2024-05-21

SIFF YOUNG|SIFF YOUNG 2024 Announces Lineup of Final Selection Jury

 

SIFF YOUNG 2024 announces today the lineup of its final selection jury, which is led by the well-known director Guan Hu, followed by the producer and supervisor Luca Liang, the director, screenwriter, and actor Liang Ming, the supervisor Jo Jo Hui, and the supervisor and screenwriter Chang Chia-Lu (in alphabetical order by last name’s pinyin) as jury members.


 

Young filmmakers play a vital role in the sustainable development of the film industry, bringing always fresh perspectives, unique ideas and up-to-date filming skills, as a source of vitality for films to keep iterating with directors, producers and screenwriters being at the core of the process. Over the years, Shanghai has long been concerned with the development of young filmmakers. SIFF YOUNG, officially launched in 2021, has already recommended 12 outstanding representative young filmmakers.

 

The third session of SIFF YOUNG officially kicked off in March this year. After industry nominations and other process, five senior filmmakers were invited to form the Final Selection Jury, which has selected this year’s finalists in three categories, namely young directors, producers and screenwriters. The jury members are leading figures in the Chinese-language film industry, who have long followed the development of young filmmakers and collaborated with them on an ongoing basis. Also, they have previously served as jury members and mentors in various sections of the SIFF’s 6+1 step-by-step new talent cultivation system.

 

 

Director Guan Hu, Jury President of this year, has served as the Jury President of SIFF PROJECT 2017; producer and supervisor Luca Liang has joined us as the jury member of SIFF PROJECT on several occasions; director, screenwriter, and actor Liang Ming’s feature debut WISDOM TOOTH was initially unveiled at SIFF PROJECT 2012 at the screenplay stage, and after filming, it was selected by ASIAN NEW TALENT Section in 2020, and by the first session of SIFF YOUNG in 2021; Producer Jo Jo Hui was the jury member of SIFF PROJECT 2018 and the jury member of the ASIAN NEW TALENT section in 2023; producer and screenwriter Chang Chia-Lu also contributed to the jury work of SIFF PROJECT 2017 and was the mentor for SIFF NEXT 2023.

 

Through rigorous and thorough discussion, the Final Selection Jury has selected the filmmaker candidates for this SIFF YOUNG for the categories of directors, producers, and screenwriters, and the shortlist will be announced during the 26th SIFF.

 

 

Jury President

 

Guan Hu

Director

Graduated from the Department of Directing of Beijing Film Academy, he is known for his powerful personal style and his works are full of humanistic concern and realist critique. He is skilled in accurately conveying the understanding and scrutiny of the society and the world by nobodies in a grand context through sharp and unique innovative perspectives, vivid and realistic camera language and exquisite audio-visual techniques, and he is known as one of the pioneering representatives of the sixth generation of Chinese film directors. His works have brought to him honors at film festivals both at home and abroad, including: BLACK DOG (2024), THE EIGHT HUNDRED (2020), THE SACRIFICE (2020), MY PEOPLE, MY COUNTRY (2019), MR. SIX (2015), THE CHEF, THE ACTOR, THE SCOUNDREL (2013), COW (2009), and DESIGN OF DEATH (2012).

 

As a film worker, it is particularly important to be physically and mentally healthy in the first place, and what we mean for “body and mind” actually involves a lot. Secondly, personal life experience may not matter the most. Creativity beyond personal life experience is probably what really challenging for creators. I hope that young filmmakers can live up to the viewers’ expectations in this regard.

 

 

Jury Members

 

 Luca Liang

Supervisor and Producer

She is currently the General Manager of Film Production and Project Development, Senior Supervisor and Producer of Emperor Group. Previously, she taught at the Tianjin Academy of Fine Arts and the School of Design of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Her representative works as a supervisor and producer include TWO THUMBS UP (2015), MIRACLES OF THE NAMIYA GENERAL STORE (2017), A COOL FISH (2018), CAUGHT IN TIME (2020), SCHEMES IN ANTIQUES (2021), CLIFF WALKERS (2021) and END GAME (2021), etc., which are both well-marketed and acclaimed. 

 

Know yourself: Know your strengths and weaknesses; know the creation context: know not only your partners, but also the audience and market. When creators can know themselves and the creation context, they will be able to bring their greatest strengths into play and present their works to the public in a more appealing way.

