SIFF PROJECT | Past Projects Remainder, Ripples of Life, and Karma clinched awards at Pingyao

The 5th Pingyao Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon International Film Festival drew to a successful close on 19th October. The creative team behind Remainder, Ripples of Life and Karma bagged multiple awards including “Best Actress”, “Best Director”, “Youth Jury Award – Director” and “Best Actor”. These three films emerged from Shanghai International Film Festival’s Film Project Venture Capital, and upon completion, were shortlisted for the Hidden Dragon section of this festival. 

Group photos of award winners of 5th Pingyao Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon International Film Festival

In this fifth edition of the festival, Miyi Huang, the female lead of Remainder (also known as Streetwise) (SIFF PROJECT 2017、SIFF PROJECT WIP 2020), and Tao Zou, the male lead of Karma (SIFF PROJECT WIP 2020), clinched the “Best Actress” and “Best Actor” awards respectively, whereas Shujun Wei, the director of Ripples of Life (SIFF PROJECT 2020) bagged two honors of “Best Director” and “Youth Jury Award – Director”. 

Remainder was filmed under the direction of Jiazuo Na, starred by Jiuxiao Li and Miyi Huang and invested in by The Seventh Art Pictures with Hu Guan as the executive producer and Jing Liang as the general producer. This film is director Jiazuo Na’s first feature film. In 2017, its creative team submitted the script for Remainder under Shanghai International Film Festival’s Film Project Venture Capital for the first time and clinched the title of “Linmon Pictures’ Visionary Project with Greatest Potential”. When production began, it was shortlisted for “Works-in-Progress Projects” at SIFF PROJECT in 2020 and earned the honors of “Cornerstone Postproduction Project of Special Interest”. After production was completed, the film was successively shortlisted for the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival “Un Certain Regard” section, the 45th MOSTRA Sao Paulo International Film Festival’s “New Directors Competition” section and the Hidden Dragon section of the 5th Pingyao Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon International Film Festival.

With “the trends of migrating to Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou” as the background of the film, the story turns its attention to a group of youths in Sichuan and Chongqing who wanted to leave their hometowns but eventually stayed behind. The film is the most genuine portrayal of the streets and makes its foray into the inner lives of its characters as it explores a unique mental state and life experience.

Jiazuo Na, Director of Remainder, at the 23rd Shanghai International Film Festival venture capital discussions

Ripples of Life describes the ripples that a filming crew created by moving into an originally peaceful Yong’an town, and the town’s eventual return to its initial peace and quiet after the ripples ceased. The film is divided into three chapters – “Waiting alone”, “Beautiful on the surface” and “Pluto moment” – which come together to epitomize the pulse of everyday life. 

At this year’s Pingyao International Film Festival, Ripples of Life received widespread interest and critical acclaim and was greeted with thunderous applause at its premiere. 

Ripples of Life was nominated at the 65th British Film Festival (BFI) London Film Festival, the 26th Busan International Film Festival’s “Special Programs in Focus”, 22nd TOKYO FILMeX competition, and even clinched the international competition jury award at the Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival in 2021. 

Starring Zishan Yang, Miyi Huang, Yang Liu, and Chunlei Kang, the film also invited a host of young directors and filmmakers as guest stars, including Ming Liang, Jin Yang, Pingdao Yang, Chuang Song, Yixiang Zhai, Jun Geng, Matt Wu and Xufeng Huang. 

Xufeng Huang and Ying Liang were producers of the film, and Factory Gate Films Co., Ltd., Qingdao Central Creative Focus Films Co., Ltd., and Inner Self Films Co., Ltd. co-invested in the film, alongside Hexiang Films (Guangdong) Co., Ltd., Tianjin Lianrui Films Co., Ltd., Beijing Scene Dimension Films Co., Ltd. and Shanghai Xingui Cultural Technology Co., Ltd.

Shujun Wei, Director of Ripples of Life (second from left) at the 23rd Shanghai International Film Festival venture capital discussions

Film Karma tells of a story regarding Yangtze River. On a solitary boat, two men were forced into a corner after a fateful shipwreck. Both lost their loved ones, exchanged their identities, and had to do something that they were escaping from their entire lives. They took the place of each other’s father and son as they shared drinks on the Yangtze River.

The film angled towards the happenings on the solitary boat, displaying the struggles and breakthroughs that the characters experienced in face of life’s challenges. It effectively created a unique imagery, boasting commendable camera expressions and cinematographic language. On the Yangtze River, the entanglements between two families and two generations surfaced through one boat changing hands twice. The film director’s insights towards father and son relationships lent a strong foundation to the solid narrative and multi-dimensional characters. Not only did it explore the classic motif of father-son relationships and a man’s growth journey, but it also skillfully interweaved four characters between the relationships of three pairs of father and son, offering a fresh and novel concept to the audience. 

The film, invested in by Emei Film Group, was directed by Peike Zheng, supervised by Xi Liao, and written by Peike Zheng and Chen Yi. It stars Yufeng Liao and Tao Zou, with Jiamei Feng making a cameo appearance. 

