Unique film festival hosted in LA for young Chinese talents

The fourth annual AFMA Film Festival of Young Cinema unveiled Saturday to provide young Chinese film talents a platform to showcase their work and step into the industry.

The AFMA refers to Annenberg Film Marketing Association, a student organization of the University of Southern California.

More than 200 outstanding young filmmakers submitted their products for the film festival. The board of juries included experienced filmmakers such as Chinese director Wang Xiaobo, Zhou Tiedong and American Emmy Award-winning producer Mary Lou Belli.

A total of 12 short films, all student works or graduate thesis, were nominated as the best film of the year. After an intensive selection process, one received an award for best picture and one won a prize for best director Saturday.

"Film market today is more globalized. It involves more international cooperation," Cui Rui, winner of the Best Director Award, said. "I hope our generation can help further develop the potential of Chinese films, and accurately reflect cultural differences between the United State and China through our work."

"Hollywood in China has been growing in the last few years. We see more attempts to understand the markets from both sides," Ben Lee, a USC communications professor told Xinhua.

"For the Chinese filmmakers, they are trying to understand how to be effective across the globe. We regard this film festival as a moment when you can see this happen," he added.

AFMA Film Festival of Young Cinema was founded in 2013 by students at USC's Annenberg School of Journalism and Communications.

As it is organized by a student organization, the festival focuses on creating a platform for talented Chinese filmmakers, especially students or recent graduates, to showcase and promote their works. Endi