2019-06-18

Asian New Talent Award Juries Give Advice: What to Do When There Are Difficulties in Fund and Popula

The 22nd Shanghai International Film Festival Asian New Talent Award jury meet-and-greet was held this morning. Ning Hao, the chairman of the jury of the Asian New Talent Award, together with the judges Alec Su, Tan Zhuo, Yûya Ishii and Philip Cheah made an appearance. The five judges who were labeled as the "New Filmmaker" talked about the confusion and bottlenecks they encountered when they started their careers. They couldn\'t help but talk about it, and they also gave advice for today\'s new filmmakers. A meet-and-greet turned into a training course for newcomers full of valuable information.

The 22nd Shanghai International Film Festival Asian New Talent Award jury meet-and-greet

Want to win awards? Show your creative idea first!

In 2005, Ning Hao, a film newcomer then, won the Asian New Talent Award for MONGOLIAN PINGPONG, which was a very important encouragement for him. This year, when Ning Hao returned to this platform as the Chairman of the Asian New Talent Award Jury, and participated in the discovery of a new generation of Asian new talents and new works, he has become a famous director for a long time. Talking about his expectation for this Asian New Talent Award, Ning Hao said that he only wants to "see more creative works by young directors".

Ning Hao, Chairman of the New Talent Award Jury

Fresh and creative, the judges unanimously put forward similar expectations. Alec Su said that he hoped that through the selection, "Let more talented and aesthetical characteristic new works from film newcomers stand out"; as a curator, Philip Cheah said: "I want to see the new development trend of the younger generation of filmmakers"; while Tan Zhuo would like to see "the fresh contents of the newcomer\'s era."

Asian New Talent Award judge and curator Philip Cheah

Hearing that everyone\'s expectations are very similar, Ning Hao told the media reporters present that the jury members had reached an agreement on the criteria for judging. "We have communicated and have reached a consensus. We would take the criteria of unique creativity which young directors should have, and the distinctive style and aesthetic characteristics of young directors as basis for discussion and judgment.

Tan Zhuo explained in particular the criteria for judging the performance: "I will consider the comfort of the performance, the different control of performance, the sense of intensity and the style of performance in different film types."

Tan Zhuo, Asian New Talent Award Judge

Difficult to find investment? First build self-confidence!

Film newcomers being hard to stand out has always been a difficult problem for the industry. As the predecessors of newcomers, what were the biggest difficulties that these judges have encountered? Ning Hao answered without hesitation: Fund. "Probably more than a decade ago, the biggest difficulty I encountered was that I could not find any investment. We need to have a strong ability to sell ourselves, to make yourself seem mature, then to contact the investors, let them trust you, and then they can give funds to you."

Yûya Ishii, a Japanese young director who is loved by the Chinese audience for his film THE GREAT PASSAGE, added that funding was indeed a big difficulty, when your work has not yet been recognized, "how to maintain confidence and unswervingly move on, that is crucial."

Yûya Ishii, Asian New Talent Award judge

Learning from the experience of seniors is also essential for newcomers. Alec Su, who turned to a director from an actor, said that when he directed his first work THE LEFT EAR, he found that he had some aesthetic differences with the staff. "I searched in my reading accumulation from famous seniors, especially from the books of Ang Lee. I got a lot of inspiration and felt that my persistence was right."

No popular star? Give a good script first!

In order to attract investment and obtain box office results, many new directors\' films have used "popular stars" regardless of the cost. For this phenomenon, Ning Hao said that his team chose actors through the study of the script every time. "Looking at the choices of works and actors from the perspective of creation, that is my requirement for myself. I don\'t distinguish between popular stars or unpopular stars; I don\'t think these words are fair. For a work, they are all actors. Whether it is appropriate or not is the first issue we should consider, rather than giving them other meanings."

When Alec Su directed THE LEFT EAR, he boldly used the new actor. The film won a good reputation, and the film box office reached nearly 500 million yuan. He shared his criteria for choosing new people: "One is that he or she must be very suitable for the role, the other is that he or she really wants to be is an actor rather than a star. Of course, smartness and ability of comprehension are also indispensable."

In reply to the the question "How do new directors attract stars to participate in", Alec Su said: "We may wish to think in reverse, what a good actor would like to meet? That is a good script, a good director, a good producer, which what you use to attract them."

Tan Zhuo took the experience of joining the film END OF SUMMER last year as an example: "It was a film directed by a new director, the cost is extremely low. I was first moved by the script and voluntarily gave up the pay. I hoped they will use the saved money in other places. I still hope that I can meet good works of new directors, good literary films, and hope that more people will help and support new directors."