On October 31st, the 2023 Maritime Guangdong Young Director Support Program (Maritime Guangdong Program), organized by Yangcheng Evening News Group, held the opening ceremony of the film festival in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. At the ceremony, guests from the Malaysian film industry, academics, media friends and leaders of overseas Chinese businessmen gathered together to enjoy this cultural exchange event between China and Malaysia with the young directors of the program. From now until November 2nd, ten short films in Lingnan dialects supported by the 2023 Maritime Guangdong Program will witness their world premieres in Kuala Lumpur.
Short films in Lingnan dialects tell stories of hometown to the world
This summer, a group of young Chinese directors did something "big" together – they led 10 crews to complete 10 short films that focus on Lingnan culture and overseas Chinese stories. The 11 directors were all selected by the 2023 Maritime Guangdong Program, with an average age of 26 years old, and the youngest of them was only 20 years old. Shooting in Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Jiangmen, Zhanjiang, Qingyuan, Shantou, Chaozhou, Meizhou and Southeast Asia, they focus on the inheritance and protection of traditional culture, the connection and interaction between their hometown and the world, and explore the life of overseas Chinese with their films.
At the opening ceremony of the 2023 Maritime Guangdong Program Film Festival, the young directors of the Maritime Guangdong Program stood on the overseas stage for the first time to introduce their works to the Malaysian audience.
"I'm from Chaoshan, which boasts a lot of hidden cultural treasures. Since my undergraduate, I have tried to tell stories from the perspective of young people by combining Chaoshan folk customs and intangible cultural heritage," said young director Canjie Zhuang in his speech, "I once made a wish that if I could become a director one day, I must tell the story of my hometown to more people. Today, my dream has come true." His short film, "The Returning Island", will be screened for the first time at Kuala Lumpur's famous Chinese community, on Petaling Street, along with nine other short films supported by the 2023 Maritime Guangdong Program. This film featuring the rich cultural characteristics of Mazu in Chaoshan will meet its first overseas audience.
"From these works, the first thing I feel is the love and confidence of young directors for Chinese culture," said Chen Gongming, the curator of the 2023 Maritime Guangdong Program and the head of the KwanTeo, " Their films suggest that the stories of themselves and their hometowns are worth sharing, which is valuable. "
" The share and influence of Chinese films in the Malaysian film market is significant and cannot be ignored." Wang Changsong, Director of the Centre for ASEAN and Chinese Screen Studies (CACSS) of Xiamen University Malaysia (XMUM) revealed in his keynote speech at the opening ceremony that Chinese films such as "A Guilty Conscience","The Wandering Earth II" and"No More Bets" have recently hit phenomenal high box office in Malaysia. He encouraged young Chinese directors to continue their efforts to help Chinese stories go global.
Dialects express nostalgia, while cultural exchanges reveal China's development
The year 2023 marks the 10th anniversary of the establishment of a comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Malaysia, and in 2024, China and Malaysia will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations."Guangdong and Malaysia are geographically close to each other," said Du Chuangui, Secretary of the Party Committee and President of Yangcheng Evening News. He said at the opening ceremony that one of the important reasons why the 2023 Maritime Guangdong Program chose Kuala Lumpur as its premiere spot lay in the continuous historical and cultural ties between China and Malaysia.
Several Lingnan dialects in films include Cantonese, Teochew dialect, and Leizhou dialect. Today, many Malaysian Chinese guests were deeply moved by the dialects and nostalgia after watching the trailers of the 10 short films of the 2023 Maritime Guangdong Program. "My ancestral home is Shantou Chenghai," Lin Jiaguang, president of the Federation of Teochew Associations Malaysia, told reporters, "I am very excited to hear the familiar Chaoshan dialect in the movie." Hong Laixi, President of the Persatuan Belia Xiang Lian Malaysia, said, "I am the fourth generation of Chinese in Malaysia, but we are concerned about the prosperity of China just like our ancestors. Because only when our motherland develops well can our overseas Chinese feel proud."
Guo Qingjiang, Chief Editor of Malaysia's Sin Chew Daily, told reporters that most Malaysians are multilingual, including many Chinese dialects, "Many Malaysian Chinese are from Guangdong, and I believe they will be deeply moved by these short films with local accents." He also said that as a media group, Yangcheng Evening News "should be proud of" encouraging young people to introduce Chinese culture and the local conditions and customs of their hometown.
"Cinema is a powerful medium that has the ability to break down cultural and geographical boundaries." Joanne Goh, Founder and President of the Malaysia International Film Festival, hopes that there will be more events like the Maritime Guangdong Film Festival in Kuala Lumpur in the future to further promote cultural and artistic exchanges and cooperation between China and Malaysia.
