SIFF\'s CFPC and Co-FPC finds niche Asian project markets

If the 13 year-old Shanghai International Film Festival is taking the path of maturity, the establishment of its project market-CFPC and Co-FPC should be credited as the driving force behind the process.

 

Since its establishment in 2007, China Film Pitch and Catch and Co-production Pitch and Catch have attracted around 200 industry participants each year for the three-day event.  For local producers and investors, it is the place to find new Chinese filmmaking talents, while for international producers, it is usually their first step of entering the China market.

 

Cinemart of International Film Festival Rotterdam, set up 26 years ago, is the first platform of its kind to offer filmmakers the opportunity to launch their ideas to the international film industry and to find connections to get their projects financed.  In 1998, The Pusan Promotion Plan (PPP) of Pusan International Film Festival was set up as the first project market in Asia.  In the past 12 years, the platform has nurtured films of many well-known Asian auteurs such as Jia Zhang-ke, Lou Ye, Jafar Panahi and Kim Ki-duk.  It has also earned a reputation as the incubator of Asian art films. 

In 2003, the Hong Kong Filmart has also set up the Hong Kong Asian Film Financing Forum (HAF), also targeting on the pan-Asian theme and becomes a competitor of PPP.  In 2005 Tokyo Project Gathering joins as another project market in Asia.  Plus Shanghai\'s CFPC and Co-FPC, and the Film and TV Project Promotion of Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival, there are in total 5 project markets in Asia.

Instead of pan-Asian projects, Shanghai\'s Co-FPC puts its emphasis on China-foreign co-productions, setting up its own niche, which also complies with the Chinese policy to encourage co-production films.  More importantly, Shanghai\'s project market has found itself a direct connection between the festival and the Chinese film industry as well as international film industry.  Before, the festival had been wavering between a competition of international independent films and a movie showcase to service citizens of Shanghai.  Now it has positioned itself as the incubator of the new Chinese film talents and new co-production projects.

"For many who have attended Co-FPC for the first time, seeking Chinese co-production partners, their Co-FPC experience made them understand the policy and procedure of making co-production films in China.  They think that  Co-FPC is a very effective approach to meet potential partners and understand the operation of co-production films," a Japanese producer said last year during Co-FPC.

The three-year old CFPC and Co-FPC still has room for improvement.  As all the meetings and pitches are held in a large meeting hall, many participants complained that the talks were easily interrupted, not well-timed or not orderly managed.

The more important testament for the success of SIFF\'s project market is how many projects ended up in production, released with success or winning festival accolades.  CFPC, the project market for eight pure Chinese projects are having more films actually produced, with The Robbers by Yang Shupeng, Start Over by Wang Chao, Tree by Han Jie and The Piano in the Factory by Zhang Meng all finished production or released, and Brothers by Jin Chen and Once Upon A Time in Tibet currently in production.  As for Co-FPC, out of the 96 projects in the past 3 years (32 projects each year), so far two films have finished production.  They are Liu Yunlong’s East Wind Rain and Emily Liu’s Wild Goose Chase.

This year there are 27 exciting projects in Co-FPC, including projects of Chinese filmmaker Hou Yong, Korean filmmaker Lee Myung-se and US filmmaker Dean Yurke and Hu Bo.  The number is less than 32 projects in the past three years. However, the more important thing is to successfully match-make talents, financers and co-production partners and get more projects happening.

 

By Sen-lun Yu