Turning screen dreams into reality
By Li Anlan |
June 17, 2012, Sunday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
THE China Film Pitch and Catch (CFPC) aims to promote rising Chinese filmmakers, with eight contender projects and their directors selected by the committee. The winner of the "Most Creative Project" award receives production funding.
Past successes include "Mr Tree" directed by Han Jie. A 2009 CFPC project, it won Best Director and Jury Grand Prix at last year's Shanghai International Film Festival.
Complementing CFPC is Co-Production Film Pitch and Catch (Co-FPC), a platform for co-production projects worldwide. The committee selects around 25 projects each year that are considered to have potential in the market. The winner of the "Most Promising Project to Invest" prize receives production funding.
Here are some contenders for this year's CFPC and Co-FPC prizes at the 15th Shanghai International Film Festival.
CFPC: "Boy in the Water"
Director: Raymond Zhou
Producer: Wang Yu
Screenplay: Raymond Zhou
Genre: Fiction
"Boy in the Water" looks at the life of left-behind children. Feng, aged 16, lived with his grandmother in a mountain village. His parents went to the big city and rarely contacted him. His high school experimented with an "adoption" program which entrusted youngsters in need to teachers who can care for them after school. Feng's "substitute father" is Mr Shi who sees an extension of his own dreams in Feng.
Creative statement:
"China has 200 million migrant workers who leave behind 60 million children without parental care. These youngsters turn their youthful rebelliousness into cynicism and disdain. Many teachers try to help them follow a better path. The movie uses the central image of water, in which a person can either sink or swim.
CFPC: "The Hero of My Grandfather"
Director: Deng Ke
Producer: Fang Fangfang
Screenplay: Deng Ke
Genre: Comedy/Inspirational
The story is set in the Chinese Self-Defense Counterattack against Vietnam (1979-89). A Chinese squad was ambushed by the enemy and trapped. Three wounded soldiers were rescued and a tombstone erected for those who died. When the tombstone has to be moved at a later date, the three veterans are determined to buy another plot for their comrades. But land is expensive and to make matters worse, employees of a property company stole the money they had paid. As a result, the veterans felt they had no choice but to "kidnap" the company manager's son. However, their plan went awry when the child was then dramatically abducted by criminals. The veterans fought the criminals to rescue the child and secure a memorial for their fallen comrades. They died in the fight, though the child was rescued. The public placed the tombstone in a cemetery using social contributions, and engraved the names of the three veterans.
Creative statement:
"Chinese films concerning the elderly are quite rare and are either too didactic or too boring. I think the elderly are very cute. Many have precious experiences beyond our imagination, and these experiences are hidden in their hearts."
CFPC: "Rainbow"
Director: Chen Tao
Producer: Jia Zhangke
Screenplay: Chen Tao, Xiao Rui
Genre: Fiction/Suspense
The story takes place in 1990 in Sichuan Province. Young idler Liu Kaiming spent his days drinking, playing poker and teasing girls.
He married a woman named Li Hong who he did not love. When a body was found in the riverside and believed to be Li, Liu felt a mixture of panic, anger and isolation as he was the chief suspect.
Liu was determined to find Li, convinced that she may not in fact be dead. Then in 2008, Liu received a letter from Li's daughter. He was going to meet his wife who had been missing for 18 years and see his daughter for the first time.
Creative statement:
"From 1990 to 2008, huge changes have taken places in Chinese society. Set against this backdrop, the film conveys an image of a person living through a constantly altering society.
Co-FPC: Palung (Thailand)
Director: Kaynipa Polnikorn
Producer: Aditya Assarat
Screenplay: Kaynipa Polnikorn
Genre: Fiction
"Palung" follows an introverted smalltown boy, whose father left after an argument with his mother when he was six years old, from childhood to his first tentative steps of adulthood. As Palung grows up, he meets people and develops off-beat relationships.
Creative statement:
"Palung explores how a person who has been 'lost' all his life manages to find his way 'home'."
Past successes include "Mr Tree" directed by Han Jie. A 2009 CFPC project, it won Best Director and Jury Grand Prix at last year's Shanghai International Film Festival.
Complementing CFPC is Co-Production Film Pitch and Catch (Co-FPC), a platform for co-production projects worldwide. The committee selects around 25 projects each year that are considered to have potential in the market. The winner of the "Most Promising Project to Invest" prize receives production funding.
Here are some contenders for this year's CFPC and Co-FPC prizes at the 15th Shanghai International Film Festival.
CFPC: "Boy in the Water"
Director: Raymond Zhou
Producer: Wang Yu
Screenplay: Raymond Zhou
Genre: Fiction
"Boy in the Water" looks at the life of left-behind children. Feng, aged 16, lived with his grandmother in a mountain village. His parents went to the big city and rarely contacted him. His high school experimented with an "adoption" program which entrusted youngsters in need to teachers who can care for them after school. Feng's "substitute father" is Mr Shi who sees an extension of his own dreams in Feng.
Creative statement:
"China has 200 million migrant workers who leave behind 60 million children without parental care. These youngsters turn their youthful rebelliousness into cynicism and disdain. Many teachers try to help them follow a better path. The movie uses the central image of water, in which a person can either sink or swim.
CFPC: "The Hero of My Grandfather"
Director: Deng Ke
Producer: Fang Fangfang
Screenplay: Deng Ke
Genre: Comedy/Inspirational
The story is set in the Chinese Self-Defense Counterattack against Vietnam (1979-89). A Chinese squad was ambushed by the enemy and trapped. Three wounded soldiers were rescued and a tombstone erected for those who died. When the tombstone has to be moved at a later date, the three veterans are determined to buy another plot for their comrades. But land is expensive and to make matters worse, employees of a property company stole the money they had paid. As a result, the veterans felt they had no choice but to "kidnap" the company manager's son. However, their plan went awry when the child was then dramatically abducted by criminals. The veterans fought the criminals to rescue the child and secure a memorial for their fallen comrades. They died in the fight, though the child was rescued. The public placed the tombstone in a cemetery using social contributions, and engraved the names of the three veterans.
Creative statement:
"Chinese films concerning the elderly are quite rare and are either too didactic or too boring. I think the elderly are very cute. Many have precious experiences beyond our imagination, and these experiences are hidden in their hearts."
CFPC: "Rainbow"
Director: Chen Tao
Producer: Jia Zhangke
Screenplay: Chen Tao, Xiao Rui
Genre: Fiction/Suspense
The story takes place in 1990 in Sichuan Province. Young idler Liu Kaiming spent his days drinking, playing poker and teasing girls.
He married a woman named Li Hong who he did not love. When a body was found in the riverside and believed to be Li, Liu felt a mixture of panic, anger and isolation as he was the chief suspect.
Liu was determined to find Li, convinced that she may not in fact be dead. Then in 2008, Liu received a letter from Li's daughter. He was going to meet his wife who had been missing for 18 years and see his daughter for the first time.
Creative statement:
"From 1990 to 2008, huge changes have taken places in Chinese society. Set against this backdrop, the film conveys an image of a person living through a constantly altering society.
Co-FPC: Palung (Thailand)
Director: Kaynipa Polnikorn
Producer: Aditya Assarat
Screenplay: Kaynipa Polnikorn
Genre: Fiction
"Palung" follows an introverted smalltown boy, whose father left after an argument with his mother when he was six years old, from childhood to his first tentative steps of adulthood. As Palung grows up, he meets people and develops off-beat relationships.
Creative statement:
"Palung explores how a person who has been 'lost' all his life manages to find his way 'home'."
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