This year, the Asian New Talent Awards (ANTA) section of the Shanghai International Film Festival (SIFF) celebrated its 20th anniversary with a split slate recognizing the work of emerging filmmakers from China and India.

Since Zhu Wen took home the festival’s first New Talent award for “South of the Clouds” in 2004, the ANTAs have helped launch a number of young directors and performers to stardom. In 2005, 28-year-old Ning Hao was shortlisted for the audience-favorite “Mongolian Ping Pong”; the following year, Ning’s low-budget caper “Crazy Stone” was one of the year’s biggest box office hits in China. Similarly, 2006 ANTA winner Cao Baoping later won SIFF’s Best Director award in 2016.

The ANTAs are not just a hotbed for young Chinese talents, either. Another member of the 2005 shortlist, Japanese animator Makoto Shinkai, has become a pillar of the Japanese film industry, directing global hits like “Your Name” and 2022’s “Suzume.” The 2015 film “0.5 mm,” by sisters Momoko Ando and Sakura Ando also made the shortlist, with Momoko ultimately taking home the Best Director award. The pair has continued to find success, with Sakura Ando earning praise at Cannes for her performances in films like “Monster” and “Shoplifters.”

But the real strength of the ANTAs is their eclecticism. Historically, it’s somewhat unusual for the ANTAs to be dominated by representatives of just two countries. Since its inception, the competition has looked for the next generation of filmmakers trying to challenge existing film language, explore innovative forms of presentation, and push the boundaries of cinematic expression. Organizers have also consistently looked past more established nations to spotlight filmmakers in South and Central Asian countries traditionally overlooked by the international film circuit.

The ANTAs’ best-known find may have been the Tibetan writer and filmmaker Pema Tseden, whose debut feature “The Silent Holy Stones” earned him a Best Director award in 2006. The film, which revolves around the daily life of a young lama in a Tibetan-majority area of Qinghai province, launched what came to be known as the Tibetan New Wave. After Pema Tseden, another director from the Tibetan areas of Qinghai, Sonthar Gyal, won acclaim at the Asian New Talent Awards. His first two movies, “The Sun-Beaten Path” and “River,” were shortlisted in 2011 and 2015, respectively, before he broke through in 2018, winning a SIFF Special Jury Award for “Ala Changso.”

Most of the works featured by the Asian New Talent Awards are by young directors still honing their craft, and the exposure they offer can help stimulate interest in a country or region’s film scene. In terms of Asia as a whole, the competition has long looked to countries in South Asia — such as Vietnam, Laos, Nepal, Cambodia, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and other regions with underdeveloped film industries — in an effort to spotlight new directors who have not trained in North American or European schools.

Since 2020, the competition’s film selection has expanded to Central Asia, another region that has been relegated to the peripheries of global cinema and where new directors are using film to express their imaginations and views on life to the world. Last year, Uzbek filmmaker Shokir Kholikov won Best Film at the Asian New Talent Awards with his debut feature “Sunday,” while Kazakh director Aisultan Seit (“Qash”) and Chinese director Luo Dong (“May”) shared the Best Director ANTA.

After 20 years, the significance of the Asian New Talent Awards is not limited to scouting talented filmmakers; more importantly, they continue to expand and enrich the tapestry of Asian cinema. Thai director and Palme d’Or winner Apichatpong Weerasethakul has noted that film festivals are not competitions where only the winners shine; they also serve as a window into other cultures and a bridge into new worlds. The Asian New Talent Awards are looking to remove the limits to what films can achieve and present greater diversity to the world.

Translator: David Ball; editor: Wu Haiyun.

(Header image: Visuals from Douban and VCG, reedited by Sixth Tone)