The Second-Round Selection Jury for Project Pitches of the 12th BJIFF Beijing Film Market was held on July 21 and 22. With the purpose of better support for excellent films, three senior filmmakers, Han Jianv, Song Jia and Wei Shujun, are invited to serve as judges of the Second-Round Selection Jury for Project Pitches. They will select excellent projects with artistic value, production feasibility and market potential from the perspectives of multiple professions such as screenwriters, directors, platforms and producers, so as to promote the films into a wider world. 

With regard to the pitching projects this year, "diversity" and "abundance" become the key words in the eyes of the judges. 

Each interview often started with the project elaboration by the creative team, then the judges would ask questions, make comments and give suggestions. During the two-day interview, the judges admitted that they had also harvested a lot — 

“I have interviewed many creators in the past days and they have also elaborated their own projects. I therefore learned about the mind of these young and new creators, as well as the current state of their projects.” Han Jianv said, “I hope to find some potential creators for possible cooperation in the future.” 

Song Jia also showed great interests to some attractive projects. “There're several projects with good themes. I hope to have more chances to communicate with iQIYI for possible cooperation in the future. 

Wei Shujun said that he hoped to know about more creative ideas as a judge, so that all the participants in the project pitches could learn and make progress together. 

　

　　Second-Round Selection Jury Member: Wei Shujun (left), Song Jia (middle), Han Jianv (right)

With regard to the question “what kind of film is the good one", the judges also gave different answers.

Han Jianv said that it’s very important for a good film to move the audience with humanistic care. She hoped that the project should not be fully restricted by personal expression.。

Song Jia believed that good film should have the distinct theme and artistic value. The script should have a certain degree of completion, the creative team should be enthusiastic with capability and the project feasible with reasonable production ratio. More importantly, the film should present the theme in the most appropriate manner. Only when the them could be seen by the audience first, the project had the opportunity to be defined as a good film.

Wei Shujun said that he hoped to include more abundant possibilities as a judge. He would never make decision from a certain restricted angle; instead, he would consider the uniqueness of the expression, the social significance and the feasibility of the project.

As a creator with senior frontline experience, Han Jianv believed that new creators should make every possible effort to present the films with their names to the market. “Film industry is changing very fast. It is different from the creative environment ten or twenty years ago. Every creator has to face a limit of time to gain a firm foothold. To be honest, the limit of time is their ages."

Song Jia proposed some suggestions to film creators from the perspective of a film platform: “Film is not the business of an individual, it should reserve a place for the audience. Only when the place for audience has be seen, your work will be accepted by the market."

Wei Shujun claimed himself a newcomer in terms of creation, "I believe it very important to work with unremitting efforts. Meanwhile, we should also accept a variety of opinions and show firm resolution to the expression we love. I hope to share encouragement with you!

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　　BJIFF Beijing Film Market Department