Film festival judges share decision-making process
Twenty-one film professionals from 12 countries and regions comprise the whole jury panels for this year's Golden Goblet Awards.
The jury panel for the Asian New Talent category includes, from left, Chinese director Lu Yang, Chinese actress Yang Zishan, director Aktan Arym Kubat from Kyrgyzstan, producer Jojo Hui from China's Hong Kong, Japanese director Kei Ishikawa, and Chinese actor Jackson Yee.
International juries for the Golden Goblet Awards of the 25th Shanghai International Film Festival held media briefings over the weekend.
Twenty-one film professionals from 12 countries and regions comprise the jury panels. They shared their criteria for judging and experience in filmmaking.
The jury panels for the five categories of the Golden Goblet Awards – Main Competition, Asian New Talent, Documentary, Animation and Short Film – are led by director Jerzy Skolimowski from Poland, director Aktan Arym Kubat from Kyrgyzstan, director Christian Frei from Switzerland, animation producer Taro Maki from Japan, and producer Peggy Chiao from China's Taiwan.
Director Aktan Arym Kubat, who chairs the Asian New Talent panel, said he had been to many international film festivals, and the film fest in Shanghai had made a wonderful impression.
"We're happy to see the emergence of many new ideas and talented young Asian filmmakers at this year's fest," said Kubat.
It is the third time that producer Jojo Hui has attended the Shanghai International Film Festival.
In Hui's eyes, the future of new talent is filled with possibilities.
"It is good to see their impulse to emotionally express themselves in the movie, but they also need to develop some skills for a balanced cinematography and storytelling," she said.
Chinese actor Jackson Yee said he feels excited and a little stressed to be on a jury. He will try to feel and grasp the emotions in each nominated film.
In the Documentary category, jury president Christian Frei, noted that documentary is a very good means to share opinions and help people know each other, and he is always open to all the subjects.
The documentary category jury features editor Atanas Georgiev (left) from North Macedonia, and Chinese director Ju Anqi (right).
The jury for the Animation and Short Film categories includes, from left, director Amp Wong, producer Taro Maki, animator and director Paul Williams, producer Peggy Chiao and director Zhang Dalei.
Chinese documentary director Ju Anqi is showcasing his new documentary "Building" at the film festival. It is the first installment of a documentary trilogy to highlight the artistic charm, history and great cultural values of varied Chinese architectures.
"Boundaries of documentary nowadays have been broken with the popularization of convenient equipment for shooting," said Ju. "I think documentary filmmaking is a rewarding experience for every young filmmaker to give their career an extension and depth."
Japanese animation producer Taro Maki, stated one important mission of the film festival is to discover new ideas, new talented directors and new technologies.
"A good animated work is not limited by past experience," he said. "I hope to witness the progress of the whole industry."
Animated director Amp Wong from China's Hong Kong said that his criteria for a good animated film is whether its emotions really touch the audience.
In the past years, many Chinese animated films have drawn inspiration from ancient Chinese mythology and folktales.
"Art comes from life," Wong added. "I think more and more home grown productions with diverse subjects and themes will emerge."
Producer Peggy Chiao from China's Taiwan expressed her happiness to be a jury member in the Short Film category.
"Through short films, most of which are directorial debuts of a filmmaker, I can see potential and direction for creation," said Chiao. "Short films with huge imagination and few limitations and pressure of market returns can give us a lot of surprises."
Chinese mainland director and scriptwriter Zhang Dalei encouraged first-time filmmakers worldwide to create and express themselves through short films before making a feature film.
The shortlist for the Golden Goblet Awards this year is impressive.
Among all the 53 works short listed for the categories of Main Competition, Asian New Talent, Documentary, Animation, and Short Film, there are 36 world premieres, 12 international premieres, and five Asian premieres.
