At the end of the 90s of the 20th century, an ambitious change began in the Chinese film industry.
With the deepening of reform and opening up, China is eager to show its cultural strength on the international stage, and the film festival has become the best carrier of this desire.
From Shanghai to Beijing and other inland cities, a huge film festival movement has quietly emerged, opening a window to the world for Chinese films.
The core goal of this movement is not only to imitate the format of Western film festivals, but also to gain a voice in the global film landscape.
Chinese filmmakers are well aware that in order to occupy a place on the international stage, they must follow international rules and at the same time maintain their own characteristics. This balanced art has become a major challenge in the development of Chinese film festivals.
China's international cultural stage
The Shanghai International Film Festival took the lead in firing the first shot in this cultural battle, and as the most international city in China, Shanghai has naturally become the best platform for the Chinese film industry to dialogue with the world.
This is followed by the Beijing International Film Festival, the capital of which has ambitions to become one of the world's leading film festivals. The rise of these two major film festivals marks that the Chinese film industry has officially embarked on a journey of internationalization.
However, it's not enough to just hold a film festival. How to create a film festival with Chinese characteristics and in line with international standards has become a difficult problem for Chinese filmmakers.
They began to delve into the operation mode of top international film festivals such as Cannes and Berlin, trying to find their own way in the reference.
After years of exploration and practice, China's large-scale comprehensive film festivals have gradually formed their own operational framework. The framework consists of four core sections: Competitions, Screenings, Marketing, and Events.
Among them, the competition unit is undoubtedly the most eye-catching, which not only attracts great attention from the media, but also becomes an important platform for colleagues in the film industry to exchange ideas.
However, in the construction of the competition unit, the Chinese film festival is facing a big dilemma.
The International Film Producers Association's strict requirements for the "premiere" of participating films put Chinese film festivals at a disadvantage in the competition for high-quality new films. In the face of the strength of old European film festivals, Chinese film festivals have to find another way to find a breakthrough.
In order to make up for this shortcoming, Chinese film festivals have begun to make efforts in other aspects. They set up parallel units to discover new people and showcase more experimental work.
The Shanghai International Film Festival's "Asian Newcomer Award" is a typical example of this strategy. This unit not only expands the scope of the festival, but also provides a stage for young directors to showcase their talents.
Ning Hao, Wanma Caidan, Cao Baoping, and a group of directors who later became famous started from here and gradually moved towards a broader stage.
In addition to the competition unit, the screening unit has also become an important position for the Chinese film festival to highlight its characteristics. Through well-planned film selection and promotion activities, the Chinese Film Festival has gradually established its own evaluation system.
Every year, the film festivals in Shanghai and Beijing present hundreds of films in dozens of thematic sections, attracting large audiences. This large-scale screening event not only meets the audience's viewing needs, but also provides a broad space for the film festival to set its agenda.
It is worth noting that the audience base of Chinese film festivals presents different characteristics from those of Western countries. Compared with the aging trend of Western film festival audiences, Chinese film festivals attract a large number of young audiences.
This phenomenon is simply unattainable in the eyes of the Western film industry, and the active participation of young audiences has injected fresh vitality into the Chinese film festival and provided a solid mass foundation for future development.
In terms of market functions, Chinese film festivals are also constantly exploring and innovating. Although it is difficult to truly realize international transactions due to various factors, the emergence of film festival venture capital has injected new vitality into the market unit.
Since 2007, when the Shanghai International Film Festival set up the Film Project Venture Capital Conference, venture capital has become a core component of the Chinese film festival market.
These ventures vary according to the film festival's positioning, with some gearing towards international projects, some focusing on emerging domestic directors, and some focusing on specific genres such as documentaries or women's films. This differentiated development strategy has allowed Chinese film festivals to form their own characteristics in the field of venture capital.
The forum section is another highlight of the Chinese film festival, which tends to be more lively than its international counterparts, with many stars participating and often discussing cutting-edge topics.
These forums not only make up for the star halo that may be lacking in the competition unit, but more importantly, they have become an important platform to cooperate with the international communication strategy of Chinese films and the construction of national image.
After 30 years of development, the Chinese Film Festival has formed a distinctive local character and conscious value expression. They have not only become an indispensable part of China's film production and circulation ecology, but also promoted the construction and improvement of China's film evaluation system.
In the face of the current complex international and domestic environment, if the Chinese Film Festival wants to further exert its multi-hub function, let the Chinese story be deeply rooted in the hearts of the people on a broader stage.
First of all, it is necessary to continue to explore more effective differentiated positioning and value proposition expression, which means that on the basis of paying close attention to the latest development trends of world films, we should more skillfully integrate the Chinese values of "people-oriented" and the concept of "people's nature" into the evaluation and curation of awards.
In the current international environment of "anti-Westernization", Chinese film festivals need to formulate a guided and differentiated foreign exchange strategy to promote the establishment of a new pattern of multi-centered world cinema. This is not only a response to the current international situation, but also an inevitable choice for the Chinese film industry to enhance its international influence.
It is necessary to attract more local audiences and cultivate their ability to appreciate art films through screening and curation. At the same time, through market transactions, project venture capital, training camps, co-productions and other ways, it will create a greater living space for domestic art films and promote international and domestic dual circulation.
Finally, the Chinese film festival also needs to conduct in-depth discussions and definitions on art films, mainstream films and film genres outside the mainstream through the continuous improvement of the evaluation system, and gradually grasp the right to speak on film culture and film innovation.
Local characteristics shape global impact
The development of Chinese film festivals reflects the tension between the pursuit of internationalization and the maintenance of local characteristics in the Chinese film industry.
In this process, Chinese filmmakers should not only learn from advanced international experience, but also adhere to their own cultural stance. It is necessary not only to meet the market demand, but also to adhere to the pursuit of art. This balanced art is the key to the success of Chinese film festivals on the international stage.
With the continuous enhancement of China's economic strength and cultural self-confidence, the status of Chinese film festivals in the international film landscape is also quietly changing.
From the initial "learner" to the current "innovator", the Chinese film festival is gradually finding its place and voice. Although there are still shortcomings in some aspects, Chinese film festivals have become a non-negligible member of the world film map.
With the continuous maturity of the Chinese film industry and the accumulation of experience in the operation of film festivals, Chinese film festivals will surely play a more important role in the future world film landscape.
They are not only a window for Chinese films to go to the world, but also an important platform for the world to understand Chinese films. Through continuous innovation and improvement, the Chinese Film Festival will make its own unique contribution to the diversified development of world film culture.
epilogue
In this process, we look forward to seeing more outstanding Chinese film works shine on the international stage, and also look forward to more outstanding international film talents having in-depth exchanges with Chinese audiences and filmmakers through the platform of the China Film Festival.
It is this kind of two-way cultural exchange and collision that can truly promote the prosperity and development of world film culture and make the art of film shine more brightly in the new era.