2015-11-25

SIFF Launches 2016 Online Film Solicitation

The 2016 Shanghai International Film Festival is calling for film entries, starting from November 15. Submission on the website www.siff.com is open to fictions, feature-length documentaries and animation films. The 2016 Shanghai International Film Festival will include the following programme sections: Golden Goblet Awards Competitions, Asian New Talent Awards Competition, and International Film Panorama.

The 19th SIFF will be held from June 11 to 19, 2016, and the online application for film solicitation will be open officially from November 15, 2015. Any full-length films (feature films, animations and documentaries) which were produced after June 1, 2015 and meet the related requirements may sign up for competition. Any full-length films which were produced after January 1 and meet the related requirements may sign up for exhibition.

The 18th SIFF in 2015 brought the congregating philosophy of the film festival into full play. Founded in 1993, SIFF focuses on the concepts of Asia, China and New Talents with an aim to build an international platform for film cooperation and communication, to nurture new film talents and to promote the diversified development of the Chinese film industry. It achieved this with a professional and authoritative approach of awarding films, facilitating dialogue between Chinese and foreign film elites, supporting film market negotiation, connecting capital and content in the film project market, attracting an unparalleled lineup of superstars and international judges, programming a fantastic international film exhibition and involving fans in film events. By creating a high-quality, professional and pragmatic platform for filmmakers in different areas and targeting different audiences, it has become the largest and most influential film pageant in the Asian-Pacific region.

The competition events of the SIFF, the Golden Goblet Award and Asian New Talent Award, have won high praise for their professionalism, artistry and authority. The 18th SIFF in 2015 attracted 2,096 films from 108 countries and regions. Golden Goblet Award winning films include The Night Watchman by Pierre Jolivet, the new work The Sun Stroke by famous director Nikita Mikhalkov which represents Russia’s “bid for Olympics”, The Dead End by Chinese director Cao Baoping and so on, which highlights the key influence of the film festival. Since 2015, animation and documentary have been included into Golden Goblet Award, which makes the awards system more complete and professional. The winning animation Song of the Sea won unanimous praise of the judges and the audience. The documentary The Verse of Us planned by Wu Xiaobo and directed by Wu Feiyue and Qin Xiaoyu won Golden Goblet Award for the best documentary. The SIFF has also launched all-round cooperation with the world’s other outstanding film festivals in succession, so as to provide excellent Chinese films and prominent filmmakers with an international stage. At present, the SIFF has achieved cooperation with Busan International Film Festival and Tokyo International Film Festival, presenting outstanding works to each other.

Since its establishment ten years ago, the SIFF\'s Film Project Market has successfully promoted over 20 projects. In these years’ rapid development, the SIFF\'s Film Project Market has the important function as a bridge, becoming an important platform for the discovery of outstanding Chinese films in the world. The “New Talents Project” is a sub-program established for the purpose of supporting new Chinese film talents, and it will select and support 10 projects of new directors every year. Over the years, the SIFF\'s Film Project Market has not only cultivated a large number of prominent directors, including Leste Chen, Zhang Meng, Li Xiaofeng, Xu Ang, Quan Ling, Han Jie and others, but launched such projects as The Master, Black Coal, Thin Ice, Scrape My Bone, 12 Citizens, Forget to Know You, Hello! Mr. Tree, The Piano in a Factory, etc. These films were widely acclaimed in the international film industry and were presented in film festivals held in Berlin, Busan, Tokyo and Rome. Among the films on the shortlist in 2014, The Master directed by Xu Haofeng won three nominations of Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards in 2015, and will be premiered nationwide in December.
The 2016 SIFF Project Market will open its call for entries on December 10. Enrollments for SIFF Film Market will start from January 1, 2016.

To access the sign-up information for film exhibition and competition, the SIFF Market and others, please check the official website of the Shanghai International Film Festival (www.siff.com).

Dates for the 19th SIFF: June 11 to June 19, 2016

Application dates for major events:

Film - November 15, 2015 to April 15, 2016

Project - December 10, 2015 to March 31, 2016

Market –January 1, 2016 to May 15, 2016

Buyers –January 1, 2016