Filmmakers, actors and screenwriters gathered in Hangzhou recently for two film events, the five-year-old Hangzhou Asian Film Festival (HAFF) and the new Hangzhou International Micro-film Exhibition.

HAFF, from October 18 to 26, is run by a group of young Hangzhou university graduates, and is a non-profit event that does not charge audiences to attend. Its main activity is a competition for short films from young Asian directors.

This year it received 374 films from 32 countries and regions, from which 15 films were short listed. The biggest award, Sina Asia Grand Prix, went to Israeli director Orit Fouks for his “Staring Match.” The festival also featured programs like introducing one potential Asian filmmaker every year, and screening classical films.

The Hangzhou International Micro-film Exhibition, from October 18 to 20, centers upon films of less than 30 minutes. The festival did not screen film in cinemas, but worked with a video website (Youku Tudou) to play listed films. “One Dimension” directed by Lu Le won the Best Film and the Most Creative awards.

The exhibition is sponsored by the city’s government and Central New Film Group of CCTV. It also featured forums to discuss the future of micro-films. Backers also urged filmmakers to focus on issues of public welfare and charity organizations and hold forums involving non-governmental organizations.

Shanghai Daily interviewed three guests of Hangzhou Asian Film Festival, also successful filmmakers.

Xie Fei is a professor at the Beijing Film Academy, ex-chairman of directing department at the academy and president of the jury of Shine Asia Shorts Competition of the 2013 HAFF.

Q: You have called for a reform of China’s cinema — what step needs to be done first?

Xu: Classification. How can animation and film be played on screens without classification? The basic reason that our country does not have film classification is that the officials are not willing to take the risk and responsibility to change.

I see now that some film posters and some video websites are using classifications, but classification should be formulated in law, and executed by society. Also, all other publications need classification as well.

Q: You are helping young directors make independent literary films. How can audiences be encouraged to support literary film?

Xu: I do not fantasize that people will accept literary films in a very short period, especially in this age when children are addicted to computer games.

I’ve asked many high school students and found they read very little classical literature. I am thinking about making a literary film theater chain in schools so as to have them watch films adapted from classical literature first and then encourage them to read books. But this should not be free — Chinese people need to establish the awareness of copyrights.

Q: Many literary films are small-budget, as the makers know the box office won’t be as good as for commercial films. How can directors be encouraged to shoot small-budget literary films?

Xu: I think we can change the business mode. The revenue of a film should not mainly rely on the box office, but on television stations’ purchasing copyrights. The reality in China right now is that TV stations’ purchase price is the same as it was 10 years ago.

Kazuhiro Soda is a Japanese documentary filmmaker based in New York who is known for his observational style and method of documentary filmmaking. His signature films include “Campaign,” depicting a political campaign in Japan, “Mental,” which focuses on the lives of patients in a small mental clinic in Japan, and “Theater 1” and “Theatre 2,” a documentary series about a playwright/theater director.

Q: Why do you stick with the observational film style?

Soda: I used to make TV documentaries for NKH for seven years, and many times we were required to do research and write detailed scripts in which we put all the details, even including what the interviewee said, and reach a conclusion before shooting. But reality is so rich and complex, and always exceeded my expectations, and so I wanted to make documentaries much freer. I decided I wouldn’t do any research but just jump in and observe what’s going on.

Q: How do you pick subjects?

Soda: When I was making “Mental,” basically I was shooting whoever came across my life, like I knew the doctor because my wife’s mother volunteers to help him.

Everybody is living and breathing every day and having issues. If you looked closely at a person, you could make a good documentary about him/her.

Q: How did you stay in the mental clinic to shoot, and shoot a party’s vote?

Soda: I shot “Campaign” because a friend of mine was running for office, and the party gave permission. But when the film was finished, people saw it as a comedy, and the party was unhappy, and so when I made “Campaign 2” in 2011, some members of the party did not want me to film them. I did “Campaign 2,” and had the courage to show it to the public.

Patients in the mental clinic had a meeting and allowed me to ask everybody permission to shoot and show it in public. If they had not allowed me to do that, I wouldn’t have shot it. In fact, over 80 percent declined because many of them hadn’t even told their parents they were being seen at a mental clinic.

Q: You always shoot by yourself? No assistant?

Soda: Sometimes my wife Kyuko assists me, but basically I go it alone. It is my method. I shoot two people’s conversation for long time, even if it sounds boring and normal, and cameramen do not like that. I am there, taking my time observing, so I do need to do the research and get a pre-conceived documentary. That is also why I don’t use narration, music or titles, so the audience will observe, too.

French director Charles de Meaux was invited to HAFF to screen his film “Stretch,” starring Chinese actress Fan Bingbing. The film is a part of the program “Asia through French Filmmakers” of the film festival.

He has shot three Asian films, the first two shot in Pakistan, the third in China’s Macau. Now he is making a fourth, which will be shot in Beijing, Chengde in Hebei Province, and Hengdian in Zhejiang Province.

Q: What will the new film shot in China be about?

Meaux: It is a royal family’s story that happened in the 18th century, and the heroine (the queen) is played by Fan Bingbing. We did two years of research into Chinese history, visiting universities and the Forbidden City to ensure the story is narrated and shown correctly.

Q: Is it a trend for European directors to shoot in Asia or it is just your area of interest?

Meaux: It’s my area of interest. It’s worthwhile to learn something interesting from this ancient and deep nation.

Q: What do you think of Chinese cinema, or Chinese directors?

Meaux: I cannot judge other directors. However, France is small, and I, as a French person, feel it is fascinating to see the diversity of the country’s culture.