Cannes Film Festival Kicks Off, and SIFF YOUNG Brought Young Filmmakers to Cannes Film Market

On July 6, local time, the 74th Cannes Film Festival officially kicked off. On the evening of July 7 local time, the opening event of the Cannes Film Market was held at Palm Beach Cannes. This year marks the third time that Shanghai International Film Festival (SIFF), as a partner of Cannes Film Market, cooperates with the latter in the opening event. Guests at the scene reviewed the grandness of the 24th SIFF that had concluded not long before through a short video. At the same time, the first batch of selected filmmakers Han Shuai, Liang Ming, Rao Xiaozhi, Wang Jing, and Zeng Guoxiang (in alphabetical order of the first letter of surname) of SIFF YOUNG, which is jointly initiated by SIFF and Cannes Film Market, also debuted at the event online in a video, unfolding to the international market the new look of Chinese film creation.

Selected filmmakers debuted Cannes Film Market online

This year, SIFF, held in an orderly and safe manner with distinctive themes, complete sections, has become the international non-specialized competitive film festival that gathered the most participants as scheduled in the world. At the opening event of the Cannes Film Market, a short video was played first to review the wonderful moments of the 24th SIFF. Through a group of rich, concrete and vivid shots, SIFF once again demonstrated China’s results in fighting the epidemic to the world, and conveyed the robust momentum of the strong recovery of Chinese films that leads the world. At the end of the video, Fu Wenxia, director of the Shanghai International Film & TV Festival Center, expressed gratitude to filmmakers around the world, and wished the Cannes Film Festival a success and the prosperity of the global film industry, "I hope we will see each other soon and have a face-to-face communication."

At the 24th SIFF that concluded no long ago, SIFF YOUNG announced the first five selected young directors. Judging from the recommendations given by the Final Selection Jury, the five directors have distinct personalities and strengths: Han Shuai “exhibits outstanding comprehensive ability of author consciousness and film language”; Liang Ming's creation shows the qualities of “both literary and artistic films and commercial films"; Rao Xiaozhi offers "a new understanding of Chinese commercial films by directors born in the 1980s"; Wang Jing presents "solid skills" and "excellent overall performance"; and Zeng Guoxiang's works have found "a good balance between a variety of social issues and the director's technical expression". And, Cannes Film Market’s Director Jholm Bayah also specially sent a blessing video: "On behalf of the Cannes Film Festival, I congratulate the shortlisted filmmakers. I hope that the Cannes Film Festival will play the role as a bridge to introduce outstanding filmmakers to international film market."

The blessings from Cannes are still in my mind. That night, the five young filmmakers appeared at the opening event of the Cannes Film Market online. In the promotion video, they shared their understanding and insights on film creation to more than 600 guests on the scene, showcasing unique personalities and talents. In addition, a collection of SIFF YOUNG’s activities during SIFF was also played, allowing the guests to deeply feel the innovative vitality and vigorous growth of Chinese films. Also, the SIFF YOUNG section, which was simultaneously launched on the official website of the Cannes Film Market, fully displayed the personal profiles and past works of the five selected filmmakers through the online channel. (Readers can visit this section by clicking "Read the original article" at the bottom of this article.)

Shanghai and Cannes interpret the zero-day twin-city linkage

Within one month, from the announcement of the first batch of shortlists to the debut of young filmmakers at the Cannes Film Market, SIFF YOUNG has once again presented a wonderful twin-city linkage to the global film industry through close zero-day cooperation between Shanghai and Cannes.

In fact, Shanghai and Cannes have been partners for a long time. Since 2018, SIFF has co-hosted SIFF China Day with Cannes Film Market for two consecutive years, which is currently the only official cooperation event between the Cannes Film Festival and a foreign international non-specialized competitive film festival. In recent years, the cooperation between Shanghai and Cannes has been further deepened, ranging from the exchange and exhibition of film works to the mutual learning and promotion of the film industry with fruitful results. At the same time, the two sides have been kept communication in terms of improving cooperation mechanisms and innovating cooperation forms. On the other hand, with the goal of accelerating the establishment of a global film and television center, Shanghai shows an increasing demand for film talents year by year. Directing, screenwriting, production, filming art, post-production and other links urgently need excellent professional talents. In this context, SIFF YOUNG, jointly initiated by SIFF and Cannes Film Market, was born, and the two parties have reached consensus and understanding on the cultivation of young filmmakers.

SIFF YOUNG was launched in March this year, and 15 film and television related organizations and 15 individuals have recommended a total of 69 young filmmakers. Finally, five young film directors were selected for it.

Regarding the successful launch of SIFF YOUNG, Jholm Bayah said: "Young Chinese filmmakers show a wealth of passion, talent and creativity, and they are an indispensable force on the world film stage. The Cannes Film Market hopes to help more talented young Chinese filmmakers through SIFF YOUNG. I also wish our two sides can develop closer cooperation and exchanges."

Full coverage SIFF YOUNG will create more possibilities

SIFF has long been concerned with the growth and development of young Chinese filmmakers and dedicated to exploring long-term support mechanisms. Through this successful linkage with Cannes Film Market, SIFF will summarize experience and improve its mechanism unremittingly. In addition to displaying China’s new film creation look through the two international non-specialized competitive film festivals, SIFF and Cannes Film Festival, to the international market, it will also take advantage of a series of support policies for the film and television industry promulgated by Shanghai to establish an implementation system, set up special funds and issue support polices for the cultivation of outstanding young filmmakers to promote the rolling out of the SIFF YOUNG X.

SIFF YOUNG will follow the latest information of the five young filmmakers selected this year, and connect them with high-quality overseas resources and platforms on a continuous basis to help Chinese film talents tell the stories of China and spread voices of China on the world stage. In the future, instead of being limited to a single field, it is expected to expand the scope of support targets to screenwriters, producers, and other posts in need to truly cover the entire industry chain, and strive to be a brand project that help Chinese film gain wider communication and influence and higher attention overseas. Also, it will serve to show the new look of Chinese film creation, highlight the value of SIFF as an international platform, and promote the exchange and mutual learning of Chinese and foreign film culture.