The Shanghai International Film Festival has given out its Asian New Talent Awards, and Iranian film '13', directed by Hooman Seyedi, won Best Film.
Director Li Xiaofeng, 37, will release his first feature film, ‘Nezha’, in July. The movie tells the story of a friendship between teenage girls. He brought the script for the film to the festival in 2013, and that is where he got the money to shoot the movie. The film was up for two Asian New Talent Awards this year—Best Script Writer and Best Actress. He says that there are a lot of talented young people working in China's movie industry.
Director Dong Chengpeng studied architecture in school, and worked as a website editor before he began making short online videos. He has graduated to film, and his first feature will be released in July.
Fifteen movies were competing for six trophies at this year's Asian New Talent Award—for the best film, director, script, actor, actress, and cinematography. The awards have helped several young directors make a name for themselves in China. Most notably, Ning Hao won an award in 2004, and two years later he released the box office hit ‘Crazy Stone’.