Wu Tianming is gone, and his ＂sheep raising plan＂ is still making new blood for the film.
Special feature of 1905 film network Unconsciously, it has been two years since Director Wu Tianming left us. He has a far-reaching influence on China’s films. Apart from the fifth and sixth generation directors, a group of young filmmakers are growing up under his shadow — — In the third month after Wu Tianming’s death, his daughter Wu Yanyan participated in the establishment of the "Wu Tianming Youth Film Special Fund" to support young directors, screenwriters and producers. This plan was called "Sheep Raising Plan" by Yan Xiaoming.
During the 69th Cannes Film Festival, the young people planned by the producers of the Wu Tianming Youth Film Special Fund got a preliminary understanding of the methods and channels of overseas financing and distribution by attending the Cannes Film Workshop and talking with filmmakers from six major international film festivals. Through the dialogue with them, we can also spy out the different demands and methods of financing and distribution of different types of films overseas.
Producer Shan Zuolong of The Last Night on Earth
Shan Zuolong began to make documentaries in 2008, and later became a film curator. In 2015, he officially became a producer. The Last Night on Earth is a new work by young director Bi Gan, who won the Golden Horse Award for Best New Director for his debut.
1905 Movie Network: Is this trip to Cannes mainly about finding a co-production?
Shan Zuolong: Yes, in fact, we are not short of mainland capital. The most important problem lies in the capital structure. I think it is more suitable for the European market for such a project. In fact, it is a project for overseas markets. Under this premise, I think it is a very good choice to co-produce with Europe. At present, it may be a Sino-French co-production or a Dutch co-production.
1905 Movie Network: As a young producer, what do you think of Fang Li’s kneeling down to arrange films?
Shan Zuolong: Laos has kneeled more than 10 million yuan at the box office, which is very difficult. In fact, my team and I have always had a close relationship with Laos. When we were doing a film festival in Hangzhou, he supported us, that is, when I was most short of money in the middle of the night, I called him, and he gave me money in the early morning. I think he is a very, very brave and rich film businessman. We used to save a Zhoushan film festival. When we were in Hangzhou, we met with their Zhoushan leaders. At that time, I found that he could not stand still.
Sonam Renqingjia, producer of Ram and Gabe
Sonam Renqingjia worked as a boarding primary school teacher in Tibetan areas, and then as a teacher in Lhasa. Later, touched by director Sonthar Gyal, he quit his beloved teacher’s job and went to Beijing to become a filmmaker. Ram and Gabe is a new work directed by Sonthar Gyal.
1905 Movie Network: As a part of China movies, what are the characteristics of Tibetan movies?
Sonam Renqingjia: Tibet has a label in many people’s minds. Tibet must be mysterious or close to God. But when we really get in touch, you can see that I am a human being, but we live in a relatively high place, but I speak Tibetan, and everything else is the same. Therefore, after Pema Tseden and Sonthar Gyal make movies, they will definitely let many people know that Tibet is not a mysterious name. I think this is the most important thing, not to create a mysterious movie for mysterious labels.
1905 Movie Network: But the current situation is that most Tibetan films are literary films, and the business road is long.
Sonam Renqingjia: I can only say that it depends on the situation. If you just dig up scripts that look for commercial elements, you can do it completely. But when it comes to real operation, I think there are many practical problems. The first is of course the problem of funds, and the second is that there is not enough experience.
1905 Movie Network: How about finding a co-production of Tibetan movies?
Sonam Renqingjia: Actually, it is a little difficult for us to find a co-production, and it is not for this purpose. Actually, it’s more about finding future distributors, because our film and the first two films have received good response abroad, and we have greater confidence in this script. Let’s meet some more distributors now.
Xiao Gancao, producer of Blizzard Coming.
Blizzard is coming is the most mature of the five promotion projects. Behind the producer Xiao Gancao is the century-old film company that has launched such films. During Cannes, Blizzard Coming also launched its first poster.
1905 Movie Network: How did you feel about attending the Cannes Workshop?
Xiao Gancao: There is simultaneous interpretation in Chinese and English at the workshop site. As far as I know, the treatment of simultaneous interpretation is not much, and China should be one of the few. There are three or four hundred filmmakers on the scene, including directors, screenwriters and novelists, as well as people from distribution companies and publicity companies. I have heard at least 40 people, and said bluntly that we want to find a co-producer and partner in China. So even if there are no China films in the competition unit of Cannes Film Festival this year, you can still feel the influence of China filmmakers and China film capital on this film festival and the attraction of China to filmmakers all over the world.
1905 Movie Network: Why is the synopsis of Blizzard Coming similar?
Xiao Gancao: "Fireworks in the daytime" was the first film I participated in, so that film influenced a lot of my film views and attitudes. In the critical circle, some people say that Fireworks in the Day is the inheritance of western film noir, and the so-called similarity may actually be a sense of inheritance.
Wang Jijie, producer of "When Rijun Comes Again"
Wang Jijie, who was born in engineering, ran all the way to the engineer. He chose to study film industry after his undergraduate course and became a producer of cinema films after graduation. Now, "When will you come again" has been successfully finished, and Wang Jijie hopes to send this film to the film festival.
1905 Movie Network: Is "When will you come again" an artistic orientation?
Wang Jijie: Yes, our positioning is very simple and direct. It is a literary film, and our goal is a film festival. Maybe the A-class film festival competition unit won’t work. Anyway, we will do our best to do public relations and shoot the film well to attend the film festival.
1905 Movie Network: You just said that you hope the film will be on the domestic cinema, but it doesn’t seem optimistic as far as the current situation is concerned.
Wang Jijie: I know it is difficult, but I am a person in the system. My company is a state-owned enterprise, and all procedures and actions follow the standard process. From another latitude, although our investment is very small, only 2 million, but I and the director, especially I must be responsible for this 2 million investment, in addition, I also want to let more China audiences see it.
Deng sheng, producer of "the blind"
Deng Sheng used to be a lawyer in property rights, and later he was involved in the production of blockbuster movies. Now, as a independent filmmakers, he is holding a new project "No Watch" adapted from comics, and the target audience is young people in China.
1905 Movie Network: What is the main purpose of attending Cannes Workshop?
Deng Sheng: I think that to make a good film in China today, we need a lot of international cooperation, not only financial cooperation, but also cooperation at the creative level, story level and distribution level. So I think there are still many things we can learn from our foreign counterparts in this respect, including how to promote our own films and how to make use of film festivals. These are all some homework we need to do.
1905 Movie Network: Are there any related gains after participating?
Deng Sheng: Yes, let me give you an example. For example, when I attended a party two days ago, I received a gift, which was a condom. Later, I looked at that thing carefully and found that they printed the movie poster on it, and clearly printed on it all the time when they were in Cannes, which screening hall they were in. That is, filmmakers all over the world are trying their best to sell their works to publishers and audiences here. So I think this is something we need to learn.