Tencent Penguin Pictures announces new plan to nurture young film talents

Hong Kong film director and producer Gordon Chan speaks at an event in Beijing, September 26, 2018. Tencent has announced the launch of a new project to nurture young movie directors in China. [Photo: provided to China Plus]

China's Internet giant Tencent recently announced the launch of a new project that aims to nurture young movie directors in China.

Young talents chosen to take part will be eligible for financial aid, along with one-on-one training from an industry professional.

Chang Bin is the deputy director of the Tencent Penguin Pictures Film Division.

"The project has been changed this year to include an executive producer who gives guidance to young directors throughout the filming process, from script writing through to post-production. These executive producers are all well-known veteran directors."

According to Chang Bin, China produces more than 1,000 films each year. Around 90 to 95 percent of them are made by young directors.

The schedules of veteran directors are often filled well before a new project is presented to them. This opens the door for young directors.

Chang Bin said that 13 projects led by young directors have been picked to take part in the Tencent Penguin Pictures' project.

Gao Qunshu, a renowned director with a well-established reputation for making crime films in China, has taken on the role of executive producer to help young director Gao Han finish his new crime film.

"A lot of young directors or screenwriters are quite shallow in their observations about life. Perhaps they have fresh new angles; but, film should be a natural and vivid expression of real feelings summarized from in-depth observations. At our meeting, he told me that his dad is a policeman, and I think it would be a lot better for a young director to start expressing himself from the point of view of the life he is most familiar with."

Gao Han shares his feelings about having veteran director Gao as his executive producer.

"Now, I feel like I'm under huge pressure. I couldn't even imagine being included in this project. I've never dreamed of having one-on-one training from a veteran director like Gao. I will do my best to make a good film."

Bai Yicong is another veteran Chinese filmmaker.

He thinks the project is a valuable opportunity for young and veteran directors to learn from each other, since young directors often come up with new creative angles.

"I hope I can discuss with young directors and their teams the proper ways of telling a complicated story, and making it more interesting to audiences."

The 13 films included in the Tencent Penguin project this year cover a variety of genres. 10 will be screened online only, while the other three are being made for a cinema release.

A film made for release online can be awarded up to four-million yuan in financing, which is around 580,000 U.S. dollars.

Notable directors taking part in the project as executive producers include Gordon Chan, Zhang Meng, and Tian Zhuangzhuang.

The cultural and creative sector has become a major investment area for Tencent in recent years. The tech giant has businesses covering games, literature, cartoon, films, short videos, and music.