Peike Zheng, Director of Karma (left), and film producer Chen Yi at the 23rd Shanghai International Film Festival venture capital discussions

Aside from the above three films, Absence (SIFF PROJECT 2019), which was also one of the feature films nominated for the Shanghai International Film Festival’s Film Project Venture Capital, had completed its short film production, and debuted in “A Corner of Pingyao” short film screening section. 

Short film Absence was directed by young director Lang Wu, co-starring Kangsheng Lee and Meng Li. The story revolves around a pair of former lovers on their way back to Ying Ge Hai, who remain discrete about each other’s lives and instead choose to silently preserve everything before them. Director Lang Wu’s minimalistic and romantic visual and audio effects bring to life the rich layers and charm of the narrative. 

When Absence feature film project was nominated for the 22nd Shanghai International Film Festival’s Film Project Venture Capital, it was appraised as the “Jury’s Special Recommendation”. From the jury’s perspective, the director made use of the story’s character and timing as a medium to illustrate the beauty of mismatched mental and physical space, effectively providing space for imagination for new cinematic language and aesthetics. Currently, playwriting of the feature film version of Absence has been completed, and preparations are underway for shooting to begin. It intends to extend the mystical sentiment awash in the short film and carry on the stirring narrative that delves into matters of time and emotions.

Absence is co-invested by Shanghai Turan Movie Co., Ltd., Beijing Wishart Culture Media Co., Ltd., Haikou Qinglan Visual Art Development Co., Ltd., with Yilisoo Films in charge of international distribution. Turan Movie and Wulang Film Studio co-produced the film, with He Dun and Ziming Zhao as the film’s producers. 

Lang Wu, Director of Absence, at the 22nd Shanghai International Film Festival venture capital presentation

Worthy of mention are the student works from the Shanghai International Film Festival Venture Capital Training Camp (SIFF NEXT), which fared equally well at this year’s Pingyao International Film Festival. Quan Zheng, a student from the production team (SIFF NEXT 2019), and his project in development Ling Long was nominated for the Pingyao International Film Festival’s “Work-in-Progress Lab Screenings” this year. Jing Zhang, another student from the product team (SIFF NEXT 2020), was the producer of film Goodbye, Paradise that was nominated for the Pingyao International Film Festival’s “Hidden Dragon” section. The film won the “Special Commendation” award, a significant honor following its last “New Currents Award” won at the Busan International Film Festival. 

Goodbye, Paradise tells of the lives and stories of three women of different generations through three segments, presenting a family’s emotional journey and the changing times spanning across 70 years. The film stands in stark contrast to the existing options in the film industry with its fresh and differentiated style.

The film is directed by Erzhuo Wang, supervised by Hongwei Wang, planned by Zheng Gu, and co-produced and invested in by NSW Jiaying Films (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. and Beijing Wanfeng Culture Media Co., Ltd. Mofei Pictures (Beijing) International Culture & Media Co., Ltd. and Morning Films (Guizhou) Co., Ltd. also invested in the film. 

The film’s producer, Jing Zhang, was a student in the production team of the Shanghai International Film Festival’s Venture Capital Training Camp (SIFF NEXT) in 2020. He was the executive producer of Long Day's Journey into Night and also the producer of Goodbye, Paradise as well as Swimming In A Whale. The latter was nominated for the 8th Chongqing Youth Film Festival’s Venture Capital Conference open segment in 2021. 

Shooting commenced in 2019 and lasted for a total of three years, during which the pandemic hit and brought the filming to a standstill. Jing Zheng overcame various pressures and challenges and prepared to resume filming in November 2020, just in time to receive the nomination for the Venture Capital Training Camp (SIFF NEXT). Eventually, the filming was successfully completed. 

Jing Zhang, producer of Goodbye, Paradise (third from left), together with its filmmaker make an appearance at the premiere at Pingyao

Ling Long is a documentary film that depicts a “porcelain doll” Ling Long who walked into the life of married documentary filmmakers Z&Z by a stroke of fate. They were deeply moved by this girl who suffered from congenital osteogenesis imperfecta yet remained happy and carefree, and decided to film Ling Long and her family. During the filming process, Z&Z gave birth to a child of their own. They began learning how to be parents and discussed between themselves the kind of life they want to provide for their child and the world they wanted her to see. Until one day, coincidentally, they brought their child to a mountain village, where their one-year-old daughter met another girl who was ten years old but had the stature of a one-year-old. Z&Z were suddenly struck by how different the growth journey of both girls were…

Ling Long is co-directed by Chi Zhang and Jie Zhu, with Quan Zheng as the film’s producer. It was nominated for the Guangzhou International Documentary Film Festival’s “China Stories” Pitching Session and clinched the fifth place. 

Producer Quan Zheng was a student from the production team in Shanghai International Film Festival Venture Capital Training Camp (SIFF NEXT) in 2019, and focuses on young filmmakers, authentic real-life themes, and documentaries. He has many years of experiences in film festival organization, international distribution, and film production. He was also nominated as one of the ten new producers in the Fresh Pitch project in 2020. 

Ling Long producer Quan Zheng (first from left) and director Chi Zhang and Jie Zhu make an appearance at the Pingyao International Film Festival