The 9th Pingyao International Film Festival announces project market selections in two major development programs, showing both literary properties available for adaptation and emerging film production projects seeking industry partners.
The Festival’s Literary Painting Project (LPP) presents 15 works, ranging from short fiction to full-length novels. Among the outstanding titles is “Sea Wind” by Zhao Defa. His previous works were adapted to the acclaimed television series “This Thring Land.” Full-length fiction documented the journey of a fisherman’s son in maritime history in northern China in the first half of the 20th century.
Author Bimin contributes to the novel “To the Mountains to which we belong,” from the 1960s and 1970s, following young soldiers who pursued ideals in extreme circumstances. The choices also include works exploring contemporary themes such as Laonten’s “self-healer,” following an AI engineer fleeing into the forests of the larger Kingin Mountains to escape deep anxiety.
The festival’s Pingyao Project Promotion (PPP) programme presents 16 projects in a variety of development stages, ranging from intimate character research to genre-bending adventures. Notable entries include Girl Crush, directed by Ravine Yang, following the TV drama heroine of Chick Flick, who accidentally clashes into the real world of 2025 and meets modern feminists on a journey of self-discovery.
The two projects, “Cut on A Cut,” directed by Jian Haodong, explored the relationship between Shamato’s youth and barbers for over a decade following the earthquake, and “Good, Goodbye” directed by Jingyi, interweaves the tales of the Undertaker, Tiger Mama and Street’s grandfather.
International expression passes through “Boys by the Sea” by Den Qiaoshan, set in a millennium-era fishing town where a Korean boy gets caught up in gang rivalries, and Emetjan Memet’s “The Flower Seller” follows a depression man’s encounter with a mysterious flower seller from a surreal world.
The selection of the project market reflects the ongoing themes of contemporary Chinese cinema, from rural transformation stories such as “Tales of the Taihang Mountains” and “The Best Fields best Fields” to urban character research and genre experiments.
The 9th Pin Gyao Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon International Film Festival is scheduled for September 24th-30th, 2025 at Pin Gyao in Shanksy, China. Acclaimed film director Jia Zhangke, a leading figure in the sixth generation of Chinese cinema movement, founded the festival in his hometown of Shanghai.
