The Shanghai Student Film Festival was conceived in 2006 at the first Learning 2.0 Conference in Shanghai.  Participants identified a need for students to have an outlet to share all of the great films they were creating in their classes.  Whether documenting a science project, reporting on a local event, or creating a short narrative, our students were creating meaningful work and in need of an authentic audience.  

As the festival grew, we established forums for students grades 3-5, 6-8, high school, as well as a specific forum directed at IB Film students. We also created an 8 Hour Film Festival, in which high school students were challenged to create a short film at an undisclosed location in just one day.  Since 2016 we have been hosted graciously by the Shanghai Vancouver Film School where the students receive hands on lessons from film professionals and professors.  

After three years of covid-induced online festivals, S2F2 included major changes in 2023.  Our 8 hour film challenge became the 4x4x4 Film cChallenge, giving students a whole week to prepare their challenge work.