Mobile SIFF Recognizes Young Talent Emerging on New Media Platforms

Mobile SIFF, an eye-catching program of the ongoing 15th Shanghai International Film Festival, opened yesterday and will run through to June 21.

Since its establishment last year, the program has won increased public attention for the wide international platform it provides for original ideas and new talent in the film industry.

This year\'s Mobile SIFF will launch four key events - Mobile Short Film Selection, Short Film Screening, New Media Forum and Mobile SIFF Ceremony.

Chair of the International Jury for Mobile SIFF is Taiwan China actor-director Doze Niu who shot to fame with his debut film What on Earth Have I Done Wrong. His film Meng Jia was an official selection at the Berlin International Film Festival to which he will return this year with his latest work Love.

Other members of the panel include Malaysian director Tan Chui Mui and Chinese director and actor Du Jiayi.

With 10 awards up for grabs, such as Best Short Film, Best Director and Best Playwright, more than 30 short films from 15 countries were chosen from over 10,000 entries. The nominees include Old Man\'s Adventures  by Chinese director Huang Lei, Oscar nominee RAJU and Teacher by Italian actress Maria Grazia Cucinotta.

New categories like "Love Shanghai - City Short Film," "Female Short Film," "Best Annual Short Film Selection" and "China’s Got Talent Short Film" are included in Mobile SIFF this year.
Co-sponsored by the SIFF organizing committee and Shanghai Municipality Press Office, "Love Shanghai - City Short Film" looks at the spirit of Shanghai through story-telling and winning entries will be used instead of previous publicity methods to promote Shanghai. Some will compete in other international film festivals.

The “Female Short Film” series will include works by four Chinese female directors - Gigi Leung , Huang Yi, Tian Yuan and Jin Yimeng. Hong Kong China actress Leung will present her first film Lucky Cookies. Shanghai actress Huang Yi will present Exchange  whose plot centers around a female college student in Guizhou Province who hopes to build a new teaching building. Jin Yimeng\'s My Love  tells the story of a woman with cancer and Blind Sweets directed by Tian Yuan depicts a story between a female psychotherapist and her patient.

All of the competing films were selected from Qiyi, Sina, Sohu, Tencent, Tudou and Youku. "China\'s Got Talent Short Film" will screen stories that have been collected by the TV series’ crew since April 2012.

In addition, Mobile SIFF is cooperating with the College of Film and Arts at Shanghai University to present "China-U.S. College Students\' Short Film Selection" with a view to unearthing student directors and promoting their originality in film creation.

This year, the New Media Forum has invited traditional film industry elites and new media talents to hold talks on the establishment of a constructive relationship to deal with issues like the emerging micro film industry.