Yao Chen and Wallace Chung as Jury Members of TV Drama Category | The 23rd STVF Announces Jury List

Recently, the Organizing Committee of the 23rd Shanghai TV Festival announced the full list of jury for the Magnolia Awards. Led by director Mao Weining, the jury is composed of screenwriter Chen Wengui, actress Yao Chen, actor Wallace Chung and director Yao Xiaofeng. Director Mao Weining will also team up with American screenwriter and producer Vaun Wilmott, and screenwriter Marisha Mukerjee as the jury for foreign TV dramas.

Besides the two previously revealed jury presidents, Simon Kilmurry and Joan Lofts, for the Documentary and Animation Categories respectively, another two big names will join in the juries. Lin Xudong and Rakesh Sharma will join the Documentary Category while Thailand director Chawalit Kaewmanee and Chinese animation director Su Da will join the Animation Category.
The 23rd Shanghai TV Festival will be held from June 12 to June 16.
 

Jury for TV drama Category

Jury President: Mao Weining (China, Director)

As a famous director in China, Mao Weining has directed many excellent TV dramas since 2002 that have achieved success both commercially and artistically, such as Silent Oath, The File of Plum Blossom, The Dawns Here Are Quiet, Police Story and Nameless Hero. He was awarded the Magnolia Award for Best Director for his TV drama Ordinary World at the 21st Shanghai TV Festival in 2015. From the winner of the Magnolia Award for Best Director to jury president of TV Drama this year, Mao Weining said honestly that such an identity transfer enables him to have a better understanding of how a jury member feels. As the jury president, he will be definitely impartial.

Jury Member: Chen Wengui (China, Screenwriter)

As a screenwriter who travels between the mainland, and Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao, Chen Wengui moved from Xiamen to Hong Kong in his early years, where he worked as a screenwriter and created the classic drama Heroes from Youngsters. Then he moved to Taipei, engaged in screen writing for TV drama. His works including Judge Bao, Legend of Dagger Lee, and Old House Has Joy are well-received among the audience. The movie script he created, The Grandson of Old Man Ge, is the original script of Director Wu Tianming’s film The King of Masks. He moved to Beijing in 1998 as a TV writer. The well-known drama The Eloquent Ji Xiaolan is his original work. He was awarded the Magnolia Award for Best Screenwriter for costume drama The Orphan of Zhao at the 19th Shanghai TV Festival.

Jury Member: Yao Chen (China, Actress)

Yao Chen is a famous actress and is popular among the audience. She is good at playing all kinds of roles many of which the audience find impressive. In recent years, Yao Chen successfully portrayed various roles, including Guo Furong, a bright-eyed swordswoman ready to serve justice in My Own Swordsman, Wang Cuiping, a fearless agent in Lurk, and Luo Li, a competent female lawyer in Divorce Lawyers. Her performance in these dramas are well-acclaimed by both critics and audience. Taking on roles elegantly in dramas set in different times, she never stops making breakthroughs in her acting career. In 2010, she won the 25th China TV Golden Eagle Awards for the Most Popular Actress for her acting in Lurk.

Jury Member: Yao Xiaofeng (China, Director)

Yao Xiaofeng is a prolific director of TV dramas in recent years. From Brothers in 2010 and Aftershock in 2011, to If by Life You Were Deceived in 2012 and May-December Love in 2013, then to Tiger Mom and May-December Love 2 in recent years, Yao Xiaofeng keeps exploring in dramas portraying family life, achieving great success. In the award ceremony of the 20th Shanghai TV Festival in 2014, two dramas directed by him were nominated in many awards competitions. In the end, If by Life You Were Deceived won TV Drama Golden Award, and May-December Love won Best Actor and Best Screenplay. In 2016, Tiger Mom directed by him was shortlisted in several Magnolia Awards categories.

Jury Member: Wallace Chung (Hong Kong China, Actor)

Although making his debut as a singer, Wallace Chung has given priority to film and TV drama acting a long time ago. He has performance in dramas of various themes such as Treacherous Waters, Too Late to Say I Love You and Best Time. In 2012, for his dual role in Imminent Crisis, Wallace Chung was nominated the Audience\'s Favorite TV Drama Actor in the Hong Kong and Taiwan region at the 26th China TV Golden Eagle Award and the Most Popular Actor at the 9th China Golden Eagle TV Art Festival. He finally won the Audience\'s Favorite TV Drama Actor in the Hong Kong and Taiwan region, becoming the first actor from Hong Kong and Taiwan region to win such a national TV award. In 2015, The Stand-in starred by him was nominated Outstanding Television Series at Flying Apsaras Awards. In My Sunshine, he played He Yichen, a talent who majors in Law. His performance was well-acclaimed, and this drama was aired in many TV stations with high ratings.

