2022-01-14

SIFF NEXT｜Industry Open Day of SIFF NEXT 2021 (Phase II) Held Successfully

The Project Development Workshop of SIFF NEXT (Phase II) of the 24th Shanghai International Film Festival (SIFF) was held on January 8 at the Shanghai Film Academy of Shanghai University. Representatives of the six shortlisted projects made public presentations to the representatives of film and television companies, the young filmmakers and the media. In the roundtable forum, four mentors, Li Xiaofeng, Nai An, Sun Yue, and Pema Tseden, also shared their experiences as the senior insiders, and offered suggestions and encouragement to the young filmmakers.

SIFF NEXT is a new incubation unit newly launched by SIFF in 2019. Different from SIFF PROJECT that has gone through 15 years and focuses on the industrial exchanges and services, SIFF NEXT pays more attention to the newcomers instead of the projects, and is more committed to mining and supporting the potential emerging film talents. Featuring step-by-step activity sections, it is targeted to help them better adapt to the industry and support them to produce their very first and second feature films.

In 2021, SIFF NEXT received a total of applications from 327 trainees, and 20 among them from all over the country were finalized. During SIFF in June, they joined each other in a tense and fulfilling 7-day "SIFF Industry General Knowledge Tour", experienced in depth the main activities of SIFF such as SIFF Market, SIFFORUM, Film Panorama, and also exchanged ideas with Nai An, Chen Guofu, Du Qingchun, Sonthar Gyal, Cao Jinling, Geng Jun and other senior domestic film practitioners. While gaining more industry resources, they had enriched practical experience, and made sound preparation for developing the new projects.

At the beginning of November, SIFF NEXT (Phase II) called for the entry of feature films from the formerly shortlisted trainees, and received the submission of a total of 17 projects. Seven trainees, after evaluation, including She Zeyu (Fu Xiaoyu), Siniang (Li Yang), Lin Ling, Huang Hanyang, Wang Kaixuan, Zhong Xinxuan and Lv Shufan, came to Shanghai with their projects to participate in the Project Development Workshop and industry training events.

This Project Development Workshop specially invited director Li Xiaofeng, producer Nai An, screenwriter Sun Yue, and director Pema Tseden as the mentors. In the first two days of closed-door workshop, the mentors had in-depth exchanges with the representatives of the 6 shortlisted projects in terms of script writing, project development, audio-visual design, etc., and offered instructions unreservedly. They brought into shape and explored the possible development directions of projects, suggested specific script adjustment methods, shared strategies for access to funds, and gave valuable advice on career path.

The industry open day on the third day of SIFF NEXT offered not only the stage for the first collective appearance of the project parties in front of the media and the industry, but also a "rehearsal" before the projects’ entry into the industry and market. At the event, four mentors including Li Xiaofeng, Nai An, Sun Yue, Pema Tseden; He Xiaoqing, Executive Dean of Shanghai Film Academy of Shanghai University; Marco Müller, Artistic Director of the Film Art Research Center of Shanghai University; representatives from film and television companies; young filmmakers; and several media listened to the public presentation of the project parties and witnessed together their growth.

During the mentor roundtable session, the four senior film workers shared their feelings and experiences, as well as the keen insight into the development of the industry from the perspectives of theme selection and cost control, based on their professional experience. For the creators, Nai An emphasized the importance of maintaining self-awareness, "No matter what the future holds, it will make your work shine through." Pema Tseden reminded young directors, "For a debut, the writer and the director don't have to be the same person, and it is necessary to give full play to the advantages of every post." Li Xiaofeng, who stood out at SIFF NEXT with his first feature film NEZHA, recommended that everyone "should learn to face the market and find the balance, and the path ahead has no end". Sun Yue encouraged the participants, "Shooting practices matter the most, always!"

Taking into consideration of the originality and development feasibility of the projects, the mentors finally awarded the honor of "Best Project of SIFF NEXT" to STUDIO IN THE SOUTH and The NAIL THAT STICKS UP. To be eligible for the next SIFF PROJECT, the two project parties winning this honor have to each complete a related concept film or short film of the project before the next SIFF. Mofei Pictures, Phenom Films and TsingLaw Firm will provide the sound, color correction and legal support for the short films. TROPICAL CYCLONE NO. 9 was specially mentioned and encouraged by the mentors.

In addition, this year's SIFF NEXT has invested efforts to expanding industrial cooperation. Several industrial events will be held from January 9 to 10 to gather filmmakers in Shanghai. At that time, SIFF NEXT will, together with TsingLaw Firm, hold the first film law salon, and stage the winter screening event with ARTOWN FILM, where short films by directors from SIFF PROJECT and SIFF NEXT that have attracted attention at major festivals will be screened. Such works will include ABSENCE (Wu Lang, SIFF PROJECT 2019), which was shortlisted in the Short Film Competition of the Cannes Film Festival, IF YOU SEE HER, SAY HELLO (Zhang Jiajun, SIFF PROJECT 2019), which won the Grand Jury Prize at the Swiss Visions du Réel, and the award-winning WHAT CAN I HOLD YOU WITH (Shen Di, SIFF NEXT 2019) at the BISFF 2021. Post-screening exchanges will be organized after the event. And on the last day of SIFF NEXT, there will also be a mobile shooting workshop.

As an integral link of SIFF's stepped new talent support system, SIFF NEXT is dedicated to incubating, selecting, and recommending the excellent film works, and making systematic support available to the young filmmakers. The new talent support system mainly serves to support the young film workers in all round through Short Film unit, Golden Goblet Short Film unit, SIFF NEXT, SIFF PROJECT and other hatching sessions, and lead them step by step to the mount of the film industry. The SIFF NEXT is originally designed to recommend the outstanding young filmmakers of Chinese-language cinema to the industry and promote the cooperation among the young filmmakers from all over the country. The two phases in summer and winter not only stud the whole year with rich events, but also set up a mechanism for progressive connection, incubation, and direct access to SIFF PROJECT through recommendation.

The SIFF NEXT 2022 will open the trainee submission channel for the first phase on February 10th to call for registration openly in three categories: producer, director and screenwriter. Welcome the young filmmakers of Chinese-language cinema from all over the world to join us in Shanghai!

SIFF NEXT

SIFF NEXT is one of the sections dedicated to the incubation of film newcomers at the Shanghai International Film Festival (SIFF). Instead of being project-oriented, SIFF NEXT pays more attention to emerging individual film workers by introducing them to the industry, and providing support for them to complete their first and second feature films. It is comprised of two phases, held in June and December respectively each year. The first phase is held during SIFF. The shortlisted trainees will participate in "Training Workshop" and film exhibitions, forums, and other major events of SIFF. While gaining the experience at SIFF, they will have the opportunity to communicate with domestic first-line film workers, exploit industry resources, and enrich practical experience to prepare for the development of new projects. The second phase “Development Workshop” will be held in winter. The feature film projects and scripts will be solicited from the former shortlisted trainees, and about 6 projects will be selected to participate in the activities of the second phase. At that time, the senior film workers will be invited as the mentors. For the shortlisted projects from the trainees, they will provide in-depth guidance on scripts, development, and casting, and select 2 winning projects to grant the qualification for the next SIFF PROJECT.

SIFF NEXT 2022

Producer | Screenwriter | Director

Trainee application: Feb. 10 – Mar. 10, 2022

siffnext@siff.com