Under today’s new society and market conditions, the film market is in a state of persistent wandering and hesitation. In a post-Covid context, what comes with a lack of resources is a reduced public sphere where conversations are made possible. It is precisely at this time that the significance of exchange is more recognized than ever.
When we look at the overall state of the cinema in recent years, we will find that there is a precise calculation and careful planning that panders to the demands of the audience. However, this makes it unlikely for ground-breaking works to be produced, one that can blaze a new trail for the industry and advance the medium as a whole. At this point, how can the conflict between “artistic exploration” and “market orientation” in the field of film production might instead become a synergy? How do we present a new form of film aesthetics?
According to Habermas, in an era with increasingly fragmented values, the very foundation that constructs society will be replaced by the principles applied in business negotiations: “Just those action norms are valid to which all possibly affected persons could agree as participants in rational discourses.” When different parties are determined to make the cinema prosper again, how can film festivals, as a field where filmmakers, industry insiders, luminaries, cinephiles and local citizens interact, gather synergy from conversations and snatch away the hesitation within the market?