhang Xinyang explained this creative orientation to Interface Entertainment with a poem by Calvino, “Many ordinary people in today’s life are also like him. This kind of "lightness" includes ourselves. In the past few years, everyone has begun to find that we are becoming more and more like fragments. Perhaps what we can do is to grasp these ordinary and inconspicuous fragments. Catch ourselves.”
Taking a direct look at reality requires courage and perception
Although the topics of most projects focus on the living conditions of ordinary people, in the opinion of the three recommenders, many projects do not reflect reality to a certain extent. Lacking, the creator did not respond directly to reality, and the expression was outdated, routine, and homogeneous.
Taking the Tibetan theme as an example, Lu Chuan frequently saw an image of otherness in film festivals and short film exhibitions - Tibetans are symbolized and always wear Tibetan robes. The protagonist travels across regions and images just to complete himself. A spiritual pilgrimage, showing his own pain, "We always put people on an altar to worship, and then walk away with peace of mind. But the question is, have you ever asked the Tibetan people what they need?"
In his view Later, there was a mismatch between the superstitious originality and reality of some directors. "He felt that the degree of originality of his script was equivalent to that of "One Hundred Years of Solitude", which was only one copy. But we saw that there were at least 150 or so copies that were exactly the same. "
" For more than 20 years, too many stories have been repeated like this, and the courage to directly attack reality is weakening. I have always felt that art films are not an artistic tone, but an attitude that directly touches life. This is why I voted for " "Hanjiang Farewell". In many works, what I see is exactly a kind of excessive maturity and sophistication.
"Silly Roe Deer" director Zhang Hongguang also expressed similar views to Interface Entertainment. In his view, the demise of a thing does not lie in its exquisiteness or roughness, but in its role in social human groups. "Form is greater than form." The content is meaningless. I have been doing advertising for so many years and have seen countless art forms and expressions, but its roots have not changed. The form is just a new combination of old elements. It is not unimportant, but with the sense of form of expression, "Those who have a soul."
Lu Chuan emphasized that the so-called "neatness" evaluation is not a compliment, "Because young people do not need to be neat. Young people need to be neat, have horns on their heads, and have a knife in their hearts. Neatness belongs to them. For those of us, the kind of things that are not neat but like lava, I feel are a bit rare, which is a bit regretful.”
In addition to homogeneity, Lu Chuan believes that when creating realistic-themed movies, some young filmmakers still lack the courage and courage. intensity. "Sunny, Bright" tells the story of a girl who died in a car accident and donated her heart to a stranger. The girl's father rode thousands of miles to listen to his daughter's heartbeat. When commenting on this project, Director Lu Chuan pointed out that many films, including "Sunny and Bright" and "If You Have Time, Come and See Me", have problems with small ideas.
"Our era is full of troubles, with all kinds of rushes, tears, collisions and contradictions," Lu Chuan said. "But movies are all a trickle, which actually avoids the expression of the present. All of them After receiving the project, I found that the creative collective is using a more delicate way (expression), and you should have more courage to embrace the present."
Lu Chuan took Roman Polanski's "Knife in the Water" as an example. The film, in which the protagonist was filmed entirely on a yacht, shocked the world with its unforgettable depiction of the middle class. "I think the director was too sharp and explained everything thoroughly."
Yao Chen added that it was more difficult than losing his courage. The terrible thing is the loss of perception of people. "The loss of perception is the biggest blow to creators." The reason why people's perception becomes numb is that many young directors or screenwriters can't wait to make up a funny story. story, but the character is like a tool. She believes that characters should be established first and then the story.
Protect interesting souls, but also be aware of the cruelty of the market
When conservative and delicate expressions dominate the majority, projects with unique perspectives and distinctive styles emerge. "Protect interesting souls" has become the consensus of the three recommenders.
"Unknown Girl" won the Young Director Recommendation Project in this venture capital investment. The film's producer Xu Jiahan said in an interview with Interface Entertainment that the film presents a woman's transformation process from weak to powerful, from the perspective of the female creative team unique. This time, the three recommenders not only affirmed the completion and maturity of the project, but also suggested that she make the project more vigorous and sharp.
"Farewell to the Cold River" is a rare black and white image. The story uses the daily labor of a girl and a monk as clues to connect aspects of the lives of several small characters. Director Zhang Xinyang said in his presentation that the filming of the film has been completed, and there is still a funding gap of about 500,000 yuan for post-production. Before Zhang Xinyang could finish his statement, Lu Chuan announced on the spot that he would invest 500,000 yuan in "Hanjiang Farewell".
Lu Chuan explained that he chose this film not because it was commercial, but precisely because it was not commercial. In his opinion, "Bijiang Farewell" has a very strong personal style and very independent expression. Although this type of work is destined to be a "salon movie", the purpose of venture capital is to make such people and works visible. Lu Chuan believes that a large film industry needs sufficiently diverse creators, including both mainstream commercial film directors and film artists, and Zhang Xinyang is one of them.
The three recommenders and Zhang Xinyang, the director of "Cold River Farewell" Source: Official
The three recommenders also hope to use the "pre-examination tutoring" of venture capital to make new filmmakers aware of the cruelty of the market. Lu Chuan strongly praised the Shanghai Film Festival Film Venture Capital's support for young directors. He said that when he was looking for bosses all over the world to find money, he heard that there was a boss in a certain place, so he "surrounded him" and stayed with young directors in luxury hotels. Supporting the entire investment process is different. Liang Lin said that new directors are in a hothouse, and the reviews this time have been quite mild. If these projects were in commercial film companies, most of them would not be seen.
She hopes that new directors will realize the changes in the market as soon as possible, "The market environment has not been good in the past few years. What we are facing is not a competition between young directors and mature directors, but a competition between the film industry and other entertainment, culture, and art industries. How can we Bring back the consumer audience? The audience won’t forgive you just because you are a new director, because I paid for the ticket and it’s worth the thirty or fifty yuan. If it’s not worth it, why should I go in?”
Through Film Ventures Through this platform, young directors can find partners and funds to advance their projects and also update their understanding of the market. Zhang Hongguang said that due to the praise of the three recommenders and the characteristics of the project itself, many investors are looking for him to discuss cooperation, and "the schedule is already full." He hopes to find a long-term partner with a suitable temperament and work together to complete the second and third subsequent films.
Zhang Xinyang told Jiemie Entertainment that the recognition of his project by the three recommenders made him feel "resurrected". After the film is completed, he will go to festivals first and then release it in China."I hope the film can see more viewers. This is my original intention."
Regarding whether the market will pay for it, Zhang Xinyang said, "If the result is not good, it must not be the market or the audience's fault, it is my own reason, maybe it is My pictures are not good enough. I think good things must be diverse and have vitality. I will wait for them to be discovered and sold before I shoot the next one." At this time of change, Shanghai Film Festival Venture Capital provides these passionate filmmakers with a new perspective on their works, which also provides more possibilities for the future of these projects.
As Liang Lin said, "At this moment, they may not understand a lot of what we say, but when they go through many hardships and think about it again, they will realize that the seeds were planted at the moment of venture capital. Down. That’s what venture capital is about.”
