“Barbarian Invasion” director Tan Chi Mui from Malaysia scored a top result from the SIFF Project Market. The market is a component event of the Shanghai International Film Festival, which wrapped up over the weekend.
Tan’s “All About Yuyu” was named as the “recommended project for creativity” at the project market’s closing event. The project, which is already being structured as a Malaysia-China coproduction, is a story that combines contemporary wuxia (heroic martial arts) with youth elements. “I want to make a modern wuxia film to recapture the magical feeling I had when watching films during my childhood,” she told local media.
Tan is a repeat visitor to Shanghai. She was previously a jury member for the Asian New Talent Award at the festival and saw “Barbarian Invasion” pick up the Grand Jury Prize at the festival’s 24th edition.
Other top prizes from the project market jury, which was headed by filmmaker Wuershan, included: “Gods Are Watching” as a recommended work in progress; “Floating Cloud, Lone Crane,” as recommended new talent project; and “Two Time Zones,” which received a special mention.
The project market showcased 33 projects in total, including 8 “New talent projects, 2 co-production projects, 13 pre-production ventures and ten works in progress. During the event, a total of 643 one-on-one negotiations were conducted, organizers said.
The project market in Shanghai was set up in 2007 and has a track record of 87 projects that have been completed as feature movies. Som 72 of these have appeared at local and international film festivals and 63 have had commercial releases of some kind.
“Absence,” which was appeared in the project market in 2019 and picked up the jury’s special recommendation was this year set as the opening film of the Belt and Road Film Week. Similarly, previous project market participant “One and Four” screened in both the Chinese Art Cinema and Refreshing Chinese Cinema sections.
2023 SIFF PROJECT MARKET WINNERS
Recommended WIP
“Gods Are Watching”
Recommended New Talent Project
“Floating Cloud, Lone Crane”
Recommended Project for Creativity
“All About Yuyu”
Special Recommended Project by Jury
“Two Time Zones”
Image Forestt Post-Production’s Choice
“Reflections in the Lake”
Mofei Pictures (New Voice) Post-Production’s Choice
“She Sat There Like All Ordinary Ones”
Phenom Films Post-Production’s Choice
“Untamed”
Dirty Monkey 72 Transformations Film Project
Post-Production’s Choice
“Fiery Eyes, Cold Embrace”
Baination Post-Production’s Choice
“The Embers”
Aimmedia Pictures Post-Production’s Choice
“The Front Tooth”
Wanda Media’s Elite+ Project Post-Production’s Choice
“Fiery Eyes, Cold Embrace”
Alibaba Pictures Post-Production’s Choice (three prizes)
“The Fresh Girl”
“A Story Untold”
“Fiery Eyes, Cold Embrace”