Program lends a helping hand to young directors

For instance, London-educated Long Lingyun's 90-minute feature Vanished Girl recounts a 20-year-old's discovery of his half-sister, who was abandoned by his father as the policy then didn't allow a family to have a second child.

As for Wei Yongyao's 100-minute suspense film The Priest in the Village, the movie by the 25-year-old native of Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region is based almost entirely on true stories told to him by his uncle.

The film, set in an isolated village in Guangxi, depicts a string of weird events taking place after a funeral.

There is also a fantasy film-female director Liu Siyi's Flaming Cloud, which is similar to the classic fairy tale Sleeping Beauty.

Set in a fictional realm, a young man suffers from a curse that every living creature he kisses will promptly fall asleep.

With over 300 member directors, including iconic masters such as Zhang Yimou and Chen Kaige, the guild has arranged veteran filmmakers to coach the finalists for four months on a range of skills, from polishing scripts to convincing potential investors.

Fu Jia, the supervisor of the program, says the guidance will help to show "young talent how to avoid wasting their time and energy before they enter the industry".

Speaking about Young Shoots, Xie Fei, a renowned director and chairman of the program, says: "In addition to experiences and artistic attainment, young directors also need help from a certain mechanism, which can connect them with the film industry and give them opportunities to display their talents."