After several stages of selection and refinement, including initial recruitment, training camp, concept short film creation, and final proposal review, the top ten young directors and projects of the "2024 Maritime Guangdong Young Director Support Program" (referred to as the Maritime Guangdong Program) have been announced. The finalists are: Bu Jingwei with "A Strange Bird", Bi Shanyi with "The Rain Will Fall, The Pig Will Sink", Chen Jiaxiang with "Echoes of the Long Day", Chen Zhilin with "Sudden Rain", Dai Xiaolu with "Nature Town", Hu Qiao with "Player No Need", Mi Ma & Zheng Miaoxin with "Coming Home", Wang Pengwei & Jin Tian with "Migration", Zhang Di with "Hi, Marilyn" and Zhang Yichuan with "Oblivion". 

The theme for the 2024 Maritime Guangdong Program is "Back to the Town." Towns have long been a cultural symbol in Chinese cinema. The Maritime Guangdong Program aims to encourage new-generation creators to continue the tradition of Chinese filmmaking, explore contemporary town life, and reshape the cultural landscape of towns. By making Chinese towns new cinematic landmarks, the program seeks to present a more diverse and localized expression of Chinese cinema to the world. Over 500 young Chinese filmmakers from around the world submitted project proposals and scripts during the two-month application period, making the competition fierce.

Ban Yu , an annual mentor and writer of the 2024 Maritime Guangdong Program, expressed his delight in seeing the new generation of directors use contemporary language to reinterpret the concept of "the town." Wang Xiaolu is an annual mentor, film scholar, and critic of the 2024 Maritime Guangdong Program. Having lived in Guangzhou for many years, he appreciates the evolving perspectives of young directors in discovering and expressing the concept of "the town." This change in vision gives him great confidence in the rise of the new generation of creators. Yang Lina, annual mentor, director, and screenwriter of the 2024 Maritime Guangdong Program, encourages directors to step out of their comfort zones and break the boundaries of creativity. She also shares heartfelt words with those who were not selected: "Don't be disheartened. Not being chosen doesn't mean you are not a good director. In the future, you might become one of the most significant directors."

The top ten directors will receive over two million yuan in cash and non-cash support, provided by the event organizer Yangcheng Evening News Group, in partnership with the Publicity Department of the CPC Yantian District Committee of Shenzhen , Aputure , DEITY, Count to Ten Studio , directube , and the Guangzhou Film Industry Support Fund . To encourage young creators, the Maritime Guangdong Program Committee has set up three "Golden Sheep Awards ," each granting 30,000 yuan to the best films. To encourage the participation of female creators, the Committee has established six honorary awards for young female filmmakers. Each of these six outstanding female creators will receive a prize of 5,000 yuan.

In August, the ten directors (or groups) will travel to Guangdong to start filming. The ten town stories will be transformed from scripts into films, with the short films expected to be released as early as October 2024.

Comments from the annual mentors:

Faced with the theme of "Back to the Town," the young directors of the Maritime Guangdong Program have placed their emotions in a "town" that transcends physical space. They use contemporary language to deconstruct what a "town" is, what it represents in our memories, and what it may become in the future. I can sense the shared memories and emotions, and I am deeply moved by their creativity and expression.

——Bai Yu, annual mentor, and writer of the 2024 Maritime Guangdong Program

Having lived in Guangzhou for several years, I am familiar with Lingnan culture. Thanks to the Maritime Guangdong Program, I have gained insight into the cultural changes of this land through the theme of "Back to the Town." I have also observed the shift in perspective among young directors when expressing Guangdong and Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. These changes fill me with confidence in the rise of the young generation of directors.

——Wang Xiaolu, annual mentor, film scholar, and critic of the 2024 Maritime Guangdong Program

Despite the thematic constraints of this creation, I am still inspired by the directors' creativity. Their emotions towards individuals, history, and society are magnified in their works, presenting numerous possibilities for expression. Many of these works could be developed into feature films. I hope they step out of their comfort zones and further expand their creative boundaries. Their passion and selfless dedication to filmmaking bring back memories for me. Making movies is often about working for little or no reward and we even get addicted to it. But when we were young, we were all doing that! I also want to tell the directors who didn't make it to the top ten not to be discouraged. Not being chosen doesn't mean you are not a good director. In the future, you might become one of the most significant directors."

