PRESS RELEASE November 2, 2017 The 5th Vancouver Golden Panda International Film Festival awards nominees and festival highlights revealed VANCOUVER, BC - The 5th Vancouver Golden Panda International Film Festival (GPIFF) today announced the Golden Panda Awards nominee list during its Press Conference. Thirty-nine films stand out to become nominees competing for this year s Golden Panda Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Screenplay, Best Short Film, Best Director for Short Film, Best Screenplay for Short Film, Best Documentary, Best Animated Film, Best Humanistic Vision, Best Visual Effects and Rising Star Award. Along with 13 in-competition awards, the festival will also present Special Recommendation awards to selected films. The 5th GPIFF Awards Ceremony will announce all award winners on December 10, 2017. Sandy You, executive member of GPIFF Committee, gives a welcome speech
Elizabeth Ball, Vancouver city councillor, congratulates GPIFF on behalf of Vancouver City Council Led by Jiang Ping, Chinese director, vice chairman and general manager of China Film Co., this year s GPIFF welcomes established film professionals across the world on board as Festival jurors, including: Bo Svenson, U.S. actor, producer, director, president and CEO of MagicQuest Entertainment; Stephen Nemeth, U.S. film producer, president of Rhino Films; Ng See-Yuen, Chinese film producer, director, founder of Seasonal Films Corporation; Dennis Hoffman, Canadian VFX veteran, president of Stargate Studios Vancouver; Jacek Bromski, Polish director, writer, producer, president of Polish Filmmakers Association; Robert Lundberg, COO of China Lion Film Distribution; Kôsuke Mukai, Japanese writer, director, cinematographer; Oleg Uriumtsev, Russian director, producer, writer and actor
Jan Walls, president of the Canadian Society for Asian Arts and member of the GPIFF Committee, announces GPIFF award nominees The festival that has gone out into the world and been able to inspire 88 countries to submit is phenomenal, said Elizabeth Ball, Vancouver city councillor. Among all the high-quality nominees, some of them are co-produced by multiple countries and regions, showing the power of collaboration in film industries. Apart from the various technical awards, it s inspiring that GPIFF also recognizes films touching on humanistic topics, said Jan Walls, president of the Canadian Society for Asian Arts and member of the GPIFF Committee. The 5th GPIFF contains Festival Competition, GPIFF Industry and Public Screening three sections. The Festival also presents ten featured events, including Campus Activities, Public Screening, Industry Forum, Industry Exhibition, Masters Workshop, Project Pitch Event, Industry Party, Red Carpet, Awards Ceremony and the Cultural Immersion Trip, which will take place in 2018. The 5th GPIFF Industry will take place on December 9, 2017, at Four Seasons Hotel Vancouver. It provides networking opportunities for festival filmmakers to build conversations, expand networks and seek collaborations.
Matthew Tang, GPIFF executive director, introduces GPIFF events Supporting emerging filmmakers and building connections among global film industries have always been at the core of GPIFF s work, GPIFF executive director Matthew Tang said. Through various events, we will together explore potential collaboration opportunities and foster international co-productions. The event not only sheds light on BC s vibrant filmmaking community and various policy support, but also welcomes executives from leading Chinese film groups to Vancouver. China Film Co., China s dominant film distributor, will come with interest in purchasing marketable films and projects. China s leading cultural investment group Poly Culture North America is looking to together foster collaboration in film industries. Alibaba Pictures, the flagship unit of Alibaba Group s entertainment arm, will provide supports including funding and resources to excellent film projects in the Project Pitch Event. Films in Vancouver are something very important to the city council, because the film business actually brings so much economic wealth to the city, said Ball. It involves so many layers of organizations,...manages to touch all the different industries we have in the city, and really bring a real life and excitement to this city.
