When Li Ziwei first heard about the opening plan of the FIRST International Film Festival, she was taking the Mandarin Proficiency Test at the Communication University of China in Beijing.
That was 18 years ago, and as Li said, China’s film landscape is still completely dominated by major film and television studios. But changes are happening. Technology increasingly enables students to realize their lofty dreams, first with digital video cameras (DV) and later with smartphones, making filmmaking within reach.
Before the concept of FIRST was formed, Song Wen, the founder of FIRST, first launched the Student DV Film Festival in Beijing. In the 18 years since its inception, the festival has occupied a place in the Chinese film industry, becoming a place where “next generation” talents receive attention for the first time.
Lee served as the festival’s executive director with Song. The festival helped launch the careers of Wen Muye, among others, whose work first appeared in FIRST’s shorts section before his breakthrough black comedy 2018 die for survivalwhich took in a cool $453 million from China.
As this year’s event kicks off on July 20, news comes from the host city of Xining, a bright spot in central China, that another alumnus, emerging director Jiang Xiaoxuan, will make his feature film debut Kill the Mongolian horse After debuting in the FIRST developing market last year, it appeared in the Giornate degli Autori sidebar in Venice.
“At FIRST, we are steadfast in ensuring that every idea has a chance to be seen or heard, no matter how cumbersome the process is,” said Li.
Can you share the story of how your holiday idea first came about?
As China’s box office revenue climbs during the holiday season, the industry’s call for professional film festivals is getting louder. We identified this need and transformed the festival from a student-only event into a city-wide celebration. This expansion allows us to support early-stage creators and reach a wider audience. Our goal is to identify issues, discover trends, solve problems and present emerging trends in the industry.
As an important hub for talent exchange in the industry, the film festival must be forward-looking and exploratory. What do filmmakers need? What is the market looking for?
In a rapidly evolving industry, new opportunities and challenges are constantly emerging. Attention must be drawn to obscure, unconventional or imperfect works to ensure they receive the recognition they deserve. Only with practical actions can we defend our views, and only with perseverance can we achieve our goals.
In what ways do you think the festival has evolved over the years?
For 14 years, FIRST has been deeply rooted in Xining, and the unique characteristics of this city have greatly shaped the image of the festival. Xining is located at the gateway to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Its vast scenery and uninhibited vitality endow FIRST with a wild, free and unrestrained spirit. As one of the most culturally diverse cities in China, Xining’s inclusive and equal attitude towards different cultures has profoundly affected us.
We often select female directors and actors with important international influence as chief jury members of the main competition unit. For example, Sylvia Chang serves as the chairperson of the 13th FIRST International Film Festival, and Zhang Ziyi and Chen Chong serve as chairmen of the 16th and 17th FIRST International Film Festival respectively.
The competition component every year provides a platform for rising stars from the Greater Chinese-speaking region. The shortlisted films have made unique explorations in genre and aesthetics, leading the direction of avant-garde filmmaking.
Well-curated sections such as Berlin Focus and Starting Point Masters showcase an international perspective. In addition, we are re-examining and rediscovering the history of Chinese cinema through the works of fourth-generation directors.
Given current genre-specific trends, we urge creators to break free from the curse of homogeneity. Through funding forums, camps, labs and short film projects, we seek new themes, styles and expressions within existing genres. After all, quality content is the essence of movies.
What role does it play now in contemporary Chinese cinema?
For young filmmakers, FIRST is a debut platform, a stage for competition, and a center for experimentation and youth film culture. It selects and promotes adventurers, enthusiasts and mavericks through competitions. This film festival carries the memories and glory of the film journey. To me, FIRST is the fire truck. It could be a piece of firewood or even two pieces of scrap paper. It may not be the best fuel, but it keeps the fire alive. Its flame may flicker, but it reignites countless times. I will do whatever it takes to make sure it continues to burn.
What has been a personal highlight for you in 18 years of participating in the festival?
Adapt to changes, understand rules, and update appropriately.
Volunteering here has almost become a must for young Chinese film lovers – what attracts them to Xining?
Top youth films, young creators and carefully curated content, dedicated to discovering debut films and connecting youth, youth culture, mountain culture and wild spirits.
Looking to the future, what do you see as the main challenges facing film festivals?
Embrace uncertainty, continually generate ideas and engage in interdisciplinary research. As a fully market-run festival, managing the company remains challenging. This includes balancing talent and establishing effective management. Given that 95% of attendees are non-local, enhancing the cultural experience of the festival will be a focus over the next three years.
In my reflection, I discovered that our fear of failure makes us instinctively unwilling to try new things. Therefore, we see problems in new ideas first, rather than opportunities. We cannot achieve meaningful innovation in a society that is ashamed to talk about failure, is afraid of failure, rejects failure and only appreciates success. If we want to be an innovative country and society, we must redefine, rediscuss, and reunderstand failure. We need to think of this as a catalyst to reboot our creative thinking. Because pessimists are always right and optimists keep moving forward.
