Chinese-South Korean film festival showcases talent

A four-day short-film festival gathering young talented filmmakers from China and South Korea closed Dec 8 in Beijing.

The Chinese-Korean "Share Your Dream" Short Film Festival collected 504 productions from both countries since it was opened for applicants in May.

During the final competition section starting Dec 5, 30 final entries from China and 12 South Korean productions were screened.

This is the fourth edition of the annual festival, which was launched by the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries and South Korean entertainment company CJ E&M.

Redemption, a short thriller about the 1990s' Bosnian War, won the top award, which carried a 30,000-yuan ($4,530) bonus. The production is by Orkenbek Baysenbay, a Chinese director of the Kazak ethnic group. He and six other award-winning directors at this festival will have a chance to attend a training camp in South Korea.

"The booming online video platforms in recent years have given more room for short-film directors to show their talent," said Wu Bai, a TV series director and a judge of the festival. "To be a mature director, it is necessary to have enough practice in short film productions."

He said this year's entries have a wider range of varieties and topics.

"Some short films this year show strong characteristics of commercial films and near completion in industry level," he said. "Short films never mean to explore many in-depth themes with highly abstract expressional channels. Within such a short time, it will be better to tell a story, which is close to audiences' emotions and prepares for future longer works."