SIFF venture capital initiative attracts 380 projects

The Shanghai International Film Festival's venture capital project has received 380 valid project applications this year.

Among them, 330 were script submissions for youth director projects, works-in-progress, and international collaborations.

Notably, the international collaborations featured entries from Germany, Iceland, and Italy, alongside the usual participants from the United States, Japan, and France.

From this substantial pool, 34 projects were selected for further development, of which eight were youth director projects, three were international collaboration projects, 13 were creative projects, and 10 were production projects.

The selected projects generated significant industry buzz, with many appointments fully booked even before the festival began.

So far, a total of 661 negotiation sessions have been completed.

At Wednesday's awards ceremony, the film "A Girl Unknown," which tells the story of one girl's three stages of growth between 6 and 18, living with three different families and being given different names by each, won the Best Talent Project Award.

"Ain't Them Bodies Saints," a film about the dilemma of modernity from a middle-aged couple's perspective, won the Most Creative Project.

Suspense film "Stranger in the Mountain" won the Annual Focus Award, while "Cold Water," a film imbued with magical realism, won the Juries' Choice.

The venture capital initiative was supported by partners including FunAge, Alibaba Pictures, Dirty Monkeys, Phenom Films, Mofei Pictures, Image Forestt, Aputure and INBETWEEN.

They provide special awards for the films, offering substantial bonuses, equipment, post-production services, and poster design services to support and encourage the ongoing development and creation of the projects.

Simultaneously, the project's annual training camp, launched in 2017 and upgraded in 2019, now runs twice a year in summer and winter.

Each year, 20 emerging filmmakers are selected for a comprehensive program that connects the camp with the venture capital platform, creating a progressive system for nurturing talent and incubating projects.

This year's venture capital training camp attracted 331 applicants, maintaining the diverse backgrounds seen in previous years.

Applicants came from fields such as literature, animation, design, and law, with some also from science and business disciplines.

After rigorous initial and secondary evaluations, 20 students were selected to participate in this transformative program.