At the 7th Hainan Island International Film Festival in China, jury president Marco Müller urged audiences and industry to rethink the event’s place on the calendar, arguing that its slot between AFM and Berlin gives Hainan a unique chance to premiere the films that will define the coming year – not recap the one that’s ending.

Festival jurors acknowledged the challenges facing a young festival in an already overcrowded global film schedule. Speaking at a press conference introducing the festival jury, Müller, jury president for HIIFF’s Golden Coconut Award, attempted to redefine the festival’s schedule, late in the year, as its greatest strategic asset.

Rather than presenting a summary of the current year’s films, Müller argued that the HIIFF could be a platform that introduces ground

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