THE 17th edition of the Shanghai event is bringing more transparency to the selection
process as China’s movie industry marches ahead. Xu Wei reports.

William Wang immediately booked tickets for five films he’d like to watch during the coming Shanghai International Film Festival once they were open for sales on Saturday.

“I heard that this year’s event is bigger and more starry,” says the 35-year-old marketing specialist.

True. This year, the 17th film festival, to be held from June 14 to 22, will see a grander lineup led by Oscar-winning actresses Nicole Kidman and Natalie Portman.

Kidman will walk the red carpet at the opening ceremony, and her latest offering, “Grace of Monaco,” will be screened. Portman, on her first visit to Shanghai, will attend the festival’s Golden Goblet awards ceremony on June 22.

Other international stars include Britain’s Hugh Grant and Hayden Christensen from Canada. Grant will bring his new romantic movie, “The Rewrite,” while Christensen will be promoting the wartime epic,  “Outcast.” The Sino-US co-production also stars Nicolas Cage.

Organizers say the steady growth of annual box office receipts has made China the world’s second-largest film market, attracting many international filmmakers to debut their work.

But serious movie fans like Wang are interested in far more than just the big names, blockbusters and gossip about stars. Wang is more into the show biz industry. “Stories that happen behind the curtains are usually more interesting,” Wang says. “For example, I’d very much like to know how these exhibition films and Golden Goblet candidates were selected.”

In fact, for the first time the film festival released the name list of this year’s film selectors. About 100 people — including scholars, film critics and industry professionals — have spent months mulling over which movies should be shown during the festival.

Among them, 17 films are nominated for the Golden Goblet Award and 12 for the Asian New Talent Award.

Actress Gong Li will chair the 7-member international jury panel for the Golden Goblet Award.

Fu Wenxia, an official from the festival’s organizing committee, says there’s a desire to make film selection a more transparent part of the fest.

“More film professionals have been involved in this year’s film selection so we don’t miss any excellent work,” Fu says. “Next year, 50 ordinary Chinese citizens will also participate in the work. We will host a special contest of film reviewing this year to discover grassroots film critics.”

Recently, four veterans of the 100 or so film selectors, hailing from different backgrounds, talked to Shanghai Daily about how the films were selected and their expectations for the festival and the domestic film industry.

Chen Xiaoli   A senior editor at Wenhui Daily

Chen Xiaoli used to be a film journalist. She has reported on all aspects of the Shanghai International Film Festival since 1993. Sometimes she is also invited to be a film selector.

“This year many college teachers and students majoring in film studies also participated in watching and grading movies,” Chen says. “Each of the 2,000 or so entries for the film festival is given a score and comment.”

Chen and other film selectors had two months to do the job. She takes notes for each film she watches to guarantee a fair judgment.

“We don’t make final decisions because the film festival makes comprehensive consideration for the movies,” she says. “The fun of the work lies in the search for excellent works, but the challenge is that it is difficult to cater to all tastes.”

Chen says the release of the name list to the public shows remarkable progress for this year’s festival.

“We can feel the openness, transparency and honesty of the film festival,” she says. “I know it shows trust in us, and it also reminds us of our responsibility.”

She suggests the Shanghai International Film Festival keep in close touch with filmmakers from all over the world. The festival can build up a special “tracking mechanism” to discover talented directors and outstanding productions.

“The festival should also have a clear positioning that differentiates it from other A-list international film festivals in the world,” Chen says. “It should strengthen efforts in promotion internationally so that each filmmaker knows well how the festival benefits his career and creation.”

Though China’s film industry thrives, Chen notes that it still lags behind in storytelling and film editing. It requires more film enthusiasts who have great imagination and creativity as well as a pure passion for film.

“Film is an art of Montage, and editing is one of the most important elements of film production,” Chen says.

“In Hollywood there are lots of professional film editors but in China, many directors do film editing, instead of using film-editing professionals.”

With the development and spread of digital video cameras, smartphones  and new media technology, filmmaking is becoming more accessible to people.

Chen finds that the young generation who are used to “reading” from pictures rather than words now dabble in filmmaking.