10部年轻人拍的岭南故事“出海”了！“山海展映”吉隆坡开幕
10月31日，由羊城晚报报业集团主办的2023“向山海走去”青年导演创作扶持计划（简称“山海计划”），在马来西亚拉开了2023“山海展映·惊喜吉隆坡”系列活动的序幕。开幕式上，马来西亚电影界、学界、媒体界人士和当地华商侨领齐聚一堂，与来自中国的“山海计划”青年导演们共享这场中马文化交流盛事。即日起至11月2日，由“山海计划”支持创作的10部岭南方言短片将在吉隆坡进行世界首映。
岭南故事“出海”：把家乡的故事讲给世界听
今年夏天，一群年轻的中国导演一起干了件“大事”——他们带领10个剧组，完成了10部以岭南文化和华侨华人故事为主题的短片创作。这11位导演均由“山海计划”遴选而出，平均年龄26岁，其中年龄最小的仅20岁。他们在香港、广州、江门、湛江、清远、汕头、潮州、梅州以及东南亚地区取景，用影像关注传统文化的传承与保护，聚焦家乡与世界的关联和互动，也将敏锐的触角伸向华人生活的各个角落。
在2023“山海展映·惊喜吉隆坡”系列活动的开幕式上，“山海计划”的青年导演们首次站上海外舞台，将自己的作品介绍给马来西亚观众。
“我来自潮汕，我的家乡有很多不为人知的文化宝藏。上大学时，我就尝试用年轻人的视角，结合潮汕民俗和非遗文化去讲故事。”青年导演庄灿杰在发言时说，“我曾经许愿，假如有一天我能成为导演，一定要把家乡的故事讲给更多人听。今天，我的梦想实现了。”由他执导的短片《珊瑚她在等》，将与其他9部“山海计划”短片一道在吉隆坡著名的华人街区茨厂街进行首场放映，这部以潮汕妈祖文化为创作背景的奇幻短片将找到它的第一批海外观众。
“从这批作品中，我首先感受到的是青年导演们对中国文化的热爱和自信。”“山海计划”策展人、观潮时间艺术机构负责人陈功铭告诉记者，“他们的镜头仿佛在说：我和我家乡的故事，值得跟所有人讲。这种分享欲非常可贵。”
“中国电影在马来西亚电影市场的份额之大、影响之深，已越来越不可忽视。”厦门大学马来西亚分校东盟及华语影视研究中心主任王昌松在开幕式的主旨演讲中透露，近来《毒舌律师》《流浪地球2》《孤注一掷》等中国电影陆续在马来西亚创下现象级的高票房。他鼓励中国的青年导演们继续努力，助力中国故事走向世界。
乡音传递乡情：从文化传播中感受中国发展
2023年是中马建立全面战略伙伴关系10周年，2024年中马两国即将迎来建交50周年。“广东和马来西亚地缘相近，人缘相亲。”羊城晚报报业集团党委书记、社长杜传贵在开幕式上表示，2023“山海计划”选择在吉隆坡举行首轮海外展映，其中一个重要原因正是中马之间割舍不断的历史文化渊源。
粤语、潮汕话、雷州话……这天，不少马来西亚的华人嘉宾仅看完10部“山海计划”短片的预告片，便已被其中的乡音和乡情深深打动。“我的祖籍是汕头澄海。”马来西亚潮州公会联合会总会长林家光告诉记者，“能在电影里听到熟悉的潮汕方言，心情非常激动。”马来西亚中国公共关系协会秘书长拿督斯里洪来喜则透露，在马华人都渴望通过各种渠道见证祖国的发展，“我是马来西亚第四代华人，但我们跟祖辈一样关心祖国的繁荣昌盛，因为只有祖国发展得好，我们海外华人华侨才更倍感自豪”。
马来西亚《星洲日报》总编辑郭清江告诉记者，马来西亚人大多掌握多种语言，其中也包括中国的多种方言，“很多马来西亚华人都来自广东，相信他们都会被这批带着乡音的短片深深打动”。他还表示，作为媒体，羊城晚报能鼓励年轻人传播文化、宣扬乡情，“这是一件很值得骄傲的事”。
“电影是一种强大的媒介，它能够打破文化和地域的界限。”马来西亚国际电影节创办人兼主席Joanne Goh说，希望未来能出现更多像“山海展映·惊喜吉隆坡”这样的活动，进一步促进中马在文化艺术领域的交流与合作。
出品人 | 杜传贵 林海利
总监制 | 孙爱群 孙璇 胡泉 林如敏
总策划 | 孙朝方
品牌运营 | 李艳文 朱帆 蒋铮 郑华如 侯恕望
执行总监 | 吕楠芳
执行副总监 | 郭文瑜
文字｜李丽
图片｜阙道华
设计｜肖莎
译｜白心怡