Pingyao Project Jury Stresses Market Viability, Original Voices

The 9th Pingyao International Film Festival Project Market jurors stressed the importance of balancing creative originality with market feasibility at a press conference on the festival’s opening day.

This year, the festival received 872 submissions, of which the Pingyao Project Promotion (PPP) program presents 16 projects in various stages of development and the Literary Picturized Project (LPP) presents 15 works spanning from short fiction to full-length novels, representing a diverse array of contemporary Chinese literature available for screen adaptation. Awards including the Creativity Prize, Humanitarian Spirit Award and Commercial Potential Prize will be handed out, alongside the Momo Script Award.

Director Zhang Yang, whose credits include “Shower” and “Paths of the Soul,” highlighted the need for filmmakers to articulate not only their story but also how it will translate into a distinctive cinematic style. “From my perspective, it’s not only the story and characters — those are essential — but also how the director ultimately brings this script to the screen. What is the visual style? Is there a breakthrough or personal pursuit?” Zhang said.

Producer Ye Ting (“Her Story,” “How Long Will I Love U”) underscored the role of producers in shaping projects for real-world execution. “No matter how strong a script is artistically, if its feasibility and market potential are very limited, then it’s hard to move forward,” Ye said, noting that producers must define the project’s selling points and practical strategies for financing and release.

Actor, executive and long-time industry supporter Wu Yanyan, general manager of Dongfang Tianming Film and an adviser to the Wu Tianming Film Fund, observed that many of this year’s selected scripts demonstrated a high level of completeness and commercial awareness. “I was pleasantly surprised. Several projects are close to what the market wants, and the diversity is striking,” she said.

Pingyao programmer Wu Jueren pointed to the evolution of the selection process: seven preliminary jurors — including distributors, producers and directors — whittled down the field. “There was a huge workload. But we saw a wide range: projects from experienced directors and completely fresh voices. The genres were very diverse,” Wu noted.

Questions of budget feasibility also loomed large. “If a director has only made short films but reports a multimillion budget, then the feasibility is low,” Zhang cautioned. Wu Yanyan added that most projects this year showed realistic financial awareness, with budgets largely under the RMB10 million ($1.4 million) mark.

The jury stressed the importance of originality and timeliness. “What matters most with new directors is new ideas, new thinking,” said Ye. “Originality is the strength of emerging filmmakers, often tied to their life experience and urgent desire to express something of the present moment.”

The Project Market has become a key industry strand at Pingyao, with previous selections including “Journey to the West” and “Lighting Up the Stars” going on to full release. Festival organizers noted that several other past projects are in post-production and set to reach audiences soon.

The 9th Pingyao Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon International Film Festival runs Sept. 24–30, in Pingyao, Shanxi, China. Acclaimed filmmaker Jia Zhangke, a leading figure of the Sixth Generation’ movement of Chinese cinema, established the festival in his home province of Shanxi.