“It is their strength but weakness, as well,” she says. “What they need is imagination and deeper reflection on life and humanity. I saw lots of ‘grassroots’ entries with good technical skills this year, but they do not ignite personal reflection and critical thinking. The grass-roots film directors should improve their abilities to think and express in a more creative way.”

Cai Jianping  Film critic

Since 2011, Cai Jianping, a veteran film critic and scholar of Japanese movies, has been a selector for the Shanghai International Film Festival.

“Our job is to watch and grade movies,” Cai says. “We also attach our reviews for each movie. The film candidates they ask me to grade are mostly Japanese productions. It is my field.”

The biggest fun of film selection, in his eyes, is that he can watch a variety of movies, some of which are art-house and cult films.

This year two Brunei candidates impressed him. The two feature-length films, very rare to see in Brunei, are of quite different style and quality.

“Fatigue is a common thing in the selection, but it can hardly influence my judgment,” Cai adds. “I can’t give a bad movie high scores because I am in a good mood. But in many cases a good movie can refresh me in seconds.”

Many films Cai selected in past years proved to be winners of the Golden Goblet Award, including the 2012 best film “Khers,” and the Russian film “The Major,” which earned honors last year for best film, director and music.

“I don’t have a specific standard in film selection because film is an artwork,” he says. “I will make an overall judgment based on the film’s cinematography, music and storytelling method. But a film can still impress me if it does quite well in one thing.”

Cai finds that the candidates this year are better in artistry and cinematography. Some of them are very creative.

“I hope that film selectors of the festival can take a more active role in the future,” he says. “We can also search and invite good entries from all over the world to participate in the competition and screening.”

Zhou Jianwei  A scholar of South Korean cinema

Zhou Jianwei has rich experience in selecting South Korean entries.

She has also recommended film professionals of South Korea to be Golden Goblet Award and Asian New Talent Award judges at the Shanghai International Film Festival.

Zhou is a frequent visitor to the Pusan and Hong Kong international film festivals, but her affinity with the Shanghai fest started in 2007.

Zhou usually watches four movies a day during the period of film judgment. When she and other selectors hold different opinions, they debate and hold discussions.

“I never read any background materials related to the film before I watch it,” Zhou says. “I try to make my judgment as fair and impartial as possible.”

Zhou’s criteria for a good film is that it should be an artistic work with potential commercial value. She has selected several award-winning films such as the romantic South Korean film “Interviewing Him and Her,” which won last year’s Asian New Talent Award for Best Film.

This year she has also discovered several amazing works, but rules don’t allow her to reveal their names before the film fest.

“It is good to see that more and more young, independent film critics have been invited to be film selectors,” Zhou says. “They represent varied perspectives and can make the festival more open and dynamic.”

She hopes that in the near future the festival can become the best of its kind in Asia. But it effort is needed to improve the festival’s operation and promote film education among the public.

Wang Jiayan   Film distribution and marketing specialist

Wang Jiayan has more than 20 years’ experience in film distribution and marketing in theater. He has been involved in film selection since the first Shanghai International Film Festival in 1993.

“Another important mission for me is to make and coordinate the films’ screening schedules at local cinemas,” Wang says. “To do that I need to watch and know all the movies to be shown in the festival.”

Wang mostly selects and judges a film based on its commercial value because he thinks it is the commercial elements of a film that appeal to a larger audience. He usually saves a good screening slot for the latest and influential productions by celebrated filmmakers from all over the world.

He notes that what movie buffs expect from a film festival includes good movies, a reasonable screening schedule, convenient ticketing and perfect service.

This year Wang saw a lot more impressive productions and he recommended 10 movies to the fest.

“Most celebrated Chinese directors still choose the film fests in Cannes, Berlin and Venice for the premiere of their movies,” Wang says. “I hope the Shanghai festival can attract more talented Chinese filmmakers to bring and showcase their latest offerings.”

China’s film industry is flourishing. But despite the growing box office, few outstanding domestic productions are released every year.

“Chinese cinema still lacks good stories and creative scripts,” Wang says. “But we should give domestic filmmakers more patience and time.

“Also, the Shanghai International Film Festival should continue to foster young film talents of the country and provide them with a big platform.”