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2017-07-02

20th SIFFORUM

SIFFORUM INTRODUCTION:

SIFFORUM implements "the Belt and Road Initiative" and grasps the trends such as "the 20th anniversary of Hong Kong\'s return"; adheres to the core of improving creation quality and promoting industry development; invites senior practitioners for profound discussion in terms of policy support, film creation, cultural communications, audience analysis, industrial structure, etc.; focuses on the front, middle and back ends of the industry chain, reflecting the Film Festival\'s acuity, professionalism and foresightedness.

Chinese Film Industry Summit Forum

Time: 10:00-12:00
Date: Sunday, June 18th
Venue: Jin Jue Ballroom, Crowne Plaza Shanghai
Brief: The last decade saw the rapid rise of the Chinese movie industry, which is characterized by hyper growth in box office and ever refreshing records, driven by technology advancement, capital influx, and population growth dividends. Today, the Chinese movie industry has come to a crossroad, evidenced by maturing consumers and their aspiration for quality content, and the general audience trend toward segmenting.
The changing environment brought uncertainties and opportunities at the same time. It makes the industry players rethink the way forward, i.e. how to build a new infrastructure for the movie industry of tomorrow? How to better connect content and consumers? Practical questions abound: how to use rising technologies and emerging tools - cloud computing, and big data for example, in the creation of content, and marketing and distribution of content; how to develop a diversified new business model that could grow virtuously? The forum aims to cast deeper thoughts on these issues, rethink such an industry of sensibilities, seeking for answers, to embrace the next decade of prosperity.

Moderator: LI Xia | TV Presenter, Film Producer, Founder & CEO of EZ Art Education

Guest Speakers:
Michael SHAMBERG (USA) | Producer
WANG Changtian | Chairman of Enlight Media
Jerry YE | CEO of Huayi Brothers Pictures
YU Yongfu | Chairman & CEO of Alibaba Digital Media & Entertainment Group, Chairman of Alibaba Pictures

Co-organizer: Alibaba Pictures

Making Chinese Films with the Spirit of Craftsmanship

Time: 14:00-16:00
Date: Sunday, June 18th
Venue: Jin Jue Ballroom, Crowne Plaza Shanghai

Brief: In the new stage of Chinese cinema, how do we understand the spirit of craftsmanship? How to produce high quality films? Those are questions important and urgent for us. There are movies of different types with different stories, but be they archaic war films or modern comedies, they can win the audience as long as they reflect the spirit of the age and move us with heartfelt events in human relationships. These films attract people of all ages from diversified places because people share the same emotional structure. However, to make such films requires life experience, observation of life, reflection on human nature and craftsmanship in the production. This panel invites directors, screenwriters, scholars and writers to discuss how to make good movies of our times that embody craftsmanship and embrace both market success and artistic value.

Co-organizer: Tencent Entertainment

Supply Reformation of Chinese Films

Time: 14:00-16:00
Date: Sunday, June 18th
Venue: No.5 Photostudio, Shanghai Film Group

Brief: China has become the country with the most movie screens in the world. In two to three years, China will surpass the US to be the world’s largest film market. The increasing box office fully demonstrates the audience’s desire for fine cultural products. However, in 2016 the box office slowed down its growth, which alarms the industry to save for a rainy day by shifting the focus from the demand side to the supply side to promote the film industry’s structural adjustment. The capital market has witnessed numerous mergers and acquisitions still ongoing in the TV and film industry. Should listed film and television companies choose endogenous growth or expansion by mergers and acquisitions? How should they make the right investment in the industry? With the number of cinemas still on the rise, how should the upstream industry chain rejuvenate content creation, innovate to supply diversified movies of various types and genres to appeal to the potential audience and to lure more of them to the cinema? This forum focuses on the supply side reformation of China’s film industry and invites representatives of listed film and television companies, investors and directors to share their opinions.