 
Jury Members of Foreign TV Dramas

Marisha Mukerjee (US， Screenwriter)

Marisha is skilled at creating communication bridges among different cultures by portraying impressive roles and stories. She owns a MA in Art History and a MPS in Screenwriting, and specializes in Drama and Film Studies. During the 8 years in Europe and India, she co-established Relief Productions Theater Group and Madrina Films, directing many plays and short films while also working as a producer. The short film she directed Open House was the 2015 LA Film Festival Short Comedy Winner. Her TV series works include The Bridge aired on FX Networks and Heroes: Reborn aired on NBC. Another work Quantico is also on the air in ABC.

Vaun Wilmott (US Writer, Producer)

On April 4, Prison Break, the classic US drama that enjoys a large following around the world has officially returned with Season Five. Vaun Wilmott is the executive producer and screenwriter of the new Prison Break series. Graduating from University of California, Santa Barbara with honours, Vaun Wilmott majored in Politics, but he joined Hollywood after his graduation. What’s interesting is that, as a fanatical fan of sci-fi, his first job in Hollywood was as a “redshirt” extra on Star Trek: The Next Generation. His other important works include Sons of Anarchy, a crime drama and Dominion, a fantasy.

Jury Members of Documentary Category

Jury President: Simon Kilmurry (US, Documentary Producer)

Simon Kilmurry was the executive producer of the longest-running independent documentary program “Point of View” (referred to as POV).  In the 16 years he spent on POV, he and his team had won 17 Emmy Awards and more than 60 Emmy nominations, as well as International Documentary Association Awards for Best Series for 2 consecutive years. After leaving POV, Simon KIlmurry dedicated more to the promotion of documentaries. Besides acting as a jury member at world\'s major film festivals, documentary festivals, he also established studios and film schools in universities in the United States and other places around the world, to develop more talents for documentary production.

Jury Member: Lin Xudong (China, Researcher on Documentary Films)

Lin Xudong is an artistic creator with multiple identities including painter, critic and montage director. Graduating from Central Academy of Fine Arts, he began teaching courses on documentary production and promoting documentary development in China through the program “Living Space” aired on CCTV. In 2000, as a film consultant and editing consultant, Lin Xudong was involved in the production of some important works, such as Platform, Still Life, 24 City and Mountains May Depart directed by Jia Zhangke. Because of his great contribution to Chinese films, and to documentaries in particular, he was invited to serve as a jury member for international festivals several times. In 2013, Lin Xudong won the Golden Horse Award for Best Film Editing with A Touch of Sin.

Jury Member: Rakesh Sharma (India, Director)

Rakesh Sharma began working as an assistant director in the program Discover India, and started his career in film and TV drama production. He founded 3 channels, channel V、Star Plus and Vijay TV in India. His independent documentary Aftershocks: The Rough Guide to Democracy won many awards at international film festivals and was screened in over 100 film festivals worldwide. His work Final Solution tells the public riots caused by Godhra train burning incident. This documentary made interviews from several perspectives, reproducing the scenes and the cause. This film won several awards at Berlin International Film Festival, Hong Kong International Film Festival and Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival. 

 
Jury Member of Animation Category

Jury President: Joan Lofts (UK, Animation Producer)

Joan Lofts is an animation filmmaker and freelance media consultant from the UK. She was responsible for the production of animation programs in many TV media or channels in the UK.
Now, as a freelance animation media consultant, Joan assumes positions such as chairman of the cartoon forum of Cartoon Media and project director of the Asian Animation Summit, while organizing seminars on the creation of IP and project venture in the Czech Republic, Saudi Arabia and other regions, remaining active in the field of animation production and development.

Jury Member: Chawalit Kaewmanee (Thailand, Director)

After graduating from Srinakharinwirot University in Thailand with a major in Visual Communication Design, the young Chawalit Kaewmanee started his career as animation director and film director in the most famous animation studio The Monk Studios. In the past 9 years, he has participated in the production of Kingsglaive Final Fantasy XV, Strange Magic, Nine, and Star Wars: Detours. The short animation film directed by him, Nine, won 13 international awards including the Best Director for Short Films and Best Art Direction at the Prix Tour-Apollo. He also participated in the production of Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back as animation director.

Jury Member: Su Da (China, Director)

Su Da is the creator of Big-Eared Tutu, a cartoon character that has become a household name. Graduating from Department of Fine Arts of Beijing Film Academy with a major in Animation, she has been working in Shanghai Animation Film Studio since 2000. Inspired by the daily life of children, Su Da created Tutu, a mischievous, cute and kind boy. In 2008, Big-Eared Tutu Season II won the Magnolia Award for Best Chinese Animation Golden Award. In 2009, Animation category was set up for the first time in the Best Works Award and Big-Eared Tutu was awarded. In 2016, Su Da served as the art director of Shanghai Animation Film Studio. Under her leadership, there are several ongoing projects like The Legend of Afanti, Gorge Leaping Gorals, Confucius and Calabash Brothers.

 (The above profiles are arranged alphabetically by the initials of last names of the jury members)