On the morning of November 15, the Golden Rooster Awards · Gulangyu Forum, the main forum of the 2024 China Golden Rooster & Hundred Flowers Film Festival, was held at the Gulangyu Organ Art Center. Zhang Yan, Member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Fujian Provincial Committee and Head of its Publicity Department, and Deng Guanghui, Secretary of the Leading Party Members’ Group and Executive Vice Chairman of the China Film Association, attended the forum and delivered speeches. In a speech, Zhang Yan said that the new era calls on Chinese cinema to grasp its historical position and passionately portray the grand vision of national rejuvenation; to hold to the people’s stance and strengthen the spiritual power of the people by writing the people’s epic; and to uphold fundamental principles while breaking new ground, remaining steadfast in scaling new artistic heights.

Zhang Yan, Member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Fujian Provincial Committee and Head of its Publicity Department

In his speech, Deng Guanghui said that cinema must uphold the correct leadership of the Party and continue to deepen reform; must help build a leading country in culture and keep creative work flourishing; and must contribute to building a modern form of civilization and give play to its spiritual strength. In response to the questions of the times and of the people on promoting the high-quality development of cinema, filmmakers have once again united closely, resonating at the same frequency and answering the same questions together. We should take Xi Jinping Thought on Culture as our guide, strengthen cultural confidence, uphold fundamental principles and break new ground, and make greater contributions to fulfilling the new cultural mission and creating another golden age of Chinese cinema.

Deng Guanghui, Secretary of the Leading Party Members’ Group and Executive Vice Chairman of the China Film Association

Representatives of the film community attending the forum included Qin Zhengui, Deputy Director of the Film Bureau of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee and Director of the Film Script Planning Center; Xu Shouyao, Executive Deputy Head of the Publicity Department of the CPC Fujian Provincial Committee and Director of the Fujian Provincial Film Bureau; Wu Zidong, Member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Xiamen Municipal Committee and Head of its Publicity Department; Zhang Qing’an, Party Secretary of the China National Ethnic Song and Dance Ensemble; Li Shaoping, First-Level Inspector of the Bureau of International Exchange and Cooperation of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism; Yin Hong, Vice Chairman of the China Film Association and Professor at Tsinghua University; Fu Ruoqing, Vice Chairman of the China Film Association and Party Secretary and Chairman of China Film Group Corporation; Zhang Ji, Vice Chairman of the China Film Association, screenwriter and director; Liu Bing, Member of the Leading Party Members’ Group and Deputy Secretary-General of the China Film Association; Song Zhiqin, Executive Deputy Director of the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles Film Art Center; Li Jie, President of Alibaba Pictures; Zheng Zhihao, Chief Executive Officer of Maoyan Entertainment; Chen Zhixi, Chairman and President of Wanda Film Holding Co., Ltd.; producer and director Fang Li; Liang Junjian, Deputy Director of the Cultural and Creative Finance Research Center at Tsinghua University PBC School of Finance and Associate Professor at the Tsinghua University School of Journalism and Communication; Mu Chen, Director of the Beacon Research Institute of Alibaba Pictures; screenwriter and director Dong Runnian; and actors Yue Hong and Ma Li. The forum was hosted by Dai Xiaonan, chief host of Xiamen Media Group.

The forum took as its theme “Gathering the Strength of Reform, Depicting the Light and Shadow of the Times” and comprised three sessions: keynote presentations, the Gulangyu Releases and a roundtable dialogue.

The keynote presentations focused on “the mission of the times”, with guests speaking on “Comprehensively Deepening Reform and Writing the Film Chapter of Chinese Modernization”.

In a speech titled “Uniting Hearts and Efforts to Let Film Ride the Waves Together with the Times”, Fu Ruoqing said that creation should remain “people-centered” and that audiences are the permanent reference point for the development of the film industry. Given the current policy environment and the confidence built through decades of reform and development, creators should adhere to the strategy of building a leading country in culture, to cultural confidence and to scientific and technological innovation, and have the courage to face challenges and seize opportunities.

