Beijing International Film Festival and Film Market Project Venture Capital has always been one of the key points of the film market sector that has attracted much attention in the industry, where the selected film projects are fully connected with the elements of the film industry chain, and finally incubated excellent film works with market potential.
This is the seventh year of the venture capital project. In the past six years, the number has increased year by year, and the proportion of international projects has increased.
Taking 2017 as an example, the process of venture capital projects is as follows:
The 8th Beijing International Film Festival Film Market Project Venture Capital Registration Work is now fully open. You want to make a movie, worried about not having enough money? Worried about not having professional training? Worried about not understanding the film market? The "Jiang Jun", "Zhao Hantang" and "Wu Youyin" who realized the movie dream here tell you: "If you have a story, you will come, there is no possibility!" ”
Film pioneer Jean Renoir famously said, "A director makes only one film in his lifetime." ”
When we look back at a director's work, we can always find its origins in his debut.
"Fear is a universal emotion that everyone who shoots their first film has." Because fear has no start-up capital, fear is not understood by others, fear of being rejected by the film market... The idea of making a movie was snuffed out by itself before it even started. What is the story of directors who overcame their fears and set out to make films?
Released in 1989, "Urban Ronin" may be a little strange to Chinese film fans, but when it comes to the "Love in" series trilogy ("Love at Sunset and Dusk", "Love Before Dawn Breaks", "Love Before Midnight"), "Rock Campus", everyone should have heard. As Richard Linklater's debut novel, Urban Ronin pioneered all the patterns in which stories take place in a single day, such as the "Love in" trilogy and the literary dialogue. The film was rejected by the New York, Toronto, Sundance, Rotterdam, and Berlin Film Festivals, and was only supported by the Seattle International Film Festival. After the release of the film, the "generation of urban ronin" was accepted by the mainstream culture, and many media rushed to report it, becoming the epitome of the young generation at that time.
Richard took a break from college and went to work on an offshore drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico for two years. He then moved to Austin, immersing himself in books and movies. When he decided to make "Urban Ronin," he used all his savings, blew up his credit card, sold everything he could sell, and earned $23,000.
Christopher Nolan, the hottest director in Hollywood today, is almost a godsend, and the iconic non-linear narratives and reversals of story development in his films can be found in his first feature film, "Follow". "Follow" was released at the San Francisco Film Festival in 1998 and won the Best Debut Award. Since then, Nolan has received attention from Hollywood and directed "Fragments of Memory".
Nolan has developed a keen interest in movies since childhood, and at the age of 7 began to use his father's Super 8 camera to produce some stop-motion animation and short films. However, he did not train professionally in school, majored in English literature in college, organized the "16 mm" club with some like-minded friends, and shot a large number of short films. "Follow" is Nolan's first attempt at feature film, costing only £3500, one of the cheapest films in history. He and his friends in the "16 mm" society pooled some money and used the 15 minutes every Saturday to complete the masterpiece with a camera.
In 2000, "Love is a Dog Lady" turned out to be the first screening at the Critics Week at the Cannes Film Festival, and won the Critics Week Award. He has since won numerous awards, including Best Non-English Film at the 55th British Academy Film Awards and Best Director at the 13th Tokyo International Film Festival. Its director, Alessandro González Ignarito, continued the shattered narrative features of this debut film, with its swinging rough shots in the subsequent 21 Grams and Babel Tower.
Inarito was not a director at first, but in his twenties he was the anchor of the most well-known radio station in Mexico City, but he quickly got tired of this status, turned to advertising, and after success, began a career as a director. When he started writing the script, he didn't worry about raising money, because he felt that "there is money out there, but there is no good idea and good script." After completing the script, he received 1.8 million yuan in investment through friends he met while doing radio shows and advertisements. The film cost $2.4 million, and the rest of the money was made up by Ignarito's own savings and the company's investment.
The appearance of "Labyrinth of Hearts" is a surprise in the Chinese film industry, and its structure, arrangement, editing and theme are very rigorous. In 2014, the film was unveiled at the 8th FIRST Youth Film Festival and won the best feature film and best director. Later, he won awards at the Hong Kong International Film Festival and the Venice Film Festival. The film scored as high as 8.6 points on Douban, and directors and fans in the industry voluntarily started to promote the "water army".
Director Xin Yukun admitted that "Labyrinth of Hearts" is a game of his own, and he gives up pursuing movies if he is not successful. Prior to this, he failed to apply for the Beijing Film Academy many times, starting from the field tea, and later creating column dramas for the TV station. In 2008, he entered the photography training class for one year, and after graduation, he shot promotional videos and advertisements in Beijing. When preparing the film, a part of the funds were raised in a similar way to crowdfunding, and I found a knowledgeable friend to invest money, borrowed a part from relatives and friends, and cobbled together 1.7 million yuan. Later, the money was still not enough, and the producer's parents took care of the logistics free of charge and saved a fee, and the film was completed.
The history of these famous directors may inspire all people who dream of movies. The completion of the first film has undergone many tests, but fortunately, these filmmakers maintain their love and stick to their dreams, and fans have the opportunity to see this wonderful work. Looking at the above debuts, they are not blockbusters in the traditional sense. There are no star participation, no advanced production equipment, and no visual effects bombardment, but these low-budget films have been recognized for their moving stories and novel narrative methods.
For those who are currently shooting or will be shooting films, the Beijing International Film Festival Project Venture Capital Platform is willing to support you.
A number of filmmakers have realized their dreams through venture capital platforms. Jiang Jun took "My Secret Agent Grandpa" (formerly known as "Old Guard") to participate in the 3rd Beijing International Film Festival and Film Market Project Venture Capital, and won back the highest award of project venture capital at that time, the "Special Award". "My Secret Agent Grandpa" also won the favor of the famous producer Jiang Zhiqiang and his subsidiary Anle Pictures through the project venture capital platform, and was made into a movie and released in 2016, achieving a domestic box office performance of 324 million.
The outdoor adventure film project "77 Days" won the "Special Award" of the project venture capital when participating in the 4th Beijing International Film Festival and Film Market Project Venture Capital Roadshow. Director Zhao Handang said that after winning the award, he received recognition, advice and help from many peers. Director Teng Huatao, the final judge of the fourth project venture capital, helped them find capital. With the concept film of the project and the praise received by participating in the project venture capital, Zhao Hantang also received the support of the photography master Li Pingbin, the film soundtrack master He Guojie, the film sound design master Du Duzhi, the film editing master Liao Qingsong and the well-known actress Jiang Yiyan. "Seventy-Seven Days" was released in November 2017, creating a miracle of niche films with a box office of more than 100 million.
"Antarctic Love" is also one of the lucky ones. At the 5th North Film Festival Venture Capital in 2015, Wu Youyin, who was a member of the Antarctic expedition team, brought the project "Antarctic Love", which is based on his novel of the same name. At the subsequent trade fair, Chenming Pictures, which had produced "Return to Twenty", tied up with him. In the end, the project not only successfully found investment, Wu Youyin also took more than 40 people, including the male protagonist Zhao Youting, to Antarctica for a month of field shooting. From the debut of venture capital in April 2015 to the finalization of investment in October, from the official start of filming in November 2015 to the end of June 2016, on February 2 this year, this love story film that human beings went to Antarctica for the first time will meet the audience.