When it comes to famous film festivals, Cannes, Berlin, Sundance are at the top of the list. When it comes to Asian film festivals, there's Busan, Tokyo and Hong Kong.

Today the Shanghai International Film Festival, started in 1993, is steadily making its name for quality, diversity and prestige. It's a place for networking in the cradle of Chinese cinema, a platform for young filmmakers and a place where Western filmmakers and industry experts get acquainted with the Chinese industry. And it's a place for Chinese to see foreign films, which are restricted in number on the mainland and are generally Hollywood blockbusters.

The brand-new Beijing International Film Festival is held in April, Cannes is held in May, and then comes Shanghai, so it's a crowded calendar, making invitations and scheduling more difficult for the Shanghai event.

Still, Shanghai is getting a good share of foreign celebrities, films and filmmakers.

A number of Chinese observers - veteran and aspiring filmmakers, experts and enthusiasts - talk to Shanghai Daily about the festival and share their thoughts on Chinese filmmaking.


Helping young filmmakers

The Shanghai International Film Festival gave a big boost to the career of Yang Shupeng who dreamed of making movies as a child.

Yang, 42, used to be a planner and producer of China Central Television's popular talk show "Tell It Like It Is," but his passion lay in film.

In 2007, his first film "The Cold Flame" was nominated for the Asian New Talent Award at the 10th Shanghai International Film Festival. Set during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1937-45), the film is about the attachment between a Kuomintang captain and an orphan girl. In the same year he also took the outline of a new project to the festival's China Film Pitch and Catch platform.

He pitched to investors his black humor tale of two robbers' adventures in a seemingly peaceful village. He had earlier received one-on-one advice from American Film Institute consultant James Hindman and the dean of the USC School of Cinematic Arts, Elizabeth Daley. "The Robbers" was rated the project most likely to get fully financed and through contacts made at the festival, Yang got partial funding.

In 2009, "The Robbers," starring Hu Jun and Jiang Wu, was released nationally, but didn't do well since it was competing with a Hollywood blockbuster. Yang's latest film, "An Inaccurate Memoir," was not commercially successful when it was released in April at the same time as "Titanic 3D."

"I will never give up trying to direct creative and though-provoking films," he said. "I hope to maintain the independence and personality of my creation in spite of the strong wave of commercial productions."

Yang said he has declined three invitations to direct Chinese blockbuster movies because, in his opinion, they have little value. Most of his works are moderate- and small-budget films giving insight into the human condition.

"When I was still a newcomer, I received generous support and help from the Shanghai International Film Festival," he said. "I made many friends. It has played an important role in my career."

The best news for domestic moderate- and small-budget productions would be the introduction of a film rating system by the Chinese government, giving directors more creative freedom, he said.


Fest needs better positioning

Shanghai film producer and expert Li Tian has been involved in TV and film for more than two decades and has worked on the Shanghai festival's China Film Pitch and Catch for the past four years.

Pitch and Catch, started in 2007, is a platform where creative Chinese film projects can find international capital and distribution channels. Aspiring directors and writers increasingly take their works and ideas to the festival.

Some rising directors have established cooperation with foreign production companies through the event. They include Jia Zhangke, Yang Shupeng and Zhang Meng. Jia, who won a Golden Lion at the Venice Film festival for "Still Life" (2006), now recommends promising directors and projects.

The Shanghai International Film Festival features diverse films from around the world and aims to nurturing young filmmakers in China and elsewhere, Li said.

"Film Panorama offers movie fans a rare chance to see many productions that haven't been released in Chinese theaters," he said. "No matter how much revenue blockbusters generate, the festival never ignores thoughtful movie-goers' demand for independent films, art house films and classics."

But Li said the Shanghai festival "needs more distinctive positioning to differentiate it from other international film festivals."

The Berlin International Film Festival stresses its role as a cultural and political bridge between East and the West, while Cannes highlights and leverages a combination of film artistry and commercial appeal. The Venice Festival usually features international debuts of avant-garde films.

"The Shanghai festival could actually make bolder attempts to introduce and promote experimental cinema," Li said.

Li has witnessed the festival's rapid growth and its encouragement to the domestic film industry.

"Despite the influx of more Hollywood blockbusters, this is still one of the best times for the Chinese film industry since more film projects are likely to get big investments," he said. "The problem is that few Chinese film producers have learned to think big and really know how to invest."

He suggests producers learn from the independent Weinstein Bros Co, which usually to chooses a story or a philosophical topic that formulaic and superficial blockbusters can't address.


Chinese cinema in need of a jolt

American-born Chinese Jeff Zhang from Los Angeles has been admitted to New York University's Tisch School of the Arts this fall.

