SIFF Jurors Urge Emerging Filmmakers to Break
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- The 28th Shanghai International Film Festival held its second Golden Goblet jury meeting on Sunday, convening jurors from the Asian New Talent, Short Film, Animation and Documentary sections to share their evaluation criteria.
- Anthony Chen chairs the Asian New Talent jury alongside Indonesian director Kamila Andini, Chinese director Liu Jiayin, Chinese actor Wen Qi, and Kazakhstan director Farkhat Sharipov; Chen's debut feature "Ilo Ilo" won the Cannes debut prize.
- Chen said age and experience carry no weight in his assessment, valuing instead whether a creator is "truly sincere and willing to adopt new lenses and ideas to break conventions."
- Farkhat Sharipov and Liu Jiayin reflected on the internal pressures facing young creators; Liu said they face "internal pressure" rather than external conflicts, making execution "particularly important."
- João Salaviza leads the Short Film jury alongside Germany's Lena von Döhren and China's Qiu Sheng, describing the format as "a pure mode of expression" in which authentic emotion is fundamental.
- Will Becher chairs the Animation jury with Indian director Gitanjali Rao and Chinese filmmaker Yu Shui, noting that an increasing number of Chinese animated works have appeared in Oscar selections and expressing hope for wider U.K. theatrical releases.
- Geeta Gandbhir, Carla Gutierrez and Liu Qing form the Documentary jury, with Gandbhir emphasizing the genre's capacity to "connect with each other, understand each other's cultures, and listen to each other's stories."
Why it matters: The festival's four juries collectively define what emerging Asian cinema it intends to platform internationally — prioritizing sincerity, experimentation, and cross-cultural reach across new talent, shorts, animation, and documentaries. Becher's pointed call for wider U.K. theatrical releases for Chinese animation signals a concrete distribution gap the jury hopes competition visibility will help close.
