Ethan Shi from the University of Bristol was selected to join UK-China Film Collab as a member via the organisation’s Future Talent Programme 2021-2022.
“Hi everyone, I’m Ethan, a MA student in Film & Television at the University of Bristol. I always loved Chinese cinema, watching different stylistics and genres from great directors like Zhang Yimou, Jia Zhangke, Stephen Chow, and Wong Kar-Wai. I wanted to expand my international perspective as the fluidity of our current industry has complicated our understanding of media culture, distribution, and exhibition. Therefore, I hope to explore new concepts, debates and use theoretical/practical approaches to Chinese culture and cinema.
I’ve focused a lot of my research on the creation of Chinese films & documentaries. My fascination lies in their process of overseas distribution, the exploration of perceptions and content preferences of western audiences, whether and how these preferences have influenced the creative thinking of Chinese filmmakers. This year, I co-curated the Ashes Of Time – Chinese Independent Documentary Film Exhibition in Bristol. We screened many award-winning Chinese documentaries along with an academic seminar and director Q&A. The attempt was to represent different voices within modern Chinese society and discover the reasons for the importance and popularity of Chinese independent documentaries abroad in light of their history and development.I hope the UCFC can help me visualise the concept and expand my sections further as a better film festival to include Chinese feature and short films, experimental media, co-productions etc. The goal is to complement the observational of Chinese social ecology through visual images and form ethnic/distinctive social portraits. I also hope to invite more specialists & directors to give talks, present pitching panels and encourage emerging filmmakers in the UK to work on co-productions with China to bridge the cultural gap leading to more Chinese-orientated works being funded and screened in the UK.”
Ethan was selected as the Ambassador for Odyssey: a Chinese cinema season 2022, an annual film festival presented by UK-China Film Collab.
Ethan’s to UCFC:
Odyssey 2022 Panel 10 | New distribution strategies for Chinese films in the UK
Innovative distribution methods might be the key to success, as it determines who gets to watch films, under what circumstances, and where. Through this panel, Ethan aims to have an open debate with industry specialists from film distributors to academics in the UK specialising in Chinese cinema and international film distribution. Distribution strategies, translations, and UK-China film collaborations like co-productions could be referenced, along with discussions about the importance and impact of Chinese film releases on the UK audience.
