Funfair, Friday Takes the Spotlight: 

Winner of the Audience Award at the 12th Silk Road International Film Festival and selected as part of the prestigious Belt and Road Film Festival Alliance (BRFFA)

Funfair, Friday (China)

Synopsis

“A woman who just wants to live in peace is going off the rails. Her husband left decisively.

Her mother seemed to age suddenly. Her daughter’s surgery is imminent. And the daily grind consumed her. This woman’s name is Song Qian. This Friday is her daughter’s birthday, and a sudden frenzy happens in the amusement park…”

Director  ZENG Zhi

Zeng Zhi is a renowned advertising producer and director. Transitioning into film, he directed the acclaimed short films Hello and Balloon. Hello was selected for prestigious festivals, including the 13th FIRST International Film Festival, the 2019 Denmark International Short Film Festival, the 2019 LACFF, and the 2019 HiShorts! Film Festival. His debut feature film, Funfair, Friday, was shortlisted for the 25th SIFF WIP Projects unit. Zeng Zhi is currently developing his second feature, Simon Young, which was shortlisted for the 2024 HAF IDP Projects unit.

Details

Director ZENG Zhi

Writer ZENG Zhi, Olivia ZHOU

Producer ZENG Zhi

DP MEI Shuxuan

Editor FENG Shan Yulin

AD ZHANG Haoyang, LIU Lian

Music Qing Jiu

Sound LOU Kun

Starring YING Ze, KONG Xiangyu, LAI Man, Jim LIU

Production Company Pinwu Culture Communication Co., LTD

Co-production Company BEIJING EYE VISION CONSULTING CO., LTD.

Accolades to date:

25th Shanghai International Film Festival (SIFF)

Shortlisted for the Work-in-Progress (WIP) Projects section.

26th Shanghai International Film Festival (SIFF)

Nominated for Best Director in the Asian Newcomer Category (Golden Goblet Awards).

Winner of Best Film in the Asian Newcomer Category (Golden Goblet Awards).

The 12th Silk Road International Film Festival 2024 

Film Screenings, Dec 4th 2024

Dear Friends,

We are thrilled to announce our exciting collaboration with the Stage & Screen Society.

On December 4th, from 10am to 10pm, we will be hosting a series of special film screenings at the United Arts Club.

The event will feature a diverse selection of films, including Diaries from Lebanon (Lebanon), End of the World (China), and Friday Funfair (China)—all carefully chosen from the Silk Road Film International Festival. Additionally, we are proud to present six short films from the Stage and Screen Society: A Little World: Inside the United Arts Club, Eveline, Jigsaw, Session 3, Newlywed, The Yellow Dress, and About: Blank.

We warmly invite you to join us for this celebration of cinema! 

Please see the schedule as below.

United Arts Club

3 Upper Fitzwilliam Street

Dublin 2, D02 RR50

Timetable

10 AM -10:30 PM

Film Schedule

10:00am -11:50am

Title: Diaries of Lebanon

Running Time: 1 hour 50 minutes

Country of Origin: Lebanon

Project Type: Documentary

Logline:  War, politics, or revolution. These are the choices of Georges, Joumana, and Perla Joe. Three destinies tied to a desire to change a sick country. How can we continue to dream when the world around us is collapsing?

Break 12pm -1pm

1pm -2.39pm

Project Title: Friday FunFair

Running Time: 1 hour 39 minutes

Country of Origin: China

Project Type: Feature

Logline: The woman promised her daughter to take her to the funfair on her birthday this Friday, but from then on their life seems to be gradually derailing out of control.

Break 2:45pm -3:30pm

3:30pm- 5:09pm

Project title: Until the End of the World

Running time: 1 hour 39 minutes

Country of origin: China

Synopsis: The film tells the story of a Chinese American named Fei Wu, who traveled along the Han River to a 300-year-old village on the south bank of the Han River in search of her grandmother’s hometown.

Break 5:10pm – 6:00pm

Stage and Screen Society: Selection of Short films

6:00 pm -6:50 pm

1. Documentary:

‘A little world: Inside the United Arts Club’ by Felix Morgan

2. Short film

‘Eveline’ by Sam Harman Conlon

3. Horror film

‘Jigsaw’ by Sensa Productions

4. Short film

‘Session 3’ by Yellow Glove Productions (Jasper Alyn Stephens)

5. Comedy film

‘Newlywed’ by Daniel Fernández

6. Short film

‘Yellow Dress’ by Deborah Grimes

7pm-8:17pm

Project Title: About: Blank

Running Time: 1 hour 17 minutes

Country of Origin: Ireland

Project Type: Animation Film

Enjoy!

