STVF Welcomes Its “Magnolia” Award Jury – “Little Flower” Song Jia

　　On May 13, the STVF Organizing Committee publicly announced that “young Song Jia”, who has previously won the “Magnolia” Award and Golden Rooster Award for best actress, will serve on the jury for the Television Series award category of the 21st STVF, helping out with the “Magnolia” Award selection work. After claiming the “Magnolia” Award in 2012, she is now returning to the STVF as a judge, displaying her professional demeanor outside of acting.

　　Song Jia received professional training and graduated from the Acting Department of the Shanghai Theater Academy, and she is now already recognized as a leading actress in China. In the ten plus years of her performing career, she has carefully adapted herself to each role, and constantly challenged herself. Behind her delicately pretty face hides the persistence and tenacity she’s needed as a female actress.

　　On account of her displaying remarkable ability in her role in Curiosity Kills the Cat as a manicure girl with a clear-cut stand on what to love and what to hate, Song Jia was nominated for a Golden Rooster Award for Best Supporting Actress; Her role as the ill-fated Xian Er in Adventure in Northeast China showed audiences her inept ability to transform into different roles, and her character become one of those that moved audiences the most; In The Brink, Song Jia played the lead female character Gu Qiuyan. Within the limited story structure, Song Jia revealed a multifaceted character and a complex psychological world, and received both the Magnolia and Golden Eagle Best Actress Awards;

 

　　In Falling Flowers, Song Jia completely took over as she depicted the legendary life of renowned Chinese writer Xiao Hong, and won the 29th Golden Rooster Award for Best Actress, the 9th Chinese American Film Festival Gold Angel Award for Best Actress. This film was also entered into the 15th Shanghai International Film Festival, and ended up winning the “Golden Goblet” Award for Best Cinematography. Throughout her molding and reshaping in the form of these many roles, Song Jia has shown a strong ability to adapt. Her acting has been natural and unaffected, and she has shown both complete depth and changeability, winning her acclaim as a “versatile actress”.

 

　　To understand the source of Song Jia’s relationship with the STVF, we have to go back three years. In 2012, Song Jia played the role of the female intelligence agent Gu Qiuyan in the hit spy TV series The Brink, for which she won the 18th STVF’s “Magnolia” Award for Best Actress in a Television Series. On receiving the award, Song Jia laughed and said “My nickname just so happens to be ‘Little Flower’, and the Magnolia is a flower too. Shanghai must really love me.” That year’s Jury President Li Shaohong commented on how Song Jia truly deserved the award, saying “She’s a very professional actress. From a director’s point of view, The Brink really didn’t set up more space and detail for her, and there were no major plot twists for support. It all came down to Song Jia’s internal performance”.

 

　　On why Song Jia was invited to serve as a judge for this year’s STVF, the Organizing Committee said that it’s of course better to have someone with excellent professional accomplishments and achievements in the award category’s field. At the same time, they are also attempting to enrich the composition and structure of the jury panel. Having a full range of leading figures from each distinction of the TV industry, such as directors, screenwriters, actors, and producers, to carry out judging of the admitted works, ensures that the appraisal is professional and comprehensive.

 

　　The 2015 Shanghai Television Festival will be held from June 8 to June 12. This year’s will be the 21st STVF. The STVF is a first-rate comprehensive exchange platform for the international TV industry in Asia, and is also the most international Chinese TV festival. The “Magnolia” Award appraisal and selection for international TV programs is renowned for its authoritativeness and fairness, and it was also the earliest award of its kind in China. The “Magnolia” Award jury panel has always been quite the power team, with all of the judges being industry elites with extensive influence either in China or abroad.

 

　　Zheng Xiaolong, Li Shaohong, Guo Baochang, Zhang Jizhong, Zhang Li, Gao Mantang, Jiang Wenli, Wang Liping, Nicholas Meyer, and Claas Danielsen are just some of the big names that have previously served as “Magnolia” Award judges. The 2015 “Magnolia” Award for Best TV Series will be presided over by famous Chinese director Yan Jian’gang, who will review the entries together with five other Chinese and foreign judges. It is said that the rest of those on the list of this year’s STVF judges will be announced any day now.