The Tiring Chinese Film Festival

The Tiring Chinese Film Festival [Multi-dimensional News] The 15th Shanghai International Film Festival has come to an end, the lights have gone out, the audience has left the venue, and the reporters have packed their bags and headed back tiredly...

> [Multi-dimensional News] The 15th Shanghai International Film Festival has come to an end, the lights have gone out, the audience has left the venue, and the reporters have also packed their bags and headed back tiredly. This fatigue is not due to physical exertion, but from the deep confusion in my heart: What is the basis for people to hold international film festivals? Is it Shanghai, Chinese films, or the Chinese film market?

Such a sentiment comes from some basic data. In the first half of the year, more than 80 domestic films accounted for only 30% of the box office; as of June, the top box office among Chinese films was still "The Magician". The Chinese film market has just opened up its policies to Hollywood (increased import film quotas and split accounts), but local films have failed miserably and are unable to resist. "Killing" director Guan Hu had a premonition that something bad was going to happen at the forum: "2012 is a year of crisis, and I may lose my qualifications to work." The director recently made a film that he said was very commercial, "The Ruffian, the Actor and the Cook" in order to save his "professional qualifications."

On the other hand, the overseas market of Chinese-language films has been in red light frequently, such as "Red Cliff", "Reporter", "Tangshan Earthquake" and "Jinling Thirteen Hairpins". In the words of this year's judge Zhang Jiazhen, a famous producer who is familiar with the Hollywood market, they are "broken". In this regard, people in the industry are very anxious and start discussions at film festivals. How to tell stories to the world? This topic is so humble that it makes people unconsciously ask: Why should we tell the world about it? Why not tell it to yourself first?

At the same time, Chinese-language films have no success in international film festivals (except for the film festivals held in front of their own homes). Wang Xiaoshuai, Gu Changwei, Wang Quanan, and Lou Hua have all failed in recent years. And Jia Zhangke has already become a mentor. He is running a company and working on new director projects. He signs actors first before signing his wife. He is very busy. It's been several years since my movie "In the Qing Dynasty" was released, but I still haven't been able to get it right. Director Jia seemed to be refusing to allow filming. Therefore, Director Jia vigorously called for classification and critical review this year. He and Lu Chuan cherished each other. The latter's "The King's Feast" had everything ready but could not wait for its release.

Strict and restrictive censorship does indeed constrain creativity, but is censorship really the root of all evil? Feng Xiaogang didn't think so. He asked: If we cancel all censorship and don't let a Hollywood film come in, will all our movies be successful? Judge Zhang Jiazhen commented: I didn’t see any good domestic movies in the first half of the year. As for censorship, Iran's censorship system is no less stringent than ours. The chairman of this year's Asian Newcomer Award jury and the famous Iranian director Amir Naderi (whose works include "Street Chasing the Train", "Water", "Wind" and "Sand") laughed and said that in the past, Iranian films were not allowed to shoot women, love, let alone sex scenes. So everyone goes to make children’s films. As a result, Iran has "Little Shoes" and "Street Boy Chasing a Train". People with ability can always express themselves in different ways. As for the Golden Goblet Award-winning film "The Bear", it is a delicate ethical film that definitely falls within the censorship framework. I wonder if this will make directors who think they have unappreciated talents blush a little?

Filmmaking seems to have made progress. For "The Mummy 3" a few years ago, China was only responsible for providing the shooting location and logistics. Now for "Looper", "Cloud Atlas" and "Iron Man 3", China has begun to intervene in the investment and distribution links. However, Jean-Jacques Annaud, chairman of the Golden Goblet jury, hit the nail on the head: the purpose of a co-production is to make money. What Hollywood only cares about is that you have money and your market is big enough. You can't dominate the plot creativity. Chinese investment will bring some Chinese elements to the movie. For example, there is a co-production that says: In order to resist the attack of alien monsters, Qin Shihuang built the Great Wall.

>What benefits does such a co-production have for Chinese-language films?

All these things make people tired!