Moderator: JIANG Wei | Executive Director, Shaw Brothers Holdings Limited; Managing Director, Gravity Pictures

Guest Speakers:
Tracy CUI | General Manager, Hony Capital
JIA Zhangke | Director
LEI Ping | Chief Editor, Notional Bussiness Daily
LIAN Jie | Chairman and CEO, Perfect World Pictures Co., Ltd; President, Perfect World Co., Ltd
REN Zhonglun | Chairman and President, Shanghai Film Group Corporation
WANG Changtian | Chairman, Enlight Media
James WANG | Co-founder, Vice Chairman and CEO, Huayi Brothers Media Corporation
Hugo SHONG | Global Chairman of IDG Capital
YU Xin | CEO, Dadi Cinema Group
ZENG Maojun | Senior Vice President, Wanda Culture Industry Group; President & Board Director of Wanda Cinema Line Corporation

Co-organizer: Shanghai Film Group、National Business Daily

Associate Organizer: Shanghai Film CO., LTD

Chinese Film Industry Research Report Publishing Conference & Forum on Chinese Film Development

Time: 9:00-11:00
Date: Monday, June 19th
Venue: Jin Jue Ballroom, Crowne Plaza Shanghai

Brief: Based on the organization of China Film Association, the Chinese Film Industry Research Report is the bluebook composed by domestic film experts, which has been issued for 11 years in a row. The report prejudges the trends and publishes the strategic researches in every link of the film industry including policy, investment & financing, production technology, cinema construction, box office, publicity & distribution and audience research based upon data analysis and industrial research. The latest report will be released at the Shanghai International Film Festival (SIFF), which is the first time for the China Film Association, in which the 3 chief editors have offered exclusive insights into the core industrial issues from the dimensions of policy, market, and production. In addition, this forum also invites the heads of Chinese movie and TV industry to have a discussion on infrastructure and industrial development of domestic films. For the time being, although the Chinese film industry has taken a lead role in the investment amount, its industrialization still has a long way to go. One of its aims is to forge a professional, complete and systematic filming service process that has to live up to a number of criteria including meeting the production needs of big-name films. It is helpful to ease the pressure on film production and upgrade film industry standards by utilizing local resources and film infrastructures. The Chinese film industry has to jump out of the positioning as a sole film and TV location, but to establish a number of key movie and TV production bases in a strategic way, to adopt international standards and to develop sustainably.

Moderator: WANG Dan | Director of Film Industry Research Division, China Film Association;Chief Editor of the Research Report on Chinese Film Industry

Guest Speakers:
CHEN Jianyu | Director of the Film and Television Culture Industrial Zone of Ningbo, Secretary of the Party Working Committee
Elizabeth DELL (USA) | Head of China Task Force, Producer’s Guild of America
LIU Fan | Professor, Film and Television Department, Chinese National Academy of Arts
LIU Jia | Expert in Chinese film industry research, Visiting Professor of Beijing Film Academy
MA Ping | Deputy General Manager, China Film Studios
NIE Wei | Professor, Ph.D. Supervisor, Director, Literary and Art Division, Publicity Department of CPC Shanghai Municipal Committee
SHI Juan | General Manager, Wuxi Studios
XU Tianfu | Vice President, Hengdian Group
ZHANG Hong | Executive President, China Film Association
ZHI Feina | Vice Director, Associate Professor, Film Institute Development Research Center State, General Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television, P.R.China

Co-organizer: China Film Association

Associate Organizer: Management Committee of Film & Television Culture Industrial Zone of Ningbo

Eastern Culture in Animation Films

Time: 10:00-12:00
Date: Monday, June 19th
Venue: Li Sao Room, The Portman Ritz-Carlton Shanghai

Brief: In a world full of imagination, animation films have not only amplified the unique expression of story and emotion, but also recorded the culture evolution. No matter in America, Japan or China, the cultural expression has long been a kernel of animation filmmaking. Audiences have thus been able to gain multilevel cognition of different cultures through the story’s background setting, characteristic visual expression, and different life philosophies. From Mulan to Kung Fu Panda, American animation has delivered traditional Chinese culture elements through Chinese traditional painting style, action design from Kong Fu and even Chinese traditional clothing patterns. Meanwhile, Japanese animation and Chinese animation have also been trying to excavate their own cultural treasures ceaselessly. Focusing on the fresh and high-qualified cultural expressions in animation films around the world, this panel will lay out possible styles and approaches of cultural expression for animation films by understanding the existing successful cases of cultural expression in animation.

