The festival, to be held in Toronto from August 9th to 17th, 2024, has announced the eight short films selected for the competitive “Fountainhead” Programme.

After three months of call for submissions and preliminary selections, 2024 Mulan International Film Festival is thrilled to announce the short films in the Official Selection of the competitive “Fountainhead” Programme.

The Fountainhead Programme, established in 2019 as a regular programme of Mulan International Film Festival (MulanIFF), celebrates and promotes emerging talents and their works with creative originality.

This year, MulanIFF received entries from over a hundred filmmakers around the world. After detailed discussions and pre-selections by our programming team, eight short films have made the cut. The selected directors are JIANG Geng, Ocean CHIN, Jacqueline CHAN, LAI Yuqing, YU Chih-Chieh, LIN Yihan, XU Peiyao, and ZHONG Hongshi. They come from diverse educational, life, and creative backgrounds, having received education from places including Mainland China, Taiwan, the United States, Canada, and the Czech Republic. Among them, MulanIFF has new talents making their debut in the programme, as well as returning friends marking their second entries.

MulanIFF is excited to bring their exceptional original works to film enthusiasts from Toronto and everywhere else, from August 9th to 17th during the fifth edition of the festival.

These shorts will compete for the Jury Prize for Best Short Film, awarded by the jury, and the Audience Award, chosen by MulanIFF’s audience. Both awards come with a cash prize of $300 CAD, which goes directly to the directors.

Short films in the Official Selection of the 2024 “Fountainhead” Competition Programme, in no particular order:

May the Lord Protect Us by JIANG Geng
15 minutes | 2023 | Experimental | Chaoshan Dialect | English and Chinese Subtitles
World Premiere

A Year Apart by Ocean CHIN
17 minutes | 2023 | Fiction | Wuhan Dialect | English and Chinese Subtitles
North American Premiere

Chan is Fishing by Jacqueline CHAN
14 minutes | 2024 | Fiction | Cantonese | English and Chinese Subtitles
Canadian Premiere

Two Suns by LAI Yuqing
15 minutes | 2023 | Fiction | Mandarin, English | English and Chinese Subtitles | 16mm to digital
North American Premiere

Redacted by YU Chih-Chieh
19 minutes | 2024 | Fiction | Mandarin | English and Chinese Subtitles
International Premiere

Sojourn to Shangri-La by LIN Yihan
20 minutes | 2023 | Fiction | Mandarin, English | English Subtitles
North American Premiere

All About Shaochang by XU Peiyao
20 minutes | 2023 | Documentary | Sichuanese Dialect | English Subtitles
North American Premiere

Summer Knows by ZHONG Hongshi
20 minutes | 2023 | Fiction | Chongqing Dialect | English and Chinese Subtitles
North American Premiere

The 2024 Mulan International Film Festival will be held from August 9 to August 17, 2024, at Innis Town Hall, University of Toronto St. George.

Festival Pack Sales Start:

Whether you’re a cinephile enjoying it solo or sharing it with close friends and loved ones, the 2024 Mulan International Film Festival Festival Packs offer you the best prices. Purchase before EDT 11:59:59 PM, July 13th to enjoy an extra early bird discount!

This year, MulanIFF offers the following three festival pack options:
3-Ticket Festival Pack: Redeemable for 3 tickets to any screenings.
6 + 2 Festival Pack: Redeemable for 6 tickets to any screenings and 2 tickets to any “Fountainhead” programme screenings.
10 + 4 Festival Pack: Redeemable for 10 tickets to any screenings and 4 tickets to any “Fountainhead” programme screenings.

For festival pack prices and more information, please visit MulanIFF Festival Pack page