A Film Festival Case Study
Narrative | Dramatic Features
Film Name: Manting
Genre: Drama/Romance
Length of film: 15 min
Date: May 2023
Director: Shuyao Chen
Producer: Yuanxing Hu
Writer: Shuyao Chen
Cinematographer: Yifan Wen
Editor: Shikong Chen
Composer: Seowon Hyun
Budget: USD 20,000
Financing: crowdfunding, self-financed
Shooting Format: Digital
Screening Format: DCP
World Premiere: 34th Hamburg International Queer Film Festival
Awards: 19th Dieciminuti Film Festival—Best Script Award
Website: www.shuyaochen.com, and Film Link
The Official Trailer for Manting
Watch The Official Trailer for “Manting,” Directed by Shuyao Chen
A Short Biography of Shuyao Chen
Shuyao Chen was born and raised in Wenzhou, a coastal city in southeast China. She moved to New York in 2018 to pursue an MFA degree at NYU Graduate Film after she completed her study in photojournalism at Penn State University. Her first short film, Winter by the River, won Best Actor (Asian International Competition) at Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia 2022 and Best Short Film at Berlin Film Week 2022, and was selected by HollyShorts Film Festival 2022.
The Shuyao Chen Interview
indieactivity: What is your film about?
Shuyao Chen (SC): Manting tells a story of a Chinese woman in her 60s reconnecting with her adolescent lesbian lover when one of her old classmates passes away. After the classmates’ reunion event in a karaoke bar, they end up spending a night together roaming in the city.
The story originated from a true story I encountered when I was reporting stories in Syracuse a couple of years ago for a journalism workshop. I met a man in his 70s and found out that he was recently divorced because his wife came out as a lesbian and moved in with her lesbian lover at the time. I was surprised by what he told me because a divorce at the age of 70 would be unthinkable in my culture. That’s why I got curious if such stories would repeat themselves in China, and through my extensive research, I came up with the story of Manting. So, Manting is the result of many inspirations and is purely fictional.
Manting tells the story of a Chinese woman in her 60s who reconnects with her adolescent lesbian lover after one of her old classmates passes away. Following a reunion event at a karaoke bar, they spend the night roaming the city together.
The story originated from a true experience I encountered while reporting in Syracuse a couple of years ago for a journalism workshop. I met a man in his 70s who had recently divorced because his wife came out as a lesbian and moved in with her lover. I was surprised by his story, as a divorce at the age of 70 would be unthinkable in my culture. This sparked my curiosity about whether similar stories could occur in China. Through extensive research, I developed the narrative for Manting. So, Manting is the result of many inspirations and is purely fictional.
Tell us about the festival run, marketing, and sales.
Shuyao Chen (SC): Manting is currently being submitted to various film festivals around the world. It has won the Best Script Award at the 19th Dieciminuti Film Festival and has been selected for the Palm Springs International ShortFest, HollyShorts Film Festival, Minneapolis-St. Paul International Film Festival, Hamburg International Queer Film Festival, and others.
Development & Financing?
Shuyao Chen (SC): As the writer of Manting, I spent almost a year to finish the screenplay while I was simultaneously developing my first feature script. Most of the story came quite naturally, but the ending scene when they had to separate and end the night was very challenging to get just right. I wrote probably 25 different versions of the same scene, and in the end, I stopped writing it down but started acting it out myself to see what feels the most emotionally fit for the scene. I’m not sure if I have found the right ending for the story, but it’s the ending I personally feel most resonant with.
As for financing, part of the movie was crowdfunded by friends and extended family, and part of it was financed by my parents. I’m super lucky to have supportive parents who helped me with my first two short films, including Manting. Also, 7PM Literature and Film Corporation, a Bay Area-based cultural community nonprofit organization, after seeing our crowdfunding post, reached out to us, financially supported us, and covered part of the cost of the film.
As the writer of Manting, I spent almost a year finishing the screenplay while simultaneously developing my first feature script. Most of the story came quite naturally, but the ending scene, where the characters had to separate and end the night, was very challenging to get just right. I wrote probably 25 different versions of the same scene. In the end, I stopped writing it down and started acting it out myself to see what felt the most emotionally fitting for the scene. I’m not sure if I have found the perfect ending for the story, but it’s the one I personally feel most resonant with.
As for financing, part of the movie was crowdfunded by friends and extended family, and part of it was financed by my parents. I’m super lucky to have supportive parents who helped me with my first two short films, including Manting. Additionally, 7PM Literature and Film Corporation, a Bay Area-based cultural community nonprofit organization, reached out to us after seeing our crowdfunding post and provided financial support, covering part of the film’s cost.
What was the biggest challenge during pre-production?
Shuyao Chen (SC): Most of the pre-production went smoothly, except for some challenges we encountered in casting. Several actresses we reached out to turned us down due to the subject of the story. Just a couple of days before shooting, we only had two candidates for both lead roles, who eventually became our cast members – Yijing Zhang as Manting and Changmin Zhang as Manting’s past lover. I consider myself fortunate to have had them onboard, as they were incredibly supportive, understanding, and easy to work with.
Since neither of them had professional training, and Changmin’s acting experience was limited to commercials, my cinematographer and I decided to adjust some shots to better suit their performances. We transformed the entire dialogue scene on the stairs to handheld to enhance intimacy and further bring out the subtleties in the emotions.
How long was the production? How many hours did you shoot each day?
Shuyao Chen (SC): We filmed in Nanning, Guangxi, and the entire production took five days. Since the story takes place at night, we had to schedule three out of the five days for overnight shoots. This posed quite a challenge for the cast, especially since Changmin is almost 70 years old. To ensure the best performances, we strategically planned and scheduled the emotionally heavier scenes earlier in the shoot. Ultimately, we ended up filming for 11 hours each day.
Festival Preparation & Strategy?
Shuyao Chen (SC): I didn’t prepare much for the festivals for my first short film, Winter by the River. I basically registered for an account on FilmFreeway and submitted to festivals based on the brief descriptions listed there and my general research. The entire process was very time-consuming and caused me a lot of anxiety. So, as I was finishing Manting, I knew I needed to reach out to distribution companies specializing in film festival strategies to help me through the process.
ShortsFit was the distribution company I decided to collaborate with. Because, they fully understood the vibe of my film and what I was aiming for. They provided a professional perspective and made my process much easier. We set some goals together, which they respected. It’s an LGBT story. So, obviously, we took that into account. It’s such an intimate story. So, we wanted to make sure that it traveled to screens beyond the thematic angle. Where the viewer could value the film the most. And, that it could also help the film and me, boosting my professional career.
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