Announcement | Call for Short Films

In 2022, the UK-China Film Collab (UCFC) will be organising an online and offline Chinese-language film festival in the UK. The festival’s name and themes will be revealed in due course via an official announcement. Our online submission is now open for all Chinese filmmakers, both in Greater China and abroad.

Due Date: 20 February 2022 at Midnight (GMT)

Introduction

The global pandemic has made it difficult to attend cinemas. Streaming and online video-on-demand platforms deal a heavy blow to overseas independent cinemas, making it increasingly tougher for Chinese-language films to be screened abroad. At the start of 2022, the Rotterdam Film Festival, that was scheduled to be held offline at the end of January, was also moved online due to the pandemic. Online screenings are gradually becoming a trend overseas. The raging pandemic has devastated many foreign-film-screening-focused British independent cinemas, film festivals as well as hindered the screening of Chinese language films.

Where is the living space for Chinese language films overseas? In what form will audiences expect the big screen to be presented in the future?

The Theme of Screening

Registered in both London and Edinburgh, UCFC, with a global perspective, aims to discover and promote Chinese language film talents and compelling narratives, and to facilitate all-around, sustainable exchanges and collaborations between the UK and China in film arts, culture, and commerce.

Our Past Events

In 2021, UCFC collaborated with UK independent distributor Trinity CineAsia and Filming East, co-presented the Chinese Cinema Season – the biggest online Chinese-language film festival in the UK and European history. In addition to curating two thematic sections for the film festival, “Shanghai Animation Film Studio Retro” (12 films) and “Hong Kong, Reimagined” (13 films), UCFC also organised ten workshops relating to the international market, UK-China co-production, the exhibition and audience development for Chinese-language films in the UK (e.g. Post-Millennials’ international receptions towards Chinese-language film) as well as several Q&A sessions with film directors.

Apart from film festivals, UCFC has been actively organising different online screenings and encouraging industry dialogue since the outbreak of the pandemic in 2020. Up to now, we have organised over fifty of bilingual events.

The film festival we are planning for this year will adopt a hybrid model of online and offline, using video as a medium to showcase the dynamic nature of Chinese society and individuals to UK audiences through carefully curated thematic screenings, retrospectives, public screenings, and roundtable discussions. The aim of the festival is to showcase Chinese independent images as a way to explore social issues such as female representation, cultural identity, regionalism and many more; We hope to orchestrate an “unexpected encounter” with Chinese-language films, to appreciate Chinese avant-garde experimental moving images, narrative and aesthetics. Our target audience is young audiences aged between 16 to 30 in the UK as well as those who are curious about this rising international film market.

Submission Instructions

UCFC’s current online callout for short films is primarily open to both Chinese and overseas Chinese directors. We encourage submissions from female creators and young directors. Submissions from veteran filmmakers are also welcome. Let us break the limitations of time and space, explore the collision of film and art, and bring more possibilities for international exposure to Chinese language films! Screening and publicity opportunities include UK online and offline film festival screenings, public screenings, tailored marketing and promotion, in-depth interviews, audience networking and beyond.

Call for Short Films: Two Thematic Sessions

“Avant-Garde Experimental Moving Images” (focusing on art, experimental mid-short film)

“An Exploration” (focusing on short narrative film)

Film Submission Format:

1. Video files must be at least 1 H.264, mp4/MOV format (selected entries must submit a trailer for promotional purposes in the same resolution format as above).

2. Short films are no more than 35 minutes in length, medium films are no more than 60 minutes in length. No minimum time limit.

3. No genre restrictions. Drama, narrative, experimental, animation, documentary, etc. are all welcomed.

4. No premiere requirement.

5. Entries should have no watermarks or any other marks on the screen that might affect the preview. Advertisements and promotional films will not be accepted.

6. Outstanding Chinese language feature films will also be considered (production dates must be no earlier than 2019). If you are interested in a feature-length screening, please make sure to register and email us with a note by 20^th of February.

7. All submitted films should be original work, the entrant is the legal holder of the copyright of the work. There is no dispute over intellectual property rights and, when required, relevant supporting documents or authorisation will be provided as required by the organisers.

Submission Requirements:

1. Films are primarily produced in Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.

2. The major production team (director, producer) is from China or has a Chinese cultural or ethnic background.

3. Films tell a story of China, with the main cast being from China or having a Chinese cultural or ethnic background.

* Submissions meet one of above three eligibilities will suffice.

How to Submit:

1. Please open the link below to download and fill in the submission form (both Chinese and English forms are required)

Chinese version

English version

*If you cannot successfully open the application form, please copy the link and open it on Google Chrome on the PC end for downloading or open it directly from Chrome.

2. The entry [film + trailer (if applicable) + poster + high-definition stage photo] should be in the same folder with the submission form, renamed as follows: Film Title – Author’s name – Author’s organization or institution (if applicable). The submission form should include a link to the preview of the film, YouTube, Vimeo, New Studio, Baidu Web Drive private links are recommended. Please set up a permanent preview link so as not to affect the judging process.

3. Zip the folder and send it to the curator Yixiang Lin, at yixiang.lin@ukchinafilm.uk, with the following subject line: ” Film Festival Submission” – Author’s name – Author’s organization or institution (if applicable). Please do not delete the transfer file before the end of screening to prevent file loss.

Submission Date:

1.Official Callout: Now – 20/02/2022

2.Final Selection Date: 25/02/2022-10/03/2022

* The organisers and the professional curatorial team will make a final decision based on a comprehensive review of the quality of the production, the narrative (aesthetics) and the thematic fit. Selected entries will be notified by email after the final selection date, so please check your submission mailbox and spam box in time.

Clarifications

1. This event does not charge any submission or screening fee.

2. After the closing date, no submitted films can be withdrawn or withdrawn from the screening event at will.

3. By submitting to participate in this “Screening Callout”, you agree and accept this constitution. The organiser has the final right to interpret the above rules and regulations.

The Rights and Obligations of the Organisers and the Entrants

1. The rights and obligations of the organisers:

1) The organisers are obliged to keep the content of the submissions confidential, but an overview of the submission contents, confirmed by both parties, may be displayed on the official public account.

2) The organisers have the right to promote and screen the content during the event.

2. The rights and obligations of the entrants:

1) The entrant undertakes that he/she is entitled to the full intellectual property rights of the submitted content worldwide or has been authorised by the intellectual property right holder and can exercise said intellectual property rights by all submission rules and that the intellectual property rights of the entry are owned or exercised by the entrant.

2) Entrants undertake that their submissions are legitimate, do not violate the relevant laws and regulations of the UK and China, do not contain content that infringes on the copyright and other rights of others, and do not infringe on the legal rights of any third party.

We welcome more media to get in touch with us.

Confirmed Short Film Content Partner

Cathay Play