20 May 2022, Friday | 13:00-14:30 BST via Zoom
Convenor:
Liao Zhang, PhD Candidate in Film and Television Studies, University of Nottingham; Lead Women’s Film Programme Curator & Lead of Public Relations (Odyssey), UK-China Film Collab
Panellists:
Yishu Wang, Festival Manager of Minute International Short Film Festival，Head of Competition and Screening of FIRST International Film Festival (former)
Moxiao Li, Co-Founder & Programmer of The One International Women’s Film Festival
Dr. Shan Tong, Scholar & Programmer of Beijing International Short Film Festival
Xue Gu, Film Director, Co-Founder & Programmer of Inner Mongolia Film Week, Curator of the World Nomadic Film Festival
Panel Description:
Film programming is a form of knowledge production. Whether the programmer is a part of an institution or independent, their job is never merely to choose “the best films” for their audience simply based on the film’s artistic merit. Their understandings of the world, cultural identities and political perspectives are always embodied in the film programmes they compile and therefore unwittingly influence the perceptions of their audiences. Then, for a female film programmer, what role does her gender identity play in the programming practice?
With the growth of many newly established film festivals in China in recent years, more and more female programmers have began appearing in the spotlight and taking over positions of power. This led us to wonder what impact does the rise of female programmers have on the contemporary Chinese film industry? With such curiosities, we organised this discussion panel to focus on the rise of female film programmers in the contemporary Chinese film industry. This panel brings together four institutional and independent film programmers from different film festivals in China, to reflect on what changes their emergence has brought to this traditionally male-dominated field, as well as what challenges and dilemmas they encountered through their practice.
*This panel will be conducted in Chinese, but open to audiences from all backgrounds to attend. Simultaneous interpretation available in English.
Simultaneous Interpretation Support:
Dr. Xiaoran Zhang, PhD in Film and Television Studies, University of Nottingham, International Online Streaming Distribution Research Specialist.
Ethan Shi, Producer and International Film Relations Negotiator, UK-China Film Collab