Moderator: YUAN Mei | Screenwriter, Animation Producer
Guest Speakers:
Tony BANCROFT (USA) | Animation Director
Kenji KAMIYAMA (Japan) | Animation Director
Gary WANG | Founder of Light Chaser Animation Studios

IPs Full Pack Development and Industries Differences

Time: 11:00-12:30
Date: Monday, June 19th
Venue: Jin Jue Ballroom, Crowne Plaza Shanghai
Brief: The forum gathers the leaders from domestic and international film production investment institutions and platforms of the cultural products, focuses on the differences of film industries between China and abroad as well as IPs full pack development, and discusses how Chinese film industry could achieve intermediary exploitations in the transcultural context.

Moderator: ZHI Feina | Vice Director, Associate Professor, Film Institute Development Research Center State, General Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television, P. R. China

Guest Speakers:
Ajay BIJLI (India) | Chairman & Managing Director for PVR Limited
DAI Hezhong | CEO of Chinese ALL Digital Publishing Group Co., Ltd.
Elizabeth FRANK (USA) | Executive Vice President & Chief Content and Programming Officer for AMC
Kelvin HOU | Senior Deputy President of Wanda Cinemas; CEO of Mtime
HOU Tao | Vice President of Yi En
WU Wenhui | Co-CEO of China Reading Ltd.
YU Dong | Chairman of Bona Pictures Group Co., Ltd.
ZENG Maojun | Vice President of Wanda Culture Industry Group

Co-organizer: Wanda Media Co. Ltd

Thinking Chinese Genre Films

Time: 14:00-17:00
Date: Monday, June 19th
Venue: Jin Jue Ballroom, Crowne Plaza Shanghai
Brief: As the Chinese film industry expands its scale, the Chinese audience grows a stronger desire for customized content. Genre film is no longer a new topic for Chinese filmmakers and viewers. Thriller is a promising genre which wins the audience’s love and has withstood the test of the film market. Martial arts film is a unique genre in China, nourished by the long history and displays profound international influence. Science fiction is a highly expected genre, which is ready to reach a new height. This panel will focus on suspense, martial arts, and science fiction, and invite the filmmakers and producers to discuss the potential for making genre films, based on the exploration and attempts of Chinese genre filmmaking. How to develop the fresh genre of suspense in China? How can suspense step out of the shadow cast by the West and Japan and establish our feature? As for martial arts, our traditional strength, how to renovate it from the classic and meet the need of the audience of new generations? Where can filmmakers draw inspiration for new martial art films? What difficulties and obstacles deter science fiction films from being successful? What lies between a successful sci-fi novel and a sci-fi blockbuster? How can our sci-fi genre find an expression embedded in Chinese culture?

Moderator: YIN Hong | Professor, Tsinghua University, Chairman of China Literary and Art Critics Association & Beijing Film Association

SUSPENSE:
CAI Shangjun | Director
CUI Siwei | Director, Screenwriter
LI Li | President & CEO, Helichenguang International Culture &Media (Beijing) Co., Ltd.
LEI Mi | Writer, Screenwriter

SCIENCE FICTION
WANG Jinkang | Writer
ZHANG Xiaobei | Director, Screenwriter, Producer
ZHU Feng | CEO of FZD Films; Founder of Singapore FZD School

Co-organizer: Sina Entertainment、Helichenguang International Culture & Media Co., Ltd.

Associate Organizer: Future Affairs Administration

The Belt and Road Film Culture Roundtable Talk

Time: 10:00-12:00
Date: Tuesday, June 20th
Venue: Jin Jue Ballroom, Crowne Plaza Shanghai

Brief: Countries along the “Belt and Road” have profound film histories and rich film cultures. The Belt and Road film culture roundtable talk is divided into two panels, European and Afro-Asian panels. By focusing on their status quo of the film industry, the roundtable talk commits to boost film culture exchanges, explore approaches for future cooperation and co-formulate the blueprint for the film industry development along the “Belt and Road”.

European Panel Brief:
European Panel: Film is both an indispensable part of local people’s cultural life and an important medium for international cultural exchanges. How can minority-language-speaking countries cope with challenges in promoting their movies? What is the status quo of the local commercial films in regard to exhibition, distribution and audience cultivation? And how about the situation of art films? As the new generation dominates the cinema, how could filmmakers cultivate these new audiences who grow up in the Internet age and differ from the older generations? The changing environment of communication facilitates the gradual exploration and utilization of emerging new publicity and distribution platforms, and how will this influence the promotion of films and the organization of film festivals? In the European Panel, representatives from European regions will share their experiences and insights concerning the exhibition, distribution, audience cultivation and regional cooperation from the perspective of respective film festivals and organizations.

