A group photo of all the guests and participating teams
Fresh Wave 2010 – Passing the Torch to New Film Talents – 8 JAN 2010
Fresh Wave 2010 – Local Competition Section, a short film making contest organized by the Hong Kong Arts Development Council (HKADC) is officially open. A press conference was held on 8 January 2010 at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre to announce its details and introduce the shortlisted candidates.
Fresh Wave 2010 is composed of two major events, namely the Local Competition Section and the International Short Film Festival. The Local Competition Section, formerly known as “The 5th Fresh Wave Short Film Competition”, was first introduced in 2005, with an aim to nurture local young talents in film making and to provide them with a platform to create and showcase their works.
In addition to the continued support of the local film directors to act as mentors of the participating teams, internationally renowned actor Mr. Chow Yun Fat has demonstrated his genuine support to local film industry by presiding at the past four editions of the event. This is a tremendous boost to all the participating teams and the local film industry.
Speaking at the press conference, Mr. Louis Yu, Chief Executive of the HKADC said the event allowed young people to create on a wider canvass. Talent incubation, he said, was a long process. With great enthusiasm and perseverance in film making, young people can learn and benefit from each filming exercise.
This year’s competition started receiving application in August 2009. The response was overwhelming with the participation of 15 universities/tertiary institutions in the Student Division for the first time, while for the Open Division, there was over 80 entries, breaking the record of the event history. After a very stringent screening process, 15 contestants were shortlisted in the Open Division for the final round of the competition. Detailed listing as per attached.
The shortlisted teams of the Student and Open Divisions are required to produce a short film (a maximum duration of 30 minutes) between December 2009 and July 2010. Each team will be given a sum of HKD40,000 as subsidy. To enhance the production quality, same as previous years, local famous film directors will be invited as mentors to give professional advice and guidance to the participating teams.
This year, the teams will tap the wisdom of 9 mentors, the ever biggest mentor team, including first timer Mr. Soi Cheang, Mr. Felix Chong, Mr. Lawrence Lau and Mr. Pang Ho Cheung as well as Mr. Chan Hing Kai, Mr. Dante Lam, Mr. Alan Mak, Mr. Herman Yau and Mr. Yau Nai Hoi. They will advise participants on script writing, filming process and post production to help them raise the standard and quality of the productions.
Nine awards will be presented this year including two new prizes – the “Best Script” and “Best Cinematography” Awards for both the Student and Open Divisions. Winners of these two awards, as well as those of “Best Film” and “Best Creativity” Awards will compete for the honourable grand prize – “Fresh Wave Award”. All films made by the participating teams will be featured at the Fresh Wave 2010 – International Short Film Festival in September this year.
Fresh Wave 2010 – International Short Film Festival is to introduce the creative works of both local and overseas young filmmakers to a wider audience. In addition to the shortlisted films of the Local Competition Section, the festival will screen around 20 award winning short films produced by overseas college students. Besides, an internationally renowned film director will be invited to Hong Kong to share his experience in film making. His works will also be shown during the Festival. Details of the festival will be announced later.
With the commencement of the Local Competition Section of Fresh Wave 2010, a new wave of aspiring young filmmakers will emerge, igniting the future of the local film industry.
