Directed by Sammo Hung, produced by Andy Lau and starring both of the two stars, The Bodyguard settled down its nationwide release date on Apr. 1st. From a draft script, The Old Guard, to a featured film--The Bodyguard, the significant shift happened during The 3rd Beijing International Film Festival-Beijing Film Market Project Pitches. Youth director Jiang Jun won the “Special Award” and signed deals with satisfying investor and producer. After continuous polishing and supplement, The Bodyguard will eventually meet the audiences in cinemas.
Dig high-quality projects and support new talents
The Old Guard is Jiang Jun’s first film script. “I was filming TV commercials at that time.” Jiang said, “Though I wanted to make films, I didn’t have any chance to get involved in the film industry.” The Beijing International Film Festival-Beijing Film Market Project Pitches helped Jiang Jun to realize his dream. The Old Guard won the attention from Bill Kong and his company, Edko Films, which invested the project and produced the film The Bodyguard.
Jiang Jun is not an isolated case that new director starts his/her career in film industry through the Beijing International Film Festival-Beijing Film Market Project Pitches Platform. In recent 2-3 years, Project Pitches has gradually become the country’s leading film talent support and incubation platform with introducing a growing number of new talents into the industry. Besides, Project Pitches has actively attempted to establish new cooperation with multiple parties and new plans for film talent incubation. In addition to “MPA Award,” Project Pitches has collaborated with Marché du Film - Festival de Cannes since 2014. After professional trainings, the award winner will get chances to attend producer’s workshop and media coverage.
Submissions rush in and more projects developed into films
Project Pitches was firstly held in 2012. Through accumulating years’ of experience, Beijing International Film Festival Project Pitches enjoys great popularity and has become the most remarkable sector every year. In 2016, the submitted projects have reached 674 since Jan. 29th. The speed of solicitation raised 48% than last year. Among the shortlisted projects at the 4th Film Market Project Pitches, Detective Lady was released in 2015, Mountain Cry have finished shooting, and The Seventy-Seven Days has finished the location filming at no man’s land in Tibet. In addition, Hide and Seek, My Heart Will Go On, and The Legend of Speed also began shooting in 2015. Last Love In Antarctica has completed pre-production and will be shot in 2016. Gate, Mission to Steal Time, Instant Love and Age of Roses will be shot in 2016 as well.
This year’s Project Pitches will emphasize the development of high quality projects and focus on training and support projects to promote internationally. “Foundation Award for Chinese New Filmmakers" and "MPA Award" will be remained, at the same time four other awards to honor the finalist projects. We believe this year’s Project Pitches will take advantages of the overall prosperity of the industry, digging and discovering more outstanding projects. Also, more new awards aiming at project incubation will be added. The interested parties, such as film funds or film-related organizations, are welcomed to contact with us.
Contact Information
Beijing Film Market Department Office of the Organizing Committee of Beijing International Film Festival
Add: Room 407, Building of Press and Publication (PhaseⅡ), No. Jia 55, Chaonei Avenue, Dongcheng District, Beijing, The People’s Republic of China
Zip Code:100010
Tel: +86 10 6408 1760
Award sponsor and cooperation please contact: 185-1848-0212 (Ms. Zhai)
E-mail: zhaiwenting@beijingfilmmarket.com