Focus Interview: Gathering in Light and Shadow, Growth Statement in Dreams | Youth | Light and Shadow

CCTV News: Today, the 25th Shanghai International Film Festival has successfully concluded, and at the award ceremony on June 17th, major awards have also been assigned. In just ten days, Chinese and foreign filmmakers and masterpieces have gathered together on a broader international exchange and cooperation platform to participate in the Light and Shadow Festival. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the Shanghai International Film Festival. For the past 30 years, the Shanghai International Film Festival has adhered to the positioning of "focusing on Asia, paying attention to Chinese language, and supporting newcomers". It has long focused on the growth and development of young filmmakers, explored long-term support mechanisms, and cultivated a large number of new forces for the Chinese film market.

On June 17th, the award ceremony of the Shanghai International Film Festival was grandly held, and Chinese filmmakers gained a lot. The director Liu Jiayin of the film "Not in vain" won the Best Director award, actors Hu Ge and Da Peng won the Best Actor award, and the film "Searching for Her" won the Art Contribution Award. At the award ceremony, 53 film crews and creators from 26 countries and regions gathered in Shanghai to participate in the Light and Shadow Festival, all of which were nominated for the five competition units of the Golden Earl Awards.

The Shanghai Film Festival witnessed the highlights of outstanding filmmakers and also recorded the first steps of the growth of many new filmmakers.The movie "One Day Has a Morning" tells the story of a Chinese girl who is about to travel and a Greek boy who has just arrived.

From a diplomat to a filmmaker, everything had to start from scratch. Fortunately, he received a lot of help from his Chinese friends during this process.

Greek film director Xi Jinping: "They all say that in China, in Shanghai, anything can happen, and of course nothing is easy, and I think my experience proves that these words are true. China has made my seemingly impossible dream possible."

The 25th Shanghai International Film Festival, co sponsored by China Central Radio and Television and the Shanghai Municipal People's Government, once again opened its arms to meet filmmakers from all over the world. This year marks the fifth anniversary of the founding of the "the Belt and Road" Film Festival Alliance and the "the Belt and Road" Film Week launched by the Shanghai International Film Festival. In the past five years, the "circle of friends" of the alliance has grown stronger and stronger. From the first batch of 31 film institutions in 29 countries to now, 55 member institutions from 48 countries have joined. They learn, communicate, and exchange here, enhancing mutual friendship and cooperation.

For movie fans, appreciating films of different countries and types in the light and shadow, and experiencing the collision between different cultures is a benefit brought by film festivals. Each festival has become their festival, and many movie tickets are sold out on the day of ticket issuance.

At Shanghai Cinema, the reporter met 71 year old Lu Yunping, who has maintained a habit of watching participating films at the Shanghai International Film Festival for 15 years every year. This year, Aunt Lu did her homework early and snatched tickets for 14 movies on the day of ticket issuance. Her phone had a handwritten spreadsheet that detailed the screening time and location of each movie.

Supporting newcomers has always been the goal of the Shanghai Film Festival. As the only international A-class film festival in China, the Shanghai International Film Festival has illuminated the dreams of many filmmakers and allowed many newcomers to shine on this stage for the past 30 years.

On June 17th, at the Golden Globe Awards ceremony, 29 year old young director Chen Shizhong's "Finding Her" won the Golden Globe Award for Artistic Contribution. Standing in the center of the stage, Chen Shizhong was extremely excited. The film "Finding Her", which was nominated for the Golden Earl Awards this year, is a highly anticipated work as it is the only young director's debut in the main competition section of this year's Golden Earl Awards. On June 14th, Chen Shizhong made an official appearance with the audience for "Finding Her", and the fans' persistent applause proved their love for the movie.

Chen Shizhong was born in Guangdong. In his third year of high school, he walked into a cinema for the first time. He still remembers the shock that movies brought him.

Chen Shizhong said, "Truly entering, the screen is so big, the people become so big, the sound is so stunning, the entire immersion feeling is completely different."

During the college entrance examination, Chen Shizhong did not hesitate to choose the film major. Later, he received a full scholarship to study at the Vancouver Film Academy in Shanghai. However, after graduation, he fell into confusion and could not find a way out for a long time.

Chen Shizhong said, "I've been feeling a bit discouraged for a while, and I just feel like I need to do something else. I don't know what tomorrow will be like, I don't even have a stable income."

During that period of confusion, Chen Shizhong wrote the script for "Searching for Her", but in the process of finding investments, he encountered obstacles everywhere.

Chen Shizhong said, "No one wants it, no one will tell me the reason, it's difficult to have a direct way of dialogue, which is actually quite difficult. I am very grateful that the Shanghai Film Festival will choose" Searching for Her "as one of the selected works for the Golden Earl Award. I really didn't think much about it before."

As a young director, Chen Shizhong is undoubtedly lucky to have met actors and creative teams willing to accompany him on adventures. And how to enable talented filmmakers to have more upward and financing channels, making this luck inevitable, has been actively explored by the Shanghai International Film Festival in recent years.

On June 12th, the Shanghai International Film Festival film project venture capital made a public statement by young directors. Some of these projects are still in the script writing stage, while others are already in production. Young directors hope to impress industry experts and discerning investors with their statements.

Here, creators can receive the most direct and effective help, in addition to genuine support, they can also hear valuable opinions from industry experts, some are merciless criticism, and some are sincere praise.

After a day and a half of public statements, investors will have one-on-one discussions with the project creators they are interested in to learn more about the project information. The reporter noticed that some projects have received too much attention, and many investors have not successfully made appointments. In addition to those who requested the help of journalists to mediate, there were also investors who politely declined the journalist's interview due to a busy schedule.

In fact, in addition to project venture capital, the Shanghai International Film Festival has also established a venture capital training camp, which is divided into small groups according to the configuration of directors, screenwriters, and producers. The training camp is divided into two closed door interactions with industry mentors for a week each year. The organizing committee also invites important guests and young filmmakers from the film festival to exchange ideas.

Starting from the diverse talent needs of the film industry and intervening in different stages of growth, the Shanghai Film Festival has formed a complete ladder type new talent cultivation system, where a group of new talents have opened the first door of the film world.

At present, the talent training program of the Shanghai Film Festival has incubated multiple excellent works. Among them, 72 participated in major film festivals, 44 were nominated for A-class film festivals, and 63 films were released in domestic and foreign cinemas. A large number of new forces in Chinese cinema are gradually maturing.

Young filmmakers are the innovation engine of the industry, as well as the future and hope of Chinese cinema. The brilliance of the Shanghai International Film Festival is inseparable from the strong recovery and revitalization of the Chinese film market. This year's film festival, including 17 Chinese films nominated for the five units of the Golden Earl Awards, showcased a total of 75 Chinese films. The opening and closing films of the film festival are "I Love You!" and "Passionate" respectively. This also indicates the beautiful emotions conveyed by Chinese filmmakers through light and shadow. The Shanghai International Film Festival, like our film industry, is constantly revitalizing and growing.