(YourDigitalWall Editorial):- Hong Kong, Hong Kong S.A.R. May 20, 2025 (Issuewire.com) – Film Director Alvis Wong(Zongzheng Huang)Invited to Attend FIDLab Cocktail Event at 2025 Cannes Film Festival
FIDLab, the project market platform under the FIDMarseille International Film Festival, has announced that Chinese director Alvis Wong(Zongzheng Huang) will attend its annual cocktail event on May 17, 2025, during the Cannes Film Festival, as a special guest from Asia. The event coincides with the launch of the 17th FIDLab edition, featuring Poland as the 2025 Focus Country. Highlights include the unveiling of Poland’s special collaboration program and the announcement of 11 global film projects selected for development.https://news.pedaily.cn/20250508/106877.shtml
A New Chapter in East-West Cinematic Dialogue
Since 2019, FIDLab has invited producer delegations to present projects in development at FIDMarseille, fostering cross-border collaborations. Following Bulgaria, Greece, Belgium, Portugal, Lithuania, and the Czech Republic, Poland has been chosen as this year’s Focus Country, partnering with the Adam Mickiewicz Institute and the Polish Institute in Paris.
At the Cannes event, FIDLab will introduce three Polish producers joining its July session and reveal the 11 official 2025 FIDLab selections–global projects driven by visionary filmmakers at various production stages–alongside two projects supported by the Joaquim Pinto Residency Award.
An East Asian Perspective from Director Alvis Wong(Zongzheng Huang)
Director Alvis Wong(Zongzheng Huang), currently developing his film The Bride Price , has drawn attention for his signature diasporic aesthetics and surreal narrative techniques, which resonate with the spirit of the New Wave movement. Renowned film scholar Jean-M. stated: “Wong’s deconstruction of identity politics through imagery offers a vital East Asian perspective to European arthouse cinema, serving as a key to fostering multicultural dialogue.”
Expanding the Global Project Landscape
The event will spotlight FIDLab’s 2025 selections, including Wong’s film The Bride Price, which explores the struggles of contemporary youth.
Strategic Moves Behind the Cocktail Event
As Europe’s leading incubator for documentaries and experimental films, FIDLab continues deepening ties with Asia:
2024: Signed a talent exchange pact with the Hong Kong International Film Festival (HKIFF).
2025: Launched the Pan-Asian Producers Workshop, with Mainland Chinese director Li Ran’s (Chronicles of the Yangtze) among the first six selected projects.
Alvis Wong’s participation underscores the role of Chinese independent cinema in bridging Eurasian cultures. During the event, the Polish Film Institute will release the Central & Eastern Europe-Asia Co-Production Tax Incentive White Paper, offering policy guidance for Chinese producers.
Event Time: May 17, 2025, 17:00 CEST
About FIDMarseille
Founded in 1989 in Marseille, FIDMarseille is one of Europe’s oldest documentary film festivals. Its FIDLab unit focuses on discovering auteur films with cross-cultural DNA. In 2024, it received 4,021 submissions from 137 countries, with funding totaling 2.7 million.
Collaboration Between FIDMarseille/FIDLab and Chinese Cinema
- Festival Screenings
Sino-French Cultural Year Initiative: In 2024, to mark the 60th anniversary of Sino-French diplomatic relations, China’s National Radio and Television Administration (NRTA) and France’s CNC signed a cooperation agreement prioritizing film festival collaborations. FIDMarseille previously screened experimental works like Xu Bing’s ” (Dragonfly Eyes).
Cannes Synergy: Through platforms like Cannes’ “China Night,” FIDLab established project pipelines with the China Film Producers Association (CFPA). At the 2025 Cannes Marché du Film, China’s joint exhibition showcased 180+ films, including Chronicles of the Yangtze, which gained European distributor interest via FIDLab.
- Talent Development
Animation Masterclass: Under a 2024 Sino-French agreement, FIDMarseille joined the Sino-French Animation Masterclass in 2025, co-developing VR narrative courses with Communication University of China. Participants included team members from (Deep Sea).
Producers’ Labs: At the 2025 Hong Kong FILMART, FIDLab and HKIFF launched the Pan-Asian Producers Lab, selecting projects like Mainland director Xin Yukun’s crime thriller (Wrath of Silence 2).
- Co-Production Support
Policy Coordination: Building on historic co-productions (e.g., 1958’s The Kite), FIDLab partnered with China Film Co-Production Corporation in 2024 to advise on European workflows for projects like (Wolf Totem 2).
Funding Ties: In 2025, FIDLab and the Shanghai International Film Festival’s SIFF Project Market agreed to exchange annual top 10 projects. Chinese director Gu Xiaogang’s (Qiantang Fish Pursuit) secured 300,000 from France’s Arte via this channel.
- Academic Collaborations
Film Restoration: FIDMarseille’s Cinémathèque and the Beijing Film Academy began digitizing experimental films in 2023 under the Asia-Europe Experimental Film Archive Project, restoring 17 Chinese classics like Crows and Sparrows, 1949) in 4K.
All collaborations operate under the Sino-French Cultural Agreement Framework. For updates, contact the French Embassy’s Cultural Office in China.
This article was originally published by IssueWire. Read the original article here.