Moderator:
Estonia | Hannes AAVA | Head of International Communications, Tallinn Black Night Film Festival

Afro-Asian Panel Brief:
Afro-Asian Panel: Bestowed with a long history and profound culture, the leading Afro-Asian film festivals, such as the Cairo International Film Festival, Mumbai Film Festival and Dubai International Film Festival, have displayed their maturity and specialties. At the same time, emerging festivals in Southeast Asia are developing vigorously. How can a film festival contribute to bridging the upper and lower streams in the film industry? How to brand a festival and extend its influence? How to promote regional cooperation among film festivals? How to discover and nourish local film talents and assist them to perform on the international stage? How can film festivals facilitate the film industry on a national level? In the Afro-Asian Panel, representatives from film festivals and organizations in Afro-Asian regions will share their experience and insights with regard to the brand value enhancement of national film festivals and regional cooperation in the film industry.

Moderator:
Malaysia | Tuck Cheong WONG | Honorary Secretary, Network for Promotion of Asian & Asia Pacific Cinema; President, Kelab Seni Filem Malaysia

Audience Database and Film Production Skills

Time: 14:00-16:00
Date: Tuesday, June 20th
Venue: Jin Jue Ballroom, Crowne Plaza Shanghai

Brief: With the booming of Chinese film market, a movie needs to demonstrate more creative marketing and stronger word-of-mouth to attract moviegoers– a big challenge as well as an opportunity for Chinese filmmakers. The quality of films, especially the high-budget project, is guaranteed by outstanding creators, detailed process, professional attitude and normative management. In the process of a high-budget film project, how does casting director complete the process of casting? How does this work to build a foundation for film production? What kind of responsibilities did the first director have in the filming process? How can the director and producer effectively manage all segments throughout the process? In this forum, firstly, Fanink collaborates with School of Economics, Fudan University in the analysis of “Factors affecting China\'s box office,” and reveals the latest insights in “moviegoing behavior.” In the meantime, top Chinese and foreign film producers are invited to a panel discussion to share their professional experience in making quality films, incorporating both artistic and scientific approaches.

Guest Speakers：
CHEN Qin | Researcher, School of Economics, Fudan University, Ph.D. in Economics
Sarah FINN (USA) | Casting Director
James GUNN (USA) | Director and Writer, Guardians of the Galaxy 1 & 2
HUANG Jianxin | Director, Producer
Sergio MIMICA-GEZZAN (USA) | Film and TV Director
Ted SKIDMORE (USA) | Independent Consultant & Strategist; Former VP, Global Marketing Research, Walt Disney

Co-organizer: Fanink Inc.

New Generation Chinese Filmmakers in the International Film Market

Time: 10:00-12:00
Date: Wednesday, June 21st
Venue: Jin Jue Ballroom, Crowne Plaza Shanghai

Brief: A new generation of directors has sprung up these years in China. These young directors have impressed the industry as well as the local audience with their works. At the same time, their effort increases the influence of Chinese cinema in the international film market.
From film production to distribution, from film festival participation to film co-production, from drama to documentary to animation, directors, and producers from China are spreading everywhere in the global film market. The forum features representatives from home and abroad, focusing on the present and the future of the new generation Chinese directors in both domestic and global film markets.

Moderator: SHI Hang | Scriptwriter

Co-organizer: ifeng Entertainment

Interpretation of Shanghai Film Policies

Time: 14:00-15:00
Date: Wednesday, June 21st
Venue: Jin Jue Ballroom, Crowne Plaza Shanghai