Team SRIFF

REGISTER ON DEMAND HERE

The 12th Silk Road International Film Festival Awards 2024

The 2024 edition of SRIFF categories:
• FEATURE
• DOCUMENTARY
• ANIMATION
• SHORT
• STUDENT FILM

The 12th Silk Road International Film Festival Awards in following categories:
A – FEATURE
Best Feature Until the End of the World (China)
Best Director Fei Chen “Until the End of the World” (China)
Best Actor Leifang Wang “Until the End of the World” (China)
Best Actress Zixuan Xu “Until the End of the World” (China)

B – DOCUMENTARY
Best Documentary Diaries from Lebanon (Lebanon)
Best Director  Anthony Wonke “The Accidental Spy” (USA)

C – ANIMATION
Best Animation Tomorrow (Iran)
Best Director Aryasb Feiz “Tomorrow” (Iran)

D – SHORT
Best Short Live Action Trouble (Ireland)
Best Short Documentary The Imagination of a Child (Italy)
Jury Special Mention Big City (Ireland)
Best Director Shane O’Callaghan “Making Waves” (Ireland)
Best Actor Dafhyd Draymond Flynn “Trouble” (Ireland)
Best Actress Emily Kilkenny Roddy “Trouble” (Ireland)

E – STUDENT FILM IRELAND
Best Student Film Star Quest (Ireland)

F – STUDENT FILM INTERNATIONAL
Best Student Film International Chico (Netherlands)

Irish Film & Television Academy (IFTA) Awards officially recognised film festival.

IMDb Qualifying Film Festival.

The Silk Road International Film Festival is thrilled to announce its 12th edition, set to captivate audiences with an incredible lineup of international films and bring the cinematic world to your doorstep.

This year, the festival will be held online along with physical screenings offering a unique opportunity for film enthusiasts to indulge in a diverse selection of feature films, documentaries, animations, and shorts.

The festival will run from 11th to 15th November with screenings also taking place on the 4th December.

Get ready to embark on a cinematic journey like no other, right from the comfort of your home. Each film will be available for viewing for 24 hours geo-blocked to Ireland, ensuring you have the flexibility to enjoy them at your convenience.

We have an intriguing lineup for our program this year, which celebrates the diversity and equality at the core of the Silk Road International Film Festival.

There’s something for everyone, whether it’s the heartbreaking documentaries like “Diaries from Lebanon”, or the thrilling “The Accidental Spy, or bold daring shorts, like the Iranian animation Tomorrow and the powerful drama “Big City”. Along with A Masterclass with Script Consultant and Screenwriter David Pope focusing on “Subtext: Speaking about the unspoken.”

This year’s festival brings an eclectic mix of many more unmissable films that showcase award-winning talent from across the globe, with an emphasis on films from the Middle East and Asia.

12th Silk Road International Film Festival 2024

Poster created by João Fonseca

Subtext is the unspoken, less obvious, and sometimes hidden meaning beneath the words and actions in a scene.

Subtext is often what gives us some of the most satisfying moments as an audience.

Moments where we know accurately what a character is thinking or feeling although it Is not directly stated in the dialogue or action.

We may be inspired, haunted, consoled or amused but whatever we feel we connect with the character on a very deep level.

The session aims to bring the conversation about subtext to the level that other narrative elements occupy in discussions about screenwriting. Using practical examples, we will aim to outline some useful strategies for recognising and elevating the potential for subtext in screenplays.

Biography

David Pope is a script consultant and screenwriter working internationally. His work has included working with Academy Award, BAFTA, and European Film Award nominated producers and screenwriters and national film funds.

Recent films that David has worked on as script consultant include:

TIGER STRIPES, winner Jury Prize Semaine De La Critique Cannes Film Festival 2023 and candidate for Best International Film Academy Award 2024.

TRUTH AND JUSTICE – shortlisted for Best International Feature Film Academy Award (2020)

TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT – candidate for Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award (2019) ​

As a screenwriter David’s most recent commissions include writing the feature film RULIN and the latest draft of the feature film NO  FUTURE. He currently has in development TV projects THE VERSIONS and UNFINISHED and feature film projects THE BELONGING and LITTLE DOORS.

He consulted on the feature films MAGIC MOUNTAINS 2021 and SPLENDID ISOLATION 2022 both with director Urszula Antoniak.

In addition he consulted on TV  drama series, IMPERIAL SPY, for Fremantle (American Gods, Deutschland 83) and on a slate of five feature film projects for On-Screen Manitoba.

​David is the annual consultant / moderator for the Rotterdam Lab at CineMart and Program Consultant on Stowe Story Labs in the United States.

He is a Screen Consultancy Specialist in script development for FOCUS, a scheme funded by Creative Scotland and Scottish Enterprise supporting production companies in Scotland.

​​In addition he has acted as creative consultant for The Royal Film Commission – Jordan on the Rawi Screenwriting Lab and is a frequent script consultant for MIDPOINT Institute and BoostNL.