The 18-year-old said he hopes to make films in the United States and Asia, becoming a renowned filmmaker.

He has already written many stories and come up with ideas that could be produced with help. "These are just dreams but I am working hard to attain my goal," he said.

Zhang is a volunteer at this year's festival. He decided to make the festival a career stop because China is booming economically and artistically. It also represents a vast audience.

"Investing in movies in China seems very logical idea today and there is no better place to start than a film festival in China's financial hub," Zhang said.

Zhang viewed a number of films and met professionals and budding filmmakers from China and overseas. He also gained insight into the inner workings of international film events.

Growing up in America, his access to and knowledge of Chinese films was limited. "By attending the festival, I hope to understand more about Chinese cinema," he said.

Zhang said he fell in love with the movies three years ago in high school, when he was age 15.

He soon decided to dedicate his life to filmmaking in pursuit of critical acclaim and thought-provoking movies. He has written many scripts, with diverse subjects. One of his short screenplays was a finalist at the Las Vegas Film Festival. It's about two brothers who are reunited years after one murders their parents. Masculinity and heritage are among his subjects. His favorite Chinese director is Zhang Yimou for his beautiful and thought-provoking films that can be small and intimate, or grand and epic.

Zhang said there's a misconception that China must compete with Hollywood in every aspect of filmmaking.

"Hollywood is the international cinema hub, but China has the greatest asset: audience," he said.

The problem with Chinese films is that they fail to consistently attract viewers, he said, adding that a change in content could revolutionize cinema for the better.

"Instead of love stories, make more challenging stories that let audiences come to their own conclusions. The best films are the ones you expected nothing out of, but leave you very satisfied. Maybe a jolt in cinema can have China competing at the international level."


Big hand for micro films

A hostess and English interpreter for a few film press conferences this year, Li Yongli was the festival's volunteer public relations assistant in 2008 and 2009, getting messages out to the media and public.

Li graduated from the prestigious Beijing Film Academy with a master's degree in international film culture. She said working with the festival has been rewarding and given her insight into China's film industry. It aided her at the Moving Image Research Collections at the University of South Carolina in 2010 and 2011, where she organized large symposiums and art film festivals.

What impressed Li most about the Shanghai festival is its long-term dedication to fostering talented people in the film industry. Many grassroots and first-time filmmakers have had a chance to present their movie projects and then talk with veteran producers and film masters.

"The Mobile Film Festival segment on micro movies will ignite enthusiasm and creativity and make the festival more accessible to ordinary people and Internet users," Li said. "Though some films are not artistically matured or refined, they're fresh, inspiring and innovative."

The festival's International Panorama is very popular, a once-a-year chance to see what's going on in foreign cinema. Li and others said there should be year-round screenings of excellent Chinese and foreign films.


Benefit from more US films

Chinese American film director and producer Sherwood Hu understands both Chinese and Hollywood film industries. During this year's film festival, Shanghai-born Hu promoted his basketball film "Amazing" (2011) starring NBA players.

Hu is a guest professor at the Shanghai Theater Academy.

In 1999, Hu screened his first film at the fourth Shanghai film festival, the English-language film "Lani Loa - The Passage," about a woman murdered on her wedding day in Hawaii who comes back to haunt her murderers.

Hu has attended the festival as a director, a judge for the Asian New Talent Award and host for the film forum.

"The festival has become a high-level professional film pageant drawing growing global notice," Hu said. "Every year there's remarkable progress."

He said he was impressed by the festival's blending of the cultural heritage and film history of Shanghai, the cradle of Chinese film.

"Just as the city accepts different cultures and traditions, the festival also shows a cultural and conceptual diversity in most events," Hu said.

He said the festival should improve methods of attracting applicants for the top Golden Goblet Award.

The scheduling of the Cannes festival in May and the Beijing festival in April has put a lot of pressure on the Shanghai festival, particularly in celebrity invitation and film selection.

Hu's "Prince of The Himalayas" (2006), an adaptation of "Hamlet" set in ancient Tibet, was praised by viewers and critics for its East-West elements. He said the Shanghai film festival should emphasize and develop its East-meets-West aspects to differentiate it from many other film festivals.

This is a good time for Chinese cinema but it's also a time to test filmmakers' sincerity and social responsibility, Hu said. "Films should not be made just to please the audience. We still lack powerful and thoughtful productions about the current reality and future of mankind."

He said the increased quota of US films can help Chinese filmmakers learn about appealing content, cinematography and distribution. Ultimately, more exposure to US films can make them more competitive, he said.