The HIIFF Talents Creation Forum of the 6^th Hainan Island International Film Festival was held successfully at the Conference Hall of the Conifer Hotel in Sanya on the afternoon of December 9. Presented by Xu Jiahan, this forum was held around in-depth discussions on the development and future of young film creators. Many film creators with abundant experience gathered to share experiences and exchange ideas, providing valuable enlightenment and guidance for the growth of young film creators.

Chen Jiyang, the Executive Deputy Minister of the Publicity Department of the CPC Hainan Provincial Committee and the Director of the Hainan Provincial Film Bureau

At the beginning of the forum, Chen Jiyang, the Executive Deputy Minister of the Publicity Department of the Hainan Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China and the Director of the Hainan Provincial Film Bureau, made a speech. As indicated by Chen Jiyang, HIIFF has presented powerful vitality and potential in the film festival, and many young creators replied positively and started a new journey for film creation in this charming land, fully reflecting the regional characteristics of Hainan. As emphasized by Chen Jiyang, HIIFF has provided fertile soils for film creation and promoted integrated innovation between film art and other art forms, realizing multidimensional development including both rooting in Hainan culture and pursuing film dreams. Besides, as advocated by Chen Jiyang, young film creators shall take “making films in Hainan and for Hainan” as an opportunity, to create more excellent works with the help of policy advantages as well as natural and humanistic resources in Hainan, to add momentum to the prosperity in the film industry in Hainan.

Perspective of advisors:

The Unique Value of HIIFF and the Exploitation of Potentials of Young Film Creators

In the Round Table Dialogue section, advisors discussed various aspects of the HIIFF and shared their impressions of the students.

As indicated by Li Xiaofeng, a director and a scriptwriter, HIIFF is mostly featured by courageousness; by providing financial support to the Top 8, HIIFF aims to assist creators in turning ideas into actual works rapidly.” At the same time, “youth is the capital, so that the students can present the truest and the most courageous works, and they are provided with opportunities to make mistakes, which are my deepest impressions on the students.”

As emphasized by Nai An, an executive producer, and a film producer, “It is so important to provide the Top 8 short film projects with the filming capital of 120,000 yuan, which is the main reason for me to participate in the plan.” Besides, according to Nai An, “The students all work earnestly and value this opportunity very much, and they discuss scripts and different versions of finished films with me. They have made great efforts in a limited time so that I can see the future of the film industry in China.”

As Sonthar Gyal, a director and a scriptwriter, supplemented: “This plan provides creators with capital, trust, and platforms. It is valuable for young directors to complete the course from text to images under the supervision of the film festival.” When mentioning the internal playing of the films in this industry, Sonthar Gyal, indicated, “creation of various types from different perspectives is interesting, leading to pleasant sparks.”

As indicated by Zhu Lin, a film editing director, “staff of the film festival have conducted in-depth discussion on the history and prospect of the plan, which makes me feel it significant; true support and specialized guidance make for the growth of young directors.” In addition, “with their firm will and strong study abilities, the students have greatly modified their scripts and rapidly improved their aesthetic appreciation after the training courses and the guidance from advisors, which I appreciate a lot.”

Market requirement and cooperation:

Assisting Young Directors in Making Success

Aiming at issues such as markets’ expectations of young directors and the way to cooperate with investors, distinguished guests shared their opinions.

As emphasized by Li Fenghua, a judge of HIIFF and the Deputy General Manager of Mahua FunAge, young film creators shall cultivate their perception and sensitivity to markets and actively accumulate experience in the whole process of filmmaking. By taking the “new director supporting plan” of Mahua FunAge as an example, she introduced the method to assist young directors in clarifying comedy styles and strengthening creation abilities and encourage them to give play to their talents in commercial films. “Young directors are expected to accumulate the perception to markets during creation and participate in producing of films, by all means, to accumulate experience, to create popular works for audiences.”

According to Liao Xi, a judge of HIIFF, a director, an executive producer, a film producer, and a scriptwriter, the industry expects diversified types of directors and directors of various types, including art films, literary films, and genre films to be provided with development space. He found during the judging process that some directors are much too conservative; in fact, directors with works of creative ideas are talents, “we want to find talented young directors, and even those who have just a small creative idea that can move us are considered talented.”

As indicated by Nai An, certain specific types of directors are not scarce in the current market; the key is how to assist them in being found and accepted by markets; executive producers and film producers play important roles in it. Specific types of directors are not scarce in markets; instead, they need the ability to be found by markets.

Creation Dilemmas and Coping Methods:

Persistence and Breakthrough of Young Directors

During the creation process, young directors are faced with many challenges. As suggested by Sonthar Gyal, young directors shall keep the original intentions and avoid catering to markets excessively; in addition, they shall pay attention to cost control for the first two works, to insist on their creative ideas freely. “Cost control can make young directors keep free and insist on their ideas during the first period of creation, to avoid losing original intentions because of excessively catering to markets.”

Li Xiaofeng shared his experience in converting personal expression into the creation of genre films. As he frankly indicated, this process was painful; however, he recognized film creation during this process. As he emphasized, directors should find the balance between art pursuit and market requirements; at the same time, he appeals that the creativity of each post in the industry shall be respected, to promote the soft power of the film industry. “It is painful when converting personal expression to the creation of genre films; however, I learn a lot from it. Directors must achieve a balance between art and markets, and the creativity of each post in the industry shall be respected.”

As a film producer, Liao Xi emphasized respect for creation by young directors and provided support on aspects such as capital and creation collocation by avoiding too much interference in the creation process, “I provide directors with help on capital and creation by avoiding too much interference on the creation process, and I respect the artistic expression of directors.”