Taking place December 4-7 at Vancouver s Vancity Theatre, the 5th GPIFF Public Screening will introduce 52 brilliant films created by the world s young-generation filmmakers from 25 countries and regions to Vancouver s film lovers. We re very excited for the upcoming Public Screening and Awards Ceremony, which are designed to showcase brilliant works created by the world s young generation filmmakers, said Sandy You, executive member of GPIFF Committee. We look forward to welcoming all attending filmmakers, representatives from Canadian film industries and delegations from many other countries. We hope this year s Festival brings sound and memorable experience to all attendees. Official Selection: http://gpiff.com/gpiff17-offical-selection/ Festival Tickets: http://gpiff.com/tickets/ or call +1 (604) 370-2956. Festival Guide: http://gpiff.com/5th-gpiff-festival-guide/ The 5th Vancouver Golden Panda International Film Festival runs from December 4 to 10, 2017 in Vancouver, Canada
The 5th Vancouver Golden Panda International Film Festival awards nominees FEATURE FILM Best Picture My Love Sinema : Tan Ai Leng SINGAPORE 2016 Dogs and Fools : Ali Mohammad Ghasemi IRAN 2017 The Song of Sway Lake : Ari Gold USA 2017 Best Director Kate Brooks : The Last Animals UNITED KINGDOM/USA 2017 Ali Mohammad Ghasemi : Dogs and Fools IRAN 2017 Ari Gold : The Song of Sway Lake USA 2017 Best Actor Tosh Zhang : My Love Sinema SINGAPORE 2016 Luka Kain : Saturday Church USA 2017 Robert Sheehan : The Song of Sway Lake USA 2017 Best Actress Bryony Byrne : Akela UNITED KINGDOM 2016 Kimberly Persona : Princess Sparkly Butt and the Hot Dog Kid CANADA 2017 Mary Beth Peil : The Song of Sway Lake USA 2017 Best Screenplay Akela : Alec Toller UNITED KINGDOM 2016 My Love Sinema : Tan Ai Leng SINGAPORE 2016 The Song of Sway Lake : Ari Gold USA 2017 SHORT FILM Best Short Film The School Bag : Dheeraj Jindal INDIA 2016 Seher : Manas Shashidharan Jacob INDIA 2017 The Ravens : Jennifer Perrott AUSTRALIA 2016 Best Director for Short Film Dheeraj Jindal : The School Bag INDIA 2016 Manas Shashidharan Jacob : Seher INDIA 2017 Alexander Briere, Jonah Fortin : Charlie CANADA 2017
Best Screenplay for Short Film Breakfast With Tiffany : Andrés Molano Moncada COLOMBIA 2015 Under One Small Star : Ziyi Zheng USA 2017 The Story of 90 Coins : Michael Wong CHINA 2015 SPECIAL CATEGORIES Best Documentary The Last Animals : Kate Brooks UNITED KINGDOM/USA 2017 Jue er : Liang Zhefei CHINA 2016 Perfume War : Michael Melski CANADA 2016 Best Animated Film Borderline : Seishi Irimajiri DENMARK 2017 Barkley : Li-Wei Chiu TAIWAN/CHINA 2017 Little Thing : Or Kan tor ISRAEL 2016 Best Humanistic Vision Crested Ibis : Qiao Liang CHINA 2017 Salvation : Orkenbek Baysenbay CHINA 2017 Cello : Angie Su USA 2017 Best Visual Effects What If : Linda Gasser GERMANY 2017 Princess Sparkly Butt and the Hot Dog Kid : Brandon Lane CANADA 2017 Little Thing : Or Kan tor ISRAEL 2016 Rising Star Award Alec Toller : Akela UNITED KINGDOM 2016 Han Dongjun : The Story of 90 Coins CHINA 2015 Seishi Irimajiri : Borderline DENMARK 2017 *Special Recommendation award-winners will be announced at the Awards Ceremony.
About GPIFF Held annually in Vancouver, Canada, the Vancouver Golden Panda International Film Festival (GPIFF) aims to help discover and support international emerging filmmakers, and to foster collaborations in global film industries. A registered non-profit organization, GPIFF was founded in June 2013 by Orient Star Media Inc. and was formerly known as the Golden Panda International Short Film Festival. Website & Social Media Website: www.gpiff.com Facebook Instagram: @gpiff.official #GPIFF, #GPIFF17 Media Contact Xueting Zhao Publicity & Communications Manager xueting.zhao@gpiff.com