Brief: In 2016, various Shanghai government departments jointly studied, formulated and issued the Several Policies on Promoting Shanghai Film Development. The document contains 26 detailed rules under seven specific policies, which are, to strengthen financial support for Shanghai film development, to implement tax preferential policies for Shanghai film business, to carry out financial support policies for Shanghai film business, to enhance Shanghai film education and talent team construction, to practice construction differentiated land use policies, to give full play to the role of districts and counties in the development of Shanghai film industry, and to set up the Shanghai film production service agency.
As of April 2017, the Shanghai film & television production service agency has received 1349 case-times of policy, information consultation and coordination services. The case acceptance rate is 100%. A total of 513 companies have received consultation services; a total of 267 film & television crews have received coordination services. Shanghai Art Film Federation has held 15 China Film Week screening activities in 11 cities of 9 countries, and showed nearly 100 domestic art films at fixed times and locations in China.
The forum will review and summarize the implementation of Shanghai film policies, and invite industry insiders to share with the audience the achievements attained through these policies from different perspectives, and explore how Shanghai could further refine and implement the initiatives to promote the in-depth development of the film industry.

Moderator: LIU Haibo | Deputy Vice President, Shanghai Vancouver Film School

Guest Speakers:
Peter X.R. CHEN | President of Inlook Media Group
JIN HUI | Secretary-general, Shanghai Film Distribution & Exhibition Association
WANG Yibing | CEO, Dirty Monkey Films
WU Xiaoming | Art Director, Shanghai Municipal Culture, Radio Broadcasting, Film and Television Administration
YU Zhiqing | Vice President & Secretary General, Shanghai Broadcasting Film & Television Producers Association
Chuck ZHANG | General Manager, Taihe Entertainment Co.

Shanghai-Hong Kong Film Cooperation & Exchange Forum

Time: 15:30-17:00
Date: Wednesday, June 21st
Venue: Jin Jue Ballroom, Crowne Plaza Shanghai

Brief: Shanghai and Hong Kong have always been important landmarks of the Chinese Film Industry, since they enjoy high-quality industrial resources and have given birth to numerous film talents. Their cooperation and exchange in the film field have sustained for up to a century. In the 1990s, many Hong Kong filmmakers started to shoot their works in Shanghai, initiating a huge boom of film dialogues between the two cities. In recent years, Hong Kong filmmakers come to the mainland one after another and establish in-depth cooperation with filmmakers here, boosting the film culture exchange and the development of Chinese films. To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the reunification of Hong Kong, the forum invites three Hong Kong film directors and producers who have deep connections with Shanghai, as well as representatives of Shanghai filmmakers. These panelists will review the film culture and cooperative achievements between Shanghai and Hong Kong, interchange filmmaking experience, explore a cooperative mode for future filmmaking, and discuss the development of film industry.

Moderator: SHI Chuan | Deputy Head of Shanghai Film Association; Professor, Shanghai Theatre Academy

Guest Speakers:
Raymond WONG | Producer, Chairman of Pegasus Entertainment Holdings Limited
REN Zhonglun | Chairman of President, Shanghai Film Group Corporation
Stanley TONG | Director & Producer, Chairman of China Film (Shanghai) International Media Co., Ltd.
Ann HUI | Director, Producer

Golden Goblet Master Class

Time: 10:00-12:00
Date: Thursday, June 22nd
Venue: Jin Jue Ballroom, Crowne Plaza Shanghai

Brief: We are all and each of us the protagonists of the film of our own life, a continuously unfolding chain of events more real than any video game and more passionate than any kind of cinema. Around us there are millions of other lives, stories, incidents that we observe or experience.
What from all this chaos of events, feelings, stories is suitable to become material for filmmaking? What is the relationship between life and cinema?
And actually, what is cinema?
I don’t necessarily have answers for these questions, but I ponder again and again about all every time I start a new project. And somehow, I think every filmmaker should.
Why am I picking up this particular story and not another one?
What internal principles should govern this story?
Why and for whom do I make this film?
Would anybody else be interested in it? And does this matter?
How structured or how loose should I be? How much precision and how much ambiguity should I allow?
And, finally, what do you need to do to make sure the scenes you create will tell the story you want and not the story they want? How can you know you are making the right choices in every step of the development of your film–and what are these choices?
I don’t have too many answers about cinema, but I have a lot of questions. And sometimes answers come from dialogue, so be my guests to speak about cinema, filmmaking¬–and life.

Moderator:
ZHANG Zhen | Associate Professor and Director of the Asian Film & Media Initiative in the Department of Cinema Studies, Tisch School of the Arts, New York University

Guest Speaker:
Cristian MUNGIU (Romania) | Director