The market section of the Beijing International Film Festival has linked up with the Motion Picture Association (MPA) on a series of joint initiatives to help young filmmakers.
The measures are aimed at boosting filmmaking in China by fast-tracking and pitching projects with help from workshops, pitching opportunities, mentoring and award competitions, the Beijing Festival said in a statement.
The festival takes place in the Chinese capital between April 16 and 23, and is growing in importance in the five years since it started, mirroring the expansion of the Chinese film industry into the world's second biggest.
The initiatives include a new MPA Grand Prize created to award the winner of the MPA Film Workshop, which has now has become part of the film project market.
The winner will join others from similar competitions at other MPA film workshops for a study tour to Hollywood studios to learn about professional filmmaking. They will also get an opportunity to pitch their projects to studios for international film co-production.
The MPA will also host forums and panel discussions, as well as coaching sessions and project pitching as part of the Beijing Film Market program.
The organizers also plan to integrate financial, legal, production, post-production and promotional resources from the Film Factor Market, which is the other professional platform at the Beijing Film Market.
This year, former Rome director Marco Mueller will be the festival's new chief advisor, while Luc Besson will chair the jury.