On April 20th, the 2024 Maritime Guangdong Young Director Support Program (referred to as the Maritime Guangdong), organized by the Yangcheng Evening News Group, officially commenced its registration process, inviting aspiring young directors to participate.

The Maritime Guangdong is a large-scale talent support initiative committed to discovering, incubating, selecting, and nurturing outstanding young Chinese filmmakers both domestically and internationally. Anchored in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA), it seeks emerging talents in the global visual creation field, offering support for various types of short film creations, including drama, documentary, animation, and more. By breaking new ground and fostering creativity, this program aims to expand the imagination of future Chinese-language visual culture, providing a lens through which the world can rediscover China with the power of film.

In 2024, Maritime Guangdong will embrace "Backflow" as the theme for the recruitment of short film creators. It encourages the new generation of filmmakers to spotlight contemporary towns within the GBA as visual focal points, thus upholding the legacy of Chinese-language filmmaking while ingeniously narrating tales that resonate with Chinese, the GBA, and Guangdong narratives.

In the context of globalization, local cultural landscapes have always been an important aesthetic perspective in film expression.

Small towns, positioned between the dichotomy of urban and rural areas, have played a symbolic role in the global recognition of Chinese cinema. Films like Hou Hsiao-hsien's "The Boys from Fengkuei," Jia Zhangke's "Xiao Wu," and Pema Tseden's "Tharlo", each portray the lives of young individuals in towns amidst the currents of modernization across diverse regional landscapes. Works such as Yim Ho's "Homecoming" and Zhang Ming's "Rain Clouds over Wushan" utilize the town as a distinct backdrop, showcasing the unique local customs and culture. In recent years cinematic endeavors like Bi Gan's "Kaili Blues," Diao Yinan's "The Wild Goose Lake," and Chen Xiaoyu's "Gone with the Boat," the town transcends its mere physicality to become a space between reality and imagination. These films delve into the depths of self-awareness, transforming the small town into a realm ripe for exploration and introspection.

As China's urbanization progresses, the role of towns as transitional spaces between urban centers and rural areas has diminished. This shift underscores the importance of reevaluating towns as distinct cultural entities in their own right. For emerging filmmakers, the essence of towns transcends mere scenery or nostalgic sentimentality; it encapsulates the complex transformation of social change and cultural consciousness.

In 2024, Maritime Guangdong embraces "Backflow" as its theme for this year's short film creation recruitment. The program aims to inspire young filmmakers to not only uphold the tradition of Chinese-language filmmaking but also to spotlight the contemporary essence of town life, reshaping the cultural landscape of these towns. By using Chinese towns as new cinematic landmarks, Chinese films can achieve a more diverse and localized expression on the global stage.

Debut success: Inaugural program garners remarkable fruits

In 2023, the debut of Maritime Guangdong generated remarkable interest within the film industry, drawing in a diverse array of applicants. Following meticulous rounds of selection and evaluation, creative funding was awarded to eleven outstanding young directors. These talents embarked on the production of ten short films, each delving into themes rooted in Lingnan culture and narratives surrounding overseas Chinese experiences. Remarkably, the average age of these directors stood at 26, with the youngest being a mere 20 years old.

Following the completion of these ten short films, the Yangcheng Evening News leveraged its extensive influence as a leading newspaper of Lingnan culture and its established presence among overseas Chinese communities, to actively promote the international dissemination of the Maritime Guangdong short films. In 2023, to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Malaysia, the Yangcheng Evening News orchestrated the "Maritime Guangdong Film Festival" series of events in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Over the course of three days, the screening of the Maritime Guangdong shorts captivated full houses and animated crowds. 

Currently, the submission of the ten short films from the 2023 Maritime Guangdong Program to various film festivals and awards is underway. Notably, Huang Wenli's "How Can I Rid My Mind of Her" has secured a spot in the prestigious Moscow International Film Festival. Paco Wen's "Reunited" has earned recognition at both the Chongqing Youth Film Festival and the Shanghai International Short Week. Additionally, "The Returning Island" won the Best Drama Short Film at the China Student Television Festival, while its director Zhuang Canjie was also honored with the Best Director Award at the Asia Chinese Film Festival.

Robust support: Comprehensive measures expand the reach of the program

Building upon the triumph of its predecessor, the 2024 Maritime Guangdong Program has enlisted esteemed industry figures—directors, producers, screenwriters, and cultural scholars—to assume roles as judges and mentors, ensuring a meticulous and professional approach to the selection and nurturing of young talent.