When making comparisons on projects at home and abroad, Nai An indicated unclear boundaries between artistic projects and commercial ones in domestic film markets, leading to larger challenges for executive producers and film producers; it is necessary to solve the problem of cooperation between markets and investors. “There are differences between domestic projects and overseas ones on relations with markets; there is unclear boundary between artistic projects and commercial ones in domestic film markets, leading to larger challenges to executive producers and film producers.”

As indicated by Zhu Lin, young directors are often interfered with by other things during various stages of creation, and they must insist on their faith. As she appealed, executive producers and film producers should vigorously support directors during key stages; in addition, she would like to provide help for directors if they need it. “Young directors are fragile in creation, in need of support from various parties, and I will try my best to provide them with help if they need it.”

Li Fenghua emphasized the importance of communication between directors and market capital. According to Li Fenghua, communication shall be conducted bi-directionally; young directors must keep a peaceful mind, contact more teams, summarize experiences, and have a clear awareness of projects. “Young directors shall keep peaceful mind when communicating with investors, contact more teams, summarize experience and have clear awareness on projects.”

Experience Shared by Young Directors:

Growth and Perception for the Course of Venture Capital

In the second half of the forum, several young directors with excellent performance in venture capital shared their experiences.

Liu Jiangjiang, a judge of HIIFF, a director, and a scriptwriter, told his tough experience of transformation from the television industry to film creation. He started his experience as a scriptwriter and participated in venture capital in 2017. After making efforts during these years, finally, he was finally recognized based on Lighting up the Stars. He sighed with emotions: “It is not easy to acquire trust when working on venture capital; however, after persistence, we will find that it is an era in which gold always shines.” As he emphasized, it is necessary to provide investors with confidence and prepare for a protracted war. “It is important to acquire trust from investors when contacting them. During this long process, we need to keep making great efforts with enough patience.”

Liu Yanwenjun, a judge of HIIFF, a director, and a scriptwriter, shared her experience in selecting the platform for venture capital. At first, she chose venture capital for capital factors. Later, she realized the importance of sincerity in creation. As she suggested, young directors should produce more short films and seek expression methods that are suitable for them through short films to achieve a balance between creation and market requirements. “At first, I chose venture capital for capital; later, I understood that sincere creation is very important, and young directors can make more short films to seek a balance between self-expression and markets.”

Wu Lang, a judge of HIIFF, a director, and a scriptwriter, worked on film creation since he graduated as a major in Sculpture. After attending the Shanghai International Film Festival in 2019 and attracting attention in venture capital, he started his work on film creation. According to Wu Lang, the preparation of sample films before venture capital makes for presenting abilities, to attract capital and cooperators. “The preparation of sample films before venture capital can better present abilities and attract resources; young directors must clarify their demands and make sufficient preparation before participating in venture capital.”

According to Zhang Yudi, a director and a scriptwriter, young directors can participate in venture capital to acquire capital and get acquainted with valuable cooperators. According to Zhang Yudi, short films play significant roles in promoting the creation of long films, which can be taken to collect folk resources for creation; at the same time, young directors are suggested to not pay too much attention to the delicacy of short films; instead, they shall pay attention to the expression of basic instinct and practice more. “Short films play significant roles in promoting the creation of long films, which can be taken as sources for inspirations; instead of pursuing too much for the delicacy of short films, young directors shall pay attention to the expression of basic instinct.”

Foreign Experience Reference and Industry Phenomenon Discussion:

Expanding Horizons of Young Directors

Zheng Fei, a film producer and a director, introduced the venture capital and the career development conditions of foreign young directors. According to Zheng Fei, young foreign directors often attend film festivals based on their graduation works; they must prepare long film scripts if they are noticed. Although the support of foreign film festivals is not as strong as that in our country, the agent system serves as a bridge between directors and investors. “Graduation works are important for young foreign directors, and they need to prepare for long film scripts after attending film festivals; the agent system works for connection between them and investors.”

When talking about industry phenomena, as Liu Jiangjiang indicated, film directors need to struggle against their self-respect at any time and should keep a strong mind in the face of remarks from different people. “In the face of remarks, film directors need to struggle against their self-respect, and they need to keep a strong mind.”

As Liu Yanwenjun indicated, she is currently experiencing lots of difficulties in aspects not related to the creation, including acquiring trust from investors and seeking appropriate partners and recommended works. “In addition to creation, it is very difficult to acquire trust from investors and find appropriate partners and recommended works, which are my current dilemmas.”

Wu Lang shared his persistence and confusion in creation. By assimilating creation to flying a kite, he wants to hold the thread residue in his hand without being interfered with by other things. “Creation is just like flying a kite, and we need to take our direction and avoid being interfered with by others; persistence is important.”

Zhang Yudi emphasized the aloneness during creation. As she indicated, accompanying team members and other creators is important. They need to acquire inspiration by exchanging with different people, to take more exchange opportunities, and to absorb energies from others. “Creation is lonely, and we need accompanying from team members and other people to acquire inspiration by exchanging with different people; therefore, more exchange opportunities are necessary.”

The HIIFF Talents Creation Forum provides a valuable platform for communication for young film creators, which indicates directions for young film creators through an in-depth exploration of the promoting role of venture capital activities on the growth of young film creators, market expectations as well as creation dilemmas and coping strategies. It is believed that with the help of HIIFF, young film creators will make increasing progress in film creation, bring in more innovations and vitalities for the film industry, to promote further glories of the film industry in China.