The first international Russian-Chinese pitching took place during the PeterKiT festival

On November 16, 2019, the first international Russian-Chinese pitching "ONEFUTURE" was held at St. Petersburg State University of Film and Television, in which students of SPUFT and student from Communication University of China took part. Pitching was held during the 19th International Student Film Festival "PeterKiT". The festival is held as part of the St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum. During the pitch, issues of interaction and cooperation between universities, financing and co-production were raised. 

The pitching task was the presentation of interesting projects, on the basis of which, in the future, it is possible to build joint Russian-Chinese film production, as well as to establish links between domestic scriptwriters, directors and producers from China.

Pitching provided students with the opportunity to present their projects to an authoritative audience, producers and directors for further cooperation and networking.

From the Russian side, the following projects were presented at the pitch: “Spassky. The Match of the Century ”by producers Alexei Snezhko and Maria Vasilyeva,“ The Burden of Peace ”by producer and screenwriter Elizaveta Manko,“ Halloween ”by producer Vasily Leontievsky,“ Childhood ”by Chingis Darmaev,“ The Power of Intelligence ”by Angelica Agafonova. From the Chinese side: “Pianist in space” Hsu Yu Hui, “Valve of memory” Guo Bosiao, “Vengeance of Lucy” Tan Zhong Kun.

A team of experts from Russia and China on a full-time defense evaluated the projects of both sides. As a result of which a special prize was awarded, as well as prizes from pitching partners.

The members of the jury were Yusup Razykov (chairman of the pitch, member of the International jury of the festival, film director, screenwriter), Grigory Pelman (producer, screenwriter, president of the film production center Silk Road Media), Valery Ruzin (president of the production company SKIP-Media, editor-in-chief of Teleforum magazine, president Eurasian Academy of Television and Radio, member of the Union of Cinematographers), Maria Ivanova (producer, director, journalist, founder of the Grant buro project), Maria Kobzareva (curator of exhibitions and educational projects in London), Natalia Ivanova (member of the international jury of the festival, producer), Sergey Shcheglov (general producer of Triix Media), Inessa Yurchenko (general producer of Triix Media), Shengli Li (professor, head of the department of cinema dramaturgy of the school "Theater, Cinema and Television"), Zhao Hui (Associate Professor, Ph.D., Head of the Department of Basic Education, Schools of Theater, Cinema and Television, China University of Communications), Huang Ying (Beijing Cinema Academy, animation artist). The moderator of Pitching is Aram Manyukan.

Organizers: Pavel Danilov (Dean of the Screen Arts Faculty of St. Petersburg State University of Film and Television), Nadezhda Sabelnikova (Associate Professor, SPUFT Production Department), Polina Alekseeva (Associate Professor, SPUFT Production Department), Natalia Kopchenova (Associate Professor, SPUFT Production Department), Ilshat Bikbulatov (Associate Professor, Department of Production, SPUFT Production Department).

A special prize was awarded to the "Pianist in Space" by Hsu Yu Hui. The prize of Natalya Ivanova, Vice President of the Federation of Film Clubs of Russia, General Director of Good Production, which promised assistance in further implementation, was awarded to "Spassky. Match of the Century". The Grant buro prize for 5 free grant submissions was presented to the project "Burden of Peace" by producer and screenwriter Elizabeth Manko.

Russian-Chinese pitching “ONEFUTURE” is a great opportunity not only to present your projects to specialists in the field of production, but also to make new acquaintances and gain invaluable experience.

Text: Elizabeth Manko
SPUFT Information Service