The judges of the 28th Shanghai International Film Festival’s Asian New Talent, Short Film, Animation and Documentary categories gathered on Sunday for the 2nd Golden Goblet Jury Meeting to share the criteria for the competition.
The chairman of the Asian New Talent jury will be Singaporean director Anthony Chen, whose film “Iro Iro” won the Debut Award at the Cannes Film Festival. Indonesian director Kamila Andini, Chinese director Liu Jiaying, Chinese actor Wen Qi, and Kazakh director Farkat Sharipov will be participating.
Director Chen said that age and experience are not important when evaluating filmmakers. “What I really care about is whether the creators are genuinely honest and willing to embrace new lenses and ideas to break the mold,” he said. “New talent often exhibits an energetic and passionate creative attitude.”
Wen Qi had a similar opinion, pointing out that he prefers movies with a strong individual voice. Sharipov and Liu Jiaying each reflected on the pressures facing emerging filmmakers. “For young creators, the early stages of a career are all about finding direction and are a time of unavoidable confusion and uncertainty,” Sharipov said. Liu added: “At such times, they face internal pressure rather than external conflict, and execution becomes especially important.”
The short film jury will be headed by Portuguese director João Salavisa, Germany’s Lena von Dehlen, and China’s Qiu Shen. Salavisa described the short story format as a pure form of expression where authentic emotion is fundamental, and von Dehlen used her parallel career as an illustrator to highlight how effectively the format can convey emotion through storytelling.
The animation jury, chaired by British director Will Boettcher and featuring Indian director Gitanjali Rao and Chinese film director Yu Shui, praised the growing global profile of Chinese animation. “Globally, we’re seeing an increase in Chinese animation in many areas, including the Oscar selection process,” Boettcher said. “This is definitely surprising and exciting,” he said, adding that he was hopeful that Chinese animation could secure a wide theatrical release in the UK. Yusui, whose “Nobody” won both critical acclaim and box office success, said that only a serious approach to the work can earn the trust of the audience.
The documentary jury, consisting of Gita Gundbil, Carla Gutierrez and Liu Qing, focused on the genre’s ability to build cross-cultural understanding. “Through documentaries, we can connect with each other, understand each other’s cultures and listen to each other’s stories,” Gundbir said. “There are core principles in documentary filmmaking: revealing humanity and telling a compelling story.” Gutierrez said the jury will not prioritize a particular documentary format, but will prioritize works that convey authentic emotion and connect with viewers.
