On November 8, the highly anticipated 3rd Shenzhen Sci-Fi Film Industry Competition successfully concluded at the School of Digital Media, Shenzhen Polytechnic University. This competition is one of the important activities of the 10th Shenzhen (International) Science and Technology Film Week, aiming to unearth and cultivate potential sci-fi film projects and film industrial enterprises, promoting the vigorous development of Shenzhen's sci-fi film industry.
As China's first professional competition focusing on sci-fi film industrialization enterprises, the competition attracted more than 100 outstanding enterprises and young directors from major domestic sci-fi hubs such as Shenzhen, Beijing, Chengdu, Shaanxi, Chongqing, and Hunan since its launch on October 20. At the event site, more than 25 shortlisted director projects and enterprises participated in the roadshow. Roadshow enterprises included those from subdivided fields such as IP development, AIGC special effects production, VR games, sci-fi derivatives, and virtual shooting. Sci-fi director projects ranged from movies and animations to games, covering themes such as space adventure and future civilizations, presenting a splendid array of content.
The final judging panel of this competition consisted of well-known industry experts including Ma Guobin, Director of the Guangdong Science Writers Association and Deputy Director of the Sci-Fi Professional Committee; Xiao Yong, Vice President of Supu Global; Zheng Chun, General Manager of Shenzhen Yuehuanxin Technology Co., Ltd. under Shenzhen Media Group; and Guo Qichen, Animation Director of the School of Digital Media at Shenzhen Polytechnic University. They conducted a comprehensive review of the projects from multiple dimensions. The participating project teams at the scene all showed their best state, competing fiercely with vivid and interesting Q&A sessions.
Since the beginning of this year, with the rapid development of new technologies such as AR/VR, artificial intelligence, and biotechnology, the film and television industry has also entered a digital intelligence era driven by big data and AI. The existing industry landscape faces huge challenges. High-tech such as digitization, internet, AI, virtual imaging, and XR has brought about a new media culture revolution, changing the media mode of images, and creating many new media arts related to film and television, including web movies, series, interactive dramas, VR images, and film-game integration. This has brought changes to the entire industry chain of film production, manufacturing, dissemination, and reception, and has also had a huge impact on the concepts, thinking, imagination, and working methods of film creators and enterprises.
Third Shenzhen Sci-Fi Film Industry Competition entered Shenzhen Science and Technology Film Week again against this background. This is also a measure to further promote the innovation and development of film technology and improve Shenzhen's influence and brand effect in the film industry. Shenzhen is a natural fertile ground for the development of the sci-fi industry. In the past few years, China's sci-fi industry has ushered in a golden period of vigorous development. IP works such as The Wandering Earth and The Three-Body Problem series have shone brightly, and excellent sci-fi films and games have emerged one after another. In 2024, the total revenue of China's sci-fi industry reached 108.96 billion yuan, with original capabilities in sci-fi reading, derivatives, and cultural tourism sectors becoming prominent. Cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, and Shenzhen continue to issue support policies, holding sci-fi forums, competitions, and exhibitions, jointly promoting the rapid rise of the sci-fi economy.
As China's first professional competition focusing on sci-fi film industrialization enterprises, the Shenzhen Sci-Fi Film Industry Competition focuses on promoting the progress of film engineering and industrialization, fully demonstrating the power behind Shenzhen's film industrialization. At the same time, through holding the competition, it comprehensively sorts out the industrial chain of Shenzhen's sci-fi film industry, attracting more outstanding domestic upstream and downstream enterprises of the film industry to settle in Shenzhen, promoting the formation of a complete industrial chain system integrating R&D, production, distribution, and display, injecting new strong momentum into the development of the film industry in Shenzhen and even China.
Multiple major awards of this competition, including Best Visual Effects, Best Sound Effects, Best Cinematography, and Best Sci-Fi Concept Design, will be presented at the closing ceremony of the 10th Shenzhen (International) Science and Technology Film Week on November 14.