 

 

Liang Ming

Director, Screenwriter, Actor      

As an actor, Liang Ming has starred in films such as SHADOW DAYS (2014), RIPPLES OF LIFE (2021). His directorial debut WISDOM TOOTH (2019) was selected for the 49th International Film Festival Rotterdam, the 23rd Shanghai International Film Festival, and other domestic and international festivals; he won the Fei Mu Award for Best Director and the Roberto Rossellini Awards - Jury Award at the 3rd Pingyao Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon International Film Festival; he is also the winner of the Best Director honor at the Firebird Awards of the 44th Hong Kong International Film Festival; he was awarded Best Emerging Director of the 29th Shanghai Film Critics Society and nominated for the 14th Asian Film Award for Best New Director. His new film, CARPE DIEM (2024), was selected as the opening film of the 71st San Sebastian International Film Festival in the international competition for new directors, the Best Film of the 7th Pingyao Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon International Film Festival (Youth Jury Award), and the Best Film of the Forward Future section of the 14th Beijing International Film Festival (BIFF) while winning for him the honor of Best Director of the 48th Hong Kong International Film Festival (Firebird Awards).

 

Young filmmakers may feel lonely in the process of creation, but they may take steps to open themselves up and communicate with more partners in the industry. That’s because this process always involves co-creation. Young creators should work together to encourage each other.

 

 

Jo Jo Hui

Supervisor 

She has participated the production of Zeng Guoxiang’s BETTER DAYS (2019) and Peter Chan’s LEAP (2020) as supervisor, and has represented Hong Kong, China and Chinese Mainland in the Oscar race for Best International Feature Film, respectively. As an all-round supervisor who has worked and excelled in all aspects of film creation and production, Jo Jo Hui has received two nominations for Best Screenplay at the 22nd and 27th Hong Kong Film Awards.

 

Entering the film industry in the early 1990s as a screenwriter and assistant director, Jo Jo Hui joined Peter Chan’s film company, Applause Pictures in 2000, where she worked as a supervisor on films such as HOMECOMING IN THREE: GOING HOME (2002), THE WARLORDS (2007), SWORDSMEN (2011), and DEAREST (2014). In recent years, she has dedicated herself to fostering new talent, including Zeng Guoxiang’s solo directorial debut, SOUL MATE (2016), and Xu Hongyu’s self-edited directorial debut, THIS IS NOT WHAT I EXPECTED (2017). In 2017, she and Zeng Guoxiang founded the film company, Good Fellow Pictures Limited, which has released works such as BETTER DAYS.

 

Thank you to all the young filmmakers. You did a great job. Even if there are still some flaws in the film, they all touched me. I would like to thank you all and ask you to stick with it.

 

 

Chang Chia-lu

 Supervisor and Scriptwriter

Chang Chia-Lu graduated from the Department of Sociology, National Chengchi University, Taiwan, and the MFA Program, Taipei National University of the Arts. He has worked as a magazine editor and a TV station producer director. Currently, he is the supervisor and creative director of CKF Pictures (Beijing).

 

His screenwriting credits include A WORLD WITHOUT THIEVES (2005), THE MESSAGE (2009), and ONE MILE ABOVE (2011). His short story Terrorist (2007) won the Taiwan Literature Award. Other screenwriting works include FOREVER ENTHRALLED (2008), DETECTIVE DEE AND THE MYSTERY OF THE PHANTOM FLAME (2010), TAICHI (2012), YOUNG DETECTIVE DEE: RISE OF THE SEA DRAGON (2013), MOJIN - THE LOST LEGEND (2015), and DETECTIVE DEE: THE FOUR HEAVENLY KINGS (2018). And film works supervised by him include CLOUD IN THE WIND (2019), THE YINYANG MASTER (2021), MOONSTRUCK, MOMENTS WE SHARED. He has also supervised the online work NIGHT WANDERER, which will be released soon together with MOONSTRUCK and MOMENTS WE SHARED . His screenwriting works have won an array of major film awards.

 

For young creators, it is all about - keep filming and stay passionate. For creators who have been in the industry for some time, they have scooped some success, and are going to be with the industry forever. I hope you strike a relatively good sense of balance between marketability and creativity.

 

*In alphabetical order by last name

 

SIFF YOUNG is a film talent support programme directed by the Shanghai Film Bureau and organized by Shanghai International Film Festival (SIFF). It has been successfully held for two years, and has recommended a total of 12 young filmmakers, including Dun He, Han Shuai, Li Xiaofeng, Liang Ming, Liu Xunzimo, Rao Xiaozhi, Shao Yihui, Shen Ao, Wang Jing, Wen Muye, You Xiaoying and Zeng Guoxiang. In recent years, the selected filmmakers have created a number of outstanding films with dazzling box-office results such as HOME COMING, THE BEST IS YET TO COME and CARPE DIEM, and have gradually become an indispensable and important force in the development of Chinese cinema.

 

 

 SIFF YOUNG

Director | Producer | Screenwriter

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