China's premier international cinema event announced a partnership with the Motion Picture Association (MPA) this week in the interests of the east Asian nation's next generation of film artists.
The series of joint initiatives are relevant to the market section of the Beijing International Film Festival (BIFF), so that emerging filmmakers can benefit from the fast-tracking and pitching of projects, pitching opportunities, mentoring and award competitions.
China's film industry, as well as those looking to become part of it, can look forward to experiencing the fruits of the new agreement in the Chinese capital between April 16 and 23.
A newly created MPA Grand Prize forms a major part of the new initiatives, and will be bestowed upon the winner of the film project market's MPA Film Workshop.
The grand prize will allow the winning filmmaker to join counterparts, who have emerged from other MPA film workshops, for a significant lesson in professional filmmaking that will involve a study tour of Hollywood's movie studios.
Additionally, the MPA workshop winners will be able to pitch their projects to studios for international co-production.
The Beijing Film Market program will also consist of MPA-hosted forums and panel discussions, coaching sessions, and project pitching, while financial, legal, production, post-production and promotional resources from the Film Factor Market will also be available to attendees. The Film Factor Market is another professional platform located within the market space.
Since the international festival was first launched five years ago, its growth has mirrored that of the nation's burgeoning film industry, which is now the world's second biggest.
An indication of the event's stature was seen in the appointment of former Roman director Marco Mueller as the festival's new chief advisor and France's Luc Besson as this year's jury chair.