On April 20th, the 2024 Maritime Guangdong Young Director Support Program (referred to as the Maritime Guangdong), organized by the Yangcheng Evening News Group, officially commenced its registration process, inviting aspiring young directors to participate.
The Maritime Guangdong is a large-scale talent support initiative committed to discovering, incubating, selecting, and nurturing outstanding young Chinese filmmakers both domestically and internationally. Anchored in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA), it seeks emerging talents in the global visual creation field, offering support for various types of short film creations, including drama, documentary, animation, and more. By breaking new ground and fostering creativity, this program aims to expand the imagination of future Chinese-language visual culture, providing a lens through which the world can rediscover China with the power of film.
In 2024, Maritime Guangdong will embrace "Backflow" as the theme for the recruitment of short film creators. It encourages the new generation of filmmakers to spotlight contemporary towns within the GBA as visual focal points, thus upholding the legacy of Chinese-language filmmaking while ingeniously narrating tales that resonate with Chinese, the GBA, and Guangdong narratives.
In the context of globalization, local cultural landscapes have always been an important aesthetic perspective in film expression.
Small towns, positioned between the dichotomy of urban and rural areas, have played a symbolic role in the global recognition of Chinese cinema. Films like Hou Hsiao-hsien's "The Boys from Fengkuei," Jia Zhangke's "Xiao Wu," and Pema Tseden's "Tharlo", each portray the lives of young individuals in towns amidst the currents of modernization across diverse regional landscapes. Works such as Yim Ho's "Homecoming" and Zhang Ming's "Rain Clouds over Wushan" utilize the town as a distinct backdrop, showcasing the unique local customs and culture. In recent years, cinematic endeavors like Bi Gan's "Kaili Blues," Diao Yinan's "The Wild Goose Lake," and Chen Xiaoyu's "Gone with the Boat," the town transcends its mere physicality to become a space between reality and imagination. These films delve into the depths of self-awareness, transforming the small town into a realm ripe for exploration and introspection.
As China's urbanization progresses, the role of towns as transitional spaces between urban centers and rural areas has diminished. This shift underscores the importance of reevaluating towns as distinct cultural entities in their own right. For emerging filmmakers, the essence of towns transcends mere scenery or nostalgic sentimentality; it encapsulates the complex transformation of social change and cultural consciousness.
In 2024, Maritime Guangdong embraces "Backflow" as its theme for this year's short film creation recruitment. The program aims to inspire young filmmakers to not only uphold the tradition of Chinese-language filmmaking but also to spotlight the contemporary essence of town life, reshaping the cultural landscape of these towns. By using Chinese towns as new cinematic landmarks, Chinese films can achieve a more diverse and localized expression on the global stage.
Debut success: Inaugural program garners remarkable fruits
In 2023, the debut of Maritime Guangdong generated remarkable interest within the film industry, drawing in a diverse array of applicants. Following meticulous rounds of selection and evaluation, creative funding was awarded to eleven outstanding young directors. These talents embarked on the production of ten short films, each delving into themes rooted in Lingnan culture and narratives surrounding overseas Chinese experiences. Remarkably, the average age of these directors stood at 26, with the youngest being a mere 20 years old.
Following the completion of these ten short films, the Yangcheng Evening News leveraged its extensive influence as a leading newspaper of Lingnan culture and its established presence among overseas Chinese communities, to actively promote the international dissemination of the Maritime Guangdong short films. In 2023, to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Malaysia, the Yangcheng Evening News orchestrated the "Maritime Guangdong Film Festival" series of events in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Over the course of three days, the screening of the Maritime Guangdong shorts captivated full houses and animated crowds.
Currently, the submission of the ten short films from the 2023 Maritime Guangdong Program to various film festivals and awards is underway. Notably, Huang Wenli's "How Can I Rid My Mind of Her" has secured a spot in the prestigious Moscow International Film Festival. Paco Wen's "Reunited" earned recognition at both the Chongqing Youth Film Festival and the Shanghai International Short Week. Additionally, "The Returning Island" won the Best Drama Short Film at the China Student Television Festival, while its director Zhuang Canjie was also honored with the Best Director Award at the Asia Chinese Film Festival.
Robust support: Comprehensive measures expand the reach of the program
Building upon the triumph of its predecessor, the 2024 Maritime Guangdong Program has enlisted esteemed industry figures—directors, producers, screenwriters, and cultural scholars—to assume roles as judges and mentors, ensuring a meticulous and professional approach to the selection and nurturing of young talent.
This year's program introduces a two-stage evaluation process: the preliminary review and the final assessment. The top 20 directors from the preliminary round will be invited to participate in the Maritime Guangdong short film training camp, receiving comprehensive guidance from mentors in scriptwriting, cinematography, editing, and more. Following the camp, directors will face a rigorous final assessment, with the top 10 ultimately securing funding ranging from 50,000 to 200,000 yuan provided by the Yangcheng Evening News Group for the production of their thematic short films.
Source: Yangcheng Evening News
