participants from the 2016 edition of FEFF Campus.
Successful Candidates Announced: 10 young writers from Europe and Asia to gather for 19th edition of FEFF!
UDINE – Education. Inspiration. Two words that might act as a mission statement for the Far East Film Festival over the 19 years of its existence. They are also the best words to describe the motivation behind the FEFF Campus, which this year returns for its third edition and will welcome 10 aspiring journalists from Europe and Asia into the FEFF family.
Across the course of the 19th staging of FEFF– from 21st to 29th April 2017 - these young talents will be offered education through a series of seminars and workshops designed to help bring the art of writing to life; they will also find inspiration by become a living, breathing part of FEFF itself, in amongst the acclaimed Asian filmmakers, and the fans of Asian film, who gather in Udine each year.
After putting out the call for Campus candidates in February, FEFF received around 70 applications from across the world, deciding eventually on 10 successful candidates who will now be fully hosted by the festival while engaging in a programme that will help them chart a course into the their future careers.
“We are constantly surprised by the wealth of talent out there, as seen once again through the incredibly high standard of applications we received for this year’s FEFF Campus,” said Campus co-ordinatorMathew Scott. “The candidates have all shown an obvious love and enthusiasm for Asian cinema – and we can’t wait to welcome them to Udine. Last year showed just how valuable this cross-cultural experience can be for these young writers, as our graduates look to further their careers. Plus of course it is a lot of fun for everyone.”
The FEFF Campus programme was initiated with great success in 2015 and will this year continue its commitment to providing a unique opportunity for young journalists to go “behind the scenes” at a film festival, while learning from the expertise provided by a line-up of media and film industry veterans.
This year’s Campus will include special seminars relating to film-specific subjects such as “What it means to be a Critic”, while the successful candidates will also have the opportunity to interview a selection of the biggest stars in Asia and contribute to a special FEFF Newsletter. They will also have direct access to the ever-popular FEFF Talks series of seminars and guest appearance while having the opportunity also to explore life in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region.
The “business of film” is also high on the agenda for 2017 and the Campus attendees will be able to gain a valuable insight into to the inner workings of the industry, as FEFF stages its Industry section ‘Focus Asia’, a market dedicated to genre films.
The FEFF Campus is also pleased to announce a partnership with Asia Times (atimes.com), which will present daily updates from FEFF – and from the Campus – and will offer Campus participants the opportunity to have their work published, and seen by the world.
The FEFF Campus 2017 has the privilege to be supported by important European and Asian associations and organizations such as Europa Cinemas, the Udine Chamber of Commerce, Asia Times, the Danieli Academy (‘100 Reporter’ project), the Hong Kong Foreign Correspondents’ Club, and the Singapore-based ASEF (Asia-Europe Foundation), Coop Alleanza 3.0 and Porto Piccolo (Trieste).
FEFF Campus 2017 – successful candidates:
Europe: David Pountain (UK), Maja Korbecka (Poland), Polina Zelmanova (Cyprus), Barbara Sorger (Austria), Francesco Franz (Italy)
Asia: Natalie Ngai Tsz-lam (Hong Kong/China), Paige Lim (Singapore), Yuan Yingzi (China), Megumi Arita (Japan), Joshua Lim (Malaysia)