The 2023 Maritime Guangdong Young Director Support Program (shortly referred to as the "2023 Maritime Guangdong Program") announced The finalist directors for The themed short film competition on July 18. 

The shortlist is as follows: Su Zelang with "Migratory Bird"; Deng Lianghong with "Swimming Lesson"; Huang Wenli with "How Can I Rid My Mind of Her"; Yang Zhelin with "My Brother"; Chen Jianhang with "The River that Holds My Hand"; and Zhuang Canjie with "The Returning Island". The magnificent six emerged as the final six young directors, each securing 200,000 yuan for creativity support. In addition to the six, four participants also received special recommendations from The organizing committee and won funds for creativity support ranging from 70,000 to 120,000 yuan. They are Chen Jiacao with "The Puppetmaster" Wen Baigao with "Reunited", Chen Xiaolu with "Fantasy Blues of ＇Gua Ling＇" and Deng Huizhi and Zhang Yuan with "Bring Him Back". 

Ten young directors will use visual language to capture humanistic stories of Lingnan culture and the overseas Chinese culture in various regions within the Greater Bay Area. After The completion of These ten short films, the Yangcheng Evening News, in collaboration with partners from the global, will host a series of enriching screening events to create an international platform for the young directors and their works.

The "2023 Maritime Guangdong Program" is a large-scale talent support initiative, which is initiated by The Yangcheng Evening News to discover, nurture, select, and cultivate outstanding young Chinese filmmakers from both domestic and overseas backgrounds. Through the form of themed short film competition, the program aims to identify young filmmakers with unique insights into Lingnan culture and the overseas Chinese culture and support young directors to create short films focusing on Lingnan culture and overseas Chinese stories in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. 

In April of this year, the recruitment was officially commenced and attracted widespread attention both domestically and internationally. In early June, the program received a large pool of applicants and selected the top 24 candidates from numerous applicants in the first round of selection. In late June, a director's proposal meeting was held for the top 24 contenders. Following the careful evaluation with the 24 preliminary finalists, the six finalists have eventually selected for the "2023 Maritime Guangdong Program". Additionally, four "Special recommendation" outside of the six finalists were announced by the organizing committee, which aims to provide more opportunities for young directors with potential to realize their dreams and encourage young individuals to explore different facets of Lingnan culture through the medium of film. It is worth mentioning that the average age of the ten young directors is only 26, with the youngest among them being just 20 years old.

According to the organizers, the six finalists of the "2023 Maritime Guangdong Program" share several common characteristics. Firstly, all of them were born in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area such as Shenzhen, Chaozhou, Shantou, Zhanjiang, Qingyuan, and Hong Kong. In addition, each of them has received an education abroad, which helps them in capturing Lingnan themes due to their geographical and cultural proximity. Also, coupled with their personal experiences abroad, they can explore broader cultural motifs such as mobility, migration, and roots-seeking of Chinese people in their creative work. Moreover, the professional training in film and television-related industry, as well as their international experience in film festivals and exhibitions, contribute to their impressive skills and creative insights into the cultural literacy and international vision in creation concepts and scripts.

The next step is to provide funds support for the six finalists to complete their themed short films under the guidance of the mentor jury. Once their works are finished, the Yangcheng Evening News, in collaboration with their partners in the GBA and abroad, will embark on a global tour for the screening and cultural communication for these young directors and their works, aiming to provide a platform to reach their"first batch of audience" both domestically and overseas.

According to the organizers, the inaugural screening event of the "2023 Maritime Guangdong Program" will take place in Malaysia. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Malaysia, and next year will commemorate the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries. The "2023 Maritime Guangdong Program" aims to leverage the power of Lingnan stories to connect people and cultures and showcase a multi-dimensional China through short films. Additionally, through a diverse range of screening activities, it seeks to create more opportunities for in-depth communication and collaboration between film and television creators from both countries.

“山海计划”终审入选导演亮相：生自湾区，放眼国际

历经近三个月的征募和选拔，7月20日，由羊城晚报报业集团主办的2023“向山海走去”青年导演创作扶持计划（以下简称“山海计划”）正式公布主题短片创作赛道的终审入选导演及项目名单。

苏泽朗（《家庭旅行》）、邓亮宏（《游泳课》）、黄文礼（《海水泡的茶是什么味道》）、杨哲霖（《远洋》）、陈坚杭（《 The River that Holds My Hand》）、庄灿杰（《珊瑚她在等》）6位青年导演最终胜出，分别获得20万元创作扶持金。

此外，陈家操（《中状元》）、温柏高（《锦鲤，锦鲤》）、陈晓璐（《梦幻“瓜岭”布鲁斯》）、邓惠芝/张元（《马仔梦露》）获导师评审团特别推荐，赢得7万元至12万元不等的创作扶持金。

从大湾区不同的地域出发，10位青年导演将用影像语言为我们讲述具有强烈人文色彩的岭南山海故事。10部短片作品完成后，羊城晚报还将携手海内外合作伙伴举办丰富的展映活动，为青年导演及其作品打造放映和交流的国际舞台！

“山海计划”是由羊城晚报报业集团主办的对海内外优秀华人青年导演进行挖掘、孵化、选拔和培养的大型人才扶持活动。本届活动以主题短片创作征募的形式，寻找对岭南文化和粤港澳大湾区侨乡文化有独到见地的青年电影人才，扶持以岭南文化和华侨华人故事为主题的短片创作。

今年4月，活动正式开启征募，受到海内外广泛关注。6月初，“山海计划”从众多报名者中，首轮遴选出24强。6月下旬，24强导演提案会举行，评审团最终评选出“山海计划”6强名单。令人惊喜的是，评审团经过讨论，一致同意在6强名单外增设4个“特别推荐”名额，以期让更多有潜力的青年导演得到实现梦想的机会，并鼓励青年人尝试用影像探索岭南文化的不同面向。

据活动组委会介绍，“山海计划”终审入选的青年导演有诸多共同点。他们出生或居住在粤港澳大湾区，籍贯分布在深圳、潮州、汕头、湛江、清远以及香港等地。10位青年导演均有在外求学的经历，这使得他们在创作“山海计划”主题短片的剧本时，既能凭借地理与文化上的亲近感对岭南题材手到擒来，又能基于曾经“走出去”的个人生活体验，在创作中触及中国人流动、移民、寻根等更为宏大的文化母题。加上10位导演都受过海内外高校影视相关专业的训练，且是国内外各大电影节或影展的常客，其剧本及创作理念呈现出的人文素养和国际视野，在提案阶段便令活动组委会和导师评审团备感惊喜。

值得一提的是，10位青年导演平均年龄仅26岁，其中最年轻的只有20岁。接下来，他们将获得“山海计划”创作扶持金，并在导师评审团的指导和帮助下完成主题短片创作。作品完成后，羊城晚报将携手粤港澳大湾区及海外合作伙伴，为青年导演们打造放映和交流的巡回舞台，助力他们在海内外传播中收获自己的“第一批观众”。

活动组委会透露，“山海计划”海内外展映首场活动将落地马来西亚。今年是中马全面战略伙伴关系建立10周年，明年两国将迎来建交50周年。“山海计划”将充分发挥岭南故事连通两国人缘、文化的优势，用电影短片展现真实、立体的中国，同时也借助丰富多彩的展映活动，为两国影视创作者的深度交流和合作创造更多可能性。

文丨羊城晚报全媒体记者 李丽
翻译丨陈萱
责编丨古司祺
校对丨朱艾婷