Fu Ruoqing, Vice Chairman of the China Film Association and Party Secretary and Chairman of China Film Group Corporation

Under the title “Bringing In and Going Global: Making Film a Common Language of World Cultural Exchange”, Li Jie discussed the development of Alibaba Pictures from the two angles of “bringing in” and “going global”. He described the film industry in 2024 as a dual variation led by domestic films, with imported films as an added highlight, and said that presenting traditional Chinese culture and Eastern aesthetics to the world and telling the Chinese stories of our time are the top priority.

    Li Jie, President of Alibaba Pictures

In a speech titled “Gathering the Power of Technology to Depict the Light and Shadow of the Times Together”, Zheng Zhihao pointed out that on the content side, filmmakers need to discover good Chinese stories; on the creative side, they need to dare to leave their comfort zones; on the audience side, they need to give audiences “value for their time” and preserve a film’s “theatrical qualities”; and on the technology side, they need to let technological progress give creation new wings.

Zheng Zhihao, Chief Executive Officer of Maoyan Entertainment

Under the title “Facing the Future: Building a ‘Three-in-One’ Super Entertainment Space”, Chen Zhixi shared Wanda Film’s plans for future innovation and change. Citing cases such as “Huahua Shijie”, Chen said that Wanda aims to create a composite experiential space combining artistic empowerment, avant-garde trends and urban creativity.

Chen Zhixi, Chairman and President of Wanda Film Holding Co., Ltd.

Fang Li conveyed the responsibility and commitment of filmmakers through personal feeling and reflection. In a speech titled “Life Is Too Short: Make Films That Outlive Us”, he said that film can pass on the imprint of an era to the younger generation, and expressed the hope that films will live longer than we do.

Producer and director Fang Li

“Gulangyu Releases” presented three reports. Yin Hong released the “Report on the Artistic Development of Chinese Cinema 2014-2024”, noting that the past decade of Chinese cinema has strengthened our commitment to people-centered creative thinking and orientation. The report summarizes the decade of artistic development of Chinese cinema in four aspects: a people-centered creative orientation, the inheritance and innovation of fine traditional culture, the fusion and breakthroughs of genre films, and the flourishing of small and medium-budget films.

 Yin Hong, Vice Chairman of the China Film Association and Professor at Tsinghua University

Liang Junjian released the “2024 Report on Investment and Financing in Chinese Film”, analyzing data on the film market and project investment and financing, the main market players, ESG disclosure by Chinese film companies, and the challenges and reform outlook of the film industry. He called on the industry to respect the laws of the market and of creation, embrace technological change, and work together for the continued high-quality development of Chinese cinema.

Liang Junjian, Deputy Director of the Cultural and Creative Finance Research Center, Tsinghua University PBC School of Finance,

and Associate Professor, Tsinghua University School of Journalism and Communication

Mu Chen released the “2024 Report on Trends in Chinese Film Audiences”, which presented changes in the 2024 film market and its audiences in terms of audience demand and preferences for content, audience consumption and behavior, and industry experts’ review of and outlook for the market. Together, the three reports cover the artistic development of Chinese cinema, its investment and financing, and trends in its audiences, and provide an important reference for the development of the Chinese film industry.

Mu Chen, Director of the Beacon Research Institute of Alibaba Pictures

In the roundtable dialogue session, Zhang Ji, Yue Hong, Ma Li and Dong Runnian discussed topics including “the times and the people” and “the relationship between characters and resonance”. In the face of the changing times and the people’s growing spiritual needs, the guests shared their views from different perspectives.

The roundtable dialogue

On capturing a sense of the times in their work, Zhang Ji said that filmmakers can never stand on the shore watching change, but must meet what change brings from within it. Dong Runnian said that with the rapid development of the internet, creators need to experience life attentively while also going deep into the online world to understand audiences’ real mindset. On building characters, actors Yue Hong and Ma Li answered from two directions. Yue Hong said that actors should observe life, keep re-creating their roles beyond the script, stay open to all influences and keep learning, so that their characters are full-blooded. Ma Li said that actors need to be rooted in life and let audiences feel resonance and see truth, and she called on filmmakers to make more films that carry positive social energy. The guests discussed in depth how to build more rounded and authentic characters from the standpoint of artistic creation. In light of current conditions and trends, they affirmed the importance of paying attention to the times and the people in today’s creative work, and of evoking audience resonance through character building.