FIRST Film Festival Founder Song Wen Comments On Creating China’s Top Platform For Young Talent
song wen - FIRST International Film Festival
In the city of Xining, the FIRST International Film Festival (FIFF) has carved out a reputation that regularly earns it comparisons to Sundance — it is China’s preeminent indie event, where exciting new cinematic talent is most likely to be discovered. This year’s festival, running July 23-31, features a selection of 98 films, including 27 features and 71 shorts — many of them made by first or second-time directors. Former financier-turned-producer, writer, and director, Song Wen, co-founded FIFF in 2006 and has shepherded the event through 17 years of tumultuous growth and change in the Chinese industry.
Along the way, he and the festival have nurtured the careers of some of China’s most distinctive new cinematic voices, including Wen Muye (Dying to Survive), Xin Yukun (The Coffin in the Mountain), Zhang Dalei (The Summer is Gone), Shao Yihui (B for Busy), Teng Congcong (Send Me to the Clouds) and the late, great Hu Bo (Elephant Sitting Still), among many others. Ahead of FIFF, Wen has sat down for interviews regarding this year’s program, his industry’s post-pandemic recovery, and why Chinese filmgoers appear to have fallen out of love with Hollywood lately.
Wen has spoken of the trends typically found at FIFF. He believes “the boundary between fictional and non-fictional filmmaking is becoming increasingly blurred — whether it’s narrative films that bring reality up close or documentary films that authentically present a filmmaker’s point of view on their world.” Wen sees many of the films in FIFF’s selection challenging these boundaries. Wen also comments on how filmmaking has become cheaper and more accessible in China because of all the recent technological advances. Thanks to these innovations, he believes many talented people without professional training or backgrounds are finding their way into filmmaking. Wen has said, “It’s a further decentralization of the filmmaking process, which has allowed for a lot of interesting experimentation that we see in the program. Young directors can now experiment with genres like sci-fi or thrillers through much more cost-effective means to reflect on their own experiences and auteurist visions.”
Wen sees FIFF as an irreplaceable melting pot for new young filmmaking talent in China that provides new encounters, a chance to build relationships, exchange ideas about movies, and get training. From a practical perspective, Wen believes things have been going well for the Chinese film industry for the past few years. However, he also recognizes the challenges, adding, “Our filmmakers’ and film festivals’ communication with the international industry is still making slow steps back to normal. Although everyone is trying their best, this will take some more time.” Another problem Wen brings to light obstructs many movie theaters worldwide. During the pandemic, young people became even more engaged on their smartphones and tablets at home, so getting them back into the habit of going to the cinema is challenging. He stated, “There are many new forms of entertainment that young people find very appealing, and this remains a competitive challenge.”
Adding to his thoughts on the American film industry, Wen comments, “Hollywood films, more and more, choose to tell stories in an episodic way, with many sequels. Or, they’re trying to continue the legacy of a piece of IP by creating many stories based on it, in a similar way.” Elaborating further, Wen believes most of the audience in China feel that they’re seeing the same stories and characters repeatedly. He attributes the decline of the film industry to young people having multiple options for entertainment available to them, adding, “If your film isn’t offering something that they think is new or exciting, they won’t come out to the cinema. They can stay in their bedroom and play video games or watch TikTok videos and have a great time.”
For potential newcomers to FIFF, Wen advises to come with an open mind toward all the young filmmakers. “Maybe they have made some mistakes with their film in terms of technique, but what’s more important is to recognize vision and potential — to help them develop their talent to become the next great auteur of the future. Film art is a road that we’re all on together that keeps winding, so let’s not be conservative.” Wen believes FIFF is a place for open minds and new communication.