——Yang Lina, annual mentor, director, and screenwriter of the 2024 Maritime Guangdong Program

Source :Yangcheng Evening News

《回到小镇｜2024山海计划10强诞生》

经过征募初审、训练营集训、概念短片创作、复审提案等多个阶段的选拔和锤炼，2024 “向山海走去”青年导演创作扶持计划（简称山海计划）10强青年导演及项目正式诞生，分别是步京委《鹈鹕出走之后》、闭善益《落水天，沉落去》、陈嘉祥《长日留痕》、陈志霖《骤雨》、戴晓璐《雀尾》、胡峤《3门》、宓马&郑淼鑫《梦游》、王鹏为&金添《鱼美人》、张迪《你好，马莉莉》、张艺川《炉底糍就是华夫饼》。

今年山海计划的创作主题是“回到小镇”。小镇一直是华语电影走向世界的文化符号之一，山海计划旨在鼓励新生代创作者接续华语电影创作传统，关切贴近当下的小镇生活，重塑小镇文化景观，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。两个月的报名期内，超过500名来自海内外的华语青年电影人投递了项目书和剧本，竞争十分激烈。

山海计划年度导师、作家班宇表示，很欣喜看到新一代导演用今天的语法重新解构“小镇”。年度导师、电影学者、评论家王小鲁曾经在广州生活过多年，他感慨于青年导演在发现和表达“小镇”时的视野变迁，令他对青年创作群体的崛起充满信心。年度导师、导演、编剧杨荔钠则鼓励导演们走出舒适区，勇于打破创作边界。她还深情寄语未入选的导演：“不要失望，你没被选上并不意味着你不是好导演，未来，你可能是最重要的导演。”

10强导演将分享由主办方羊城晚报报业集团，合作伙伴深圳市盐田区委宣传部、爱图仕、谛听DEITY、数到十设计、导筒，以及广州市电影产业专项扶持经费资助的总价值超200万元的现金和非现金支持。为鼓励年轻创作者锐意进取，山海计划组委会专门设置了3个“金羊奖”荣誉奖项，将评选出3部最佳影片，各授予3万元奖金。为激励参与创作的女性力量，组委会还设置了6个青年女性电影人荣誉奖项，将颁发给6位优秀女性主创人员，各授予5000元奖金。

8月，10位（组）导演将携剧组奔赴岭南大地开启拍摄，10个小镇故事将从文字变成影像，短片最快于10月和观众见面。

【年度导师点评】

面对“回到小镇”这个主题，山海计划的青年导演们将感情放置在超越物理空间的“小镇”中，用今天的语法重新解构“小镇”，告诉我们“小镇”是什么，它在我们记忆里是什么，它未来会变成什么样。我可以察觉到共通的记忆与情感。我被他们的创作和表达打动。  

——2024山海计划年度导师、作家 班宇

我曾经在广州生活过几年，了解岭南文化。感谢山海计划让我借由“回到小镇”这个题目了解到这片土地上的文化变迁。我也看到了青年导演在表达广东、表达大湾区时视野上的改变，这些变化都让我对青年一代导演的崛起充满信心。

——2024山海计划年度导师、电影学者 王小鲁

虽然这次创作被限定了主题范围，我依然被导演的创造力感染。他们对个人、历史、社会的情感，在作品中无限放大，呈现许多表达的可能性。很多作品其实都可以被拍成长片。我希望他们适当走出舒适区，进一步拓展创作边界。他们对待电影的热忱和不求回报，让我泛起回忆——拍电影大多数时候是“为爱发电”，是“精神鸦片”，但我们年轻时都吃这一套！我还想跟未进10强的导演说，不要失望，你没被选上并不意味着你不是好导演，未来，你可能是最重要的导演。

——2024山海计划年度导师、导演、编剧 杨荔钠

文｜记者 李丽

译｜赵凡

英文审校｜王枥焓