This year's program introduces a two-stage evaluation process: the preliminary review and the final assessment. The top 20 directors from the preliminary round will be invited to participate in the Maritime Guangdong short film training camp, receiving comprehensive guidance from mentors in scriptwriting, cinematography, editing, and more. Following the camp, directors will face a rigorous final assessment, with the top 10 ultimately securing funding ranging from 50,000 to 200,000 yuan provided by the Yangcheng Evening News Group for the production of their thematic short films.

Source :Yangcheng Evening News

重磅官宣！2024山海计划报名开启

4月20日，由羊城晚报报业集团主办的2024“向山海走去”青年导演创作扶持计划（简称山海计划）正式开启报名。

作为一项致力于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，山海计划立足粤港澳大湾区，面向全球寻找影像创作领域的新锐力量，支持他们探索剧情、纪录、动画等不同类型的短片创作，突破和展开对未来华语影像文化的想象之路，也让世界通过影像重新发现中国。

2024年，山海计划将以“回到小镇”作为新一年的短片创作征募主题，鼓励新生代创作者以大湾区的当代小镇作为影像地标，接续华语电影创作传统，创新讲述中国故事、大湾区故事、广东故事。

以“回到小镇”为题，擘画新时代的小镇风景

在全球化语境中，地方性的文化风景一直是电影表达的重要美学视角。

介乎城乡二元形态之间的小镇，曾是华语电影走向世界的文化符号。侯孝贤的《风柜来的人》、贾樟柯的《小武》、万玛才旦的《塔洛》各自刻画了身处不同地域背景、却同在现代化浪潮中浮沉的小镇青年肖像。而在严浩的《似水流年》、章明的《巫山云雨》中，小镇作为故事发生的特定场域，展示出当地别具特色的风土人情。近年来，在毕赣《路边野餐》、刁亦男《南方车站的聚会》、陈小雨《乘船而去》中，小镇不再是纯粹的现实空间，而成为一处串联虚实之境、承载自我意识探索的思想飞地。

随着中国城市化进程的变迁，小镇连接城市与农村的“驿站”功能逐渐弱化，作为独立文化实体的小镇值得被重新发现。对新生代电影创作者而言，小镇之独特，不囿于其唤起的风景想象或恋地情结，更在于其折射的社会转型和文化自觉等命题。

2024年，山海计划以“回到小镇”作为新一年的短片创作征募主题，希冀年轻的电影人在接续华语电影创作传统的同时，关切贴近当下的小镇生活，重塑小镇的文化景观，并以中国小镇作为新的影像地标，让华语电影面向世界的表达拥有更加多元和在地的呈现。

首届一鸣惊人，揽获累累硕果

2023年，首届山海计划一经推出，便在业界激起巨大反响，报名者云集。经过层层选拔和评审，最终11位优秀青年导演获得创作金支持，拍摄了10部以岭南文化和华侨华人故事为主题的短片。他们的平均年龄为26岁，年龄最小的仅20岁。

10部短片摄制完成后，羊城晚报发挥岭南文化大报和在海外华侨华人中长久积累的广泛影响力，积极推动山海短片“走出去”。2023年是中马建立全面战略伙伴关系10周年，羊城晚报在马来西亚吉隆坡举办“山海展映·惊喜吉隆坡”系列活动，连续三天放映展示山海短片，场场爆满，热闹纷呈。

眼下，2023山海计划10部短片的电影节和奖项的申报工作仍在进行中，截至目前，黄文礼导演的《海水泡的茶是什么味道》入围莫斯科国际电影节；温柏高导演的《锦鲤，锦鲤》入选重庆青年电影周、上海国际短片周；《珊瑚她在等》获得中国大学生电视节最佳剧情短片，导演庄灿杰获得亚洲华语电影节最佳导演奖。

扶持举措更立体，山海展映走更远

承袭上一届的成功经验，2024山海计划将广邀业内知名导演、制片人、编剧、文化学者等担任评委和导师，以更加严苛的标准完成青年导演的选拔和训练。

据悉，今年的活动评审包括初审和复审两个阶段，入围初审的20强导演均有机会参与山海短片训练营，获得导师们对编剧、摄影、剪辑等多维度的指导。训练营结束后，青年导演们将迎来更加激烈的复审环节，最终入选的10位导演将获得羊城晚报报业集团提供的5万～20万元不等的扶持资金，用于主题短片的拍摄和制作。

文丨记者 艾修煜
译 | 麦芯羽