With less than a month to go before the opening of the 14th FIRST Film Festival, the high-profile list of finalists for the main competition has been officially announced, with 34 films including feature films, documentaries and short films being shortlisted. They will all arrive on the screen, and the chairman of the jury, Chen Kexin, will lead 6 members of the jury, artist Cao Fei, actor Hao Lei, editing director Kong Jinlei, screenwriter Liu Heng, director Zhang Ming, and sound director Zhao Nan, and finally select ten honorary attributions.
34 films are about to open
This year, 100 feature films, 73 documentary feature films and 470 short films entered the judging process in the competition unit, and the overall number of deliveries decreased by 36% compared with last year, and the impact of the epidemic on film production is not obvious. But FIRST was still a surprise as expected. In the last week of June, the shortlist for the 14th FIRST Film Festival competition was decided, including 13 feature films, 8 documentaries and 13 short films. Feature films + documentary premieres accounted for 100%, world premieres + Asian premieres, reaching 95%, and debut films accounted for more than 60%, and they will open in Xining one by one.
Throughout the feature film, there are mature production teams and independent temperament and small-cost works with different characteristics. Yu Yaqin, a preliminary jury member, wrote in the review notes: "What is obvious is the improvement of technical means and the increase in industrialization, on the one hand, it increases the watchability of these films, but also damages the author's experimental and critical spirit. Small-cost works are more sincere and more pioneering. ”
The care and reflection on reality also presents a similar situation in the context of the documentary. Liu Xin, a preliminary reviewer, said bluntly: "The regional and socio-cultural environment in which the creators are located is relatively scattered, and the topics form a pre-modern, modern and post-modern China, which has strong practical significance. In terms of creative style, the overall company has got rid of the shooting method of 'fly on the wall' and the mainstream 'real movie', and has shown a trend of diversified exploration in style. However, the overall perception is less of a pungent reflection on the system and society, and young creators mostly start from the perspective of individuals to show the world they understand. ”
In the field of short films, the quality and quantity of animated short films are particularly prominent. Zhu Yantong, a first-time judge, said in his notes: "Paper-cutting, felt, sand, hand-drawn materials are applied to animated short films, and the objective world is abstracted and refined by means of hand-made dynamics, adding a tactile dimension and imagination space to the content." Many animation works with narrative elements refer to the language of the film in large quantities, and even the use of virtual cameras, the deformation of character modeling and the reconstruction of performance rhythms, which give the work an unrealistic absurdity. ”
The situation is changing, and THE FIRST's evaluation criteria remain unchanged
From December 1 last year to April 30 this year, the day Beijing officially lifted the quarantine, the competition came to an end. In the 8-month high-density screening mode, 14 judges frequently traveled to and from the FIRST organizing committee, and the screen in the screening room was lit up day and night.
The preliminary review team, composed of 9 filmmakers in the industry, gave professional and comprehensive evaluations in feature films, documentaries and short films. Hu Shuzhen, editor, representative works such as "Beijing Meets Seattle", "Whistleblower", "Bursting Silence" and so on. Wang Feifei, director, representative work "When the Sun Jun Comes Again". Female filmmaker Yu Yaqin has long been concerned about documentaries and independent films. Producer Liu Rui has participated in projects such as "Young Zhao", "Look at", "Plastic Kingdom" and so on. Documentary director Liu Xin, representative works such as "Virtual Your Life" and "Blue Line". Mother and son Jian, whose work "Du Sheng" won the American Student Academy Award and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Film. Wu Linfeng, director, short film work "White Bird" was shortlisted for the short film competition unit of the 63rd Berlin Film Festival. Director Zhao Zuxiang and the short film work "Examination" were shortlisted for the Sundance Short Film Competition. Zhu Yantong, an independent animation director, has won several international awards for his work "Calf in the Cup".
The review team is composed of 5 professional filmmakers. Gu Tao, documentary filmmaker, representative works such as "Yan Dahan" and "Hugo's Holiday"; Huang Ji, director, screenwriter and producer, representative works include "Stupid Bird", "Eggs and Stones", etc.; Liu Lu, screenwriter and director, representative works such as "Donkey Get Water" and "Half a Comedy"; Wang Xiaolu, film critic and curator, published works such as "Film Will" and "Film Politics"; Zheng Jing, producer, participated in the projects "Breathless", "King of Beijing", "Floating City on the Sea", "Don't Tell Her", etc.
After the release of the 34 shortlisted films, the jury chaired by director Chen Kexin will take over the baton, continue the tradition of taking into account multiple positions and perspectives of the film festival, and carry out a new round of wrestling with the members of the jury to carry out multi-dimensional evaluation collision.
Chairman of the Jury
Chen Kexin is a director, producer and Oscar judge. Representative works include "Sweet Honey", "If Love", "Chinese Partner", "Dear", "Win the Championship" and so on.
Jury and Committee Members
Cao Fei is an artist and video author. His representative works include "Sanyuanli", "Nova", "Prison Architect", etc., and he has participated in the Shanghai Biennale, the Moscow Biennale, the Taipei Biennale and so on.
Hao Lei, actress. Representative works include "Summer Palace", "The Fourth Painting", "Floating City Mystery", "Dear", "Spring Tide", etc., and have been nominated for the Golden Horse Film Festival twice.
Kong Jinlei, editing director. His major works include "Carla is a Dog", "Warm", "Platform", "Three Gorges Good People", "Later Us", "The Party at South Station", etc., and has twice won the best editing at the Golden Horse Film Festival.
Liu Heng is a writer and screenwriter. His representative works include "The Year of The Life", "Qiu Ju Fights a Lawsuit", "The Gathering Number", etc., and has been nominated for the Best Adapted Screenplay at the Golden Horse Film Festival and the Best Screenwriter at the Asian Film Awards.
Zhao Nan, voice guide. He is a national first-class sound recordist, a member of the Chinese Filmmakers Association, and a member of the Oscar jury. His representative works such as "Di Renjie's Heavenly Empire", "Painted Skin 2", "Hypnotic Master", "Soul on the Leather Rope", etc., have won the Hong Kong Film Awards for Best Sound Effects.
Source: China Youth Network Entertainment