The Golden Rooster Shines, Together Through Light and Shadow
On the afternoon of 1 November 2023, the “Gulangyu Forum” was held at the Gulangyu Organ Art Center in Xiamen!
As the opening forum of the Golden Rooster Film Forum at this year’s festival, the Gulangyu Forum took the theme “Cultural Heritage, United Through Film: The Road of Chinese Cinema in 2023”. Leading entrepreneurs, academic experts and well-known directors of the film industry held a high-level dialogue to map the spirit of Chinese cinema, review its notable achievements, and present the work and character of outstanding Chinese filmmakers.
Guests attending the event included Zhang Hong, member of the Leading Party Members’ Group and Secretary of the Secretariat of the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles and Secretary of the Party Group of the China Film Association; Zhang Yan, member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Fujian Provincial Committee and Head of its Publicity Department; 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; Wang Pingjiu, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the Movie Channel Program Center; Yin Hong, Vice Chairman of the China Film Association and Professor at Tsinghua University; director, screenwriter and executive producer Guan Hu; director, screenwriter and producer Wuershan; director and screenwriter Liu Xiaoshi; Zhang Lin, Chairman and President of Wanda Cultural Tourism Group and Chairman of Wanda Film Holding Co., Ltd.; Li Jie, President of Alibaba Pictures; Wang Zhonglei, co-founder, Vice Chairman and CEO of Huayi Brothers Media Corporation; Gong Yu, founder and CEO of iQIYI; Li Wei, Chairman of M1905; and Lan Yu, host of the Movie Channel.
In his address, Zhang Hong said that this year’s National Conference on Publicity, Ideological and Cultural Work put forward Xi Jinping Thought on Culture for the first time. The forum, titled “Cultural Heritage, United Through Film”, was held to further explore, under the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Culture, the cultural heritage and driving forces of Chinese cinema, look ahead to how Chinese cinema can continue its high-quality development, and strengthen confidence in our culture. Five thousand years of profound culture is the source of filmmakers’ confidence. Between history and the present, filmmakers have a duty they cannot shirk, and they are using advanced audiovisual technology to give traditional Chinese culture new appeal on the screen and build a film aesthetic with Chinese characteristics, further promoting the creative transformation and innovative development of fine traditional Chinese culture and advancing the development of socialist culture with Chinese characteristics.
In her address, Zhang Yan pointed out that film is an important front and field of publicity, ideological and cultural work. The Gulangyu Forum is held in the hope of taking the China Golden Rooster & Hundred Flowers Film Festival as an opportunity to study and discuss Xi Jinping Thought on Culture and, guided by scientific theory, jointly chart a bright future for China as a strong film country. Film is an art form loved by the people and an important vehicle for cultural inheritance and development. Over the years, Fujian filmmakers have kept in mind the earnest instructions of General Secretary Xi Jinping, made use of Fujian’s diverse and deeply rooted cultural strengths, drawn on its rich revolutionary cultural resources, and, grounded in Fujian’s practice of Chinese modernisation, worked with peers in the industry to produce a number of fine films that embody the Chinese spirit, Chinese values and Chinese strength, contributing to cultural inheritance.
Film has always played an indispensable role in carrying forward fine traditional culture and building the modern civilisation of the Chinese nation. In 2023, a large number of fine films telling China’s stories vividly reached the screen, winning audiences’ approval in both reputation and box office, and making considerable progress in art, technology and industrialisation.The guests discussed the significance of “telling China’s stories well” and how to do so.
Wuershan believes that the key to telling China’s stories well is finding a shared emotional resonance with the audience. “The cultural environment that Chinese filmmakers relate to comes from our inheritance of history and from inspiration based on real experience; it is the core of our creative work. China’s own history and culture and the reality of life in China are also what audiences resonate with most, and creators hope to convey, through this resonance, values that we commonly recognise.”
In Guan Hu’s view, China’s stories take many forms: some have relatively grand themes, while many works express individual life experiences. “In 30 years we have travelled a road that took others 400 years, so countless people and events worth writing about have emerged along the way. I think this is a remarkable pool of material. If we focus our attention on individual lives that are truly worth depicting, that is the best China story.”
The most important element for filmmakers to tell China’s stories well is to immerse themselves in life and root themselves among the people. Liu Xiaoshi said he is very interested in subjects about contemporary soldiers and the military. He believes that a creator who wants to make good films about today’s China must first stay closely connected with the times, keep a keen sense and feel the changes of the era. “One idea keeps reminding me: the boundary of language is often the boundary of cognition. When we write a line of dialogue, design a prop or weave a plot, it must have a source, and that source comes from living earnestly, really listening, really seeing and really feeling.”
Yin Hong believes that our past, present and future form the main thread of China’s stories. Chinese films in recent years include stories of 5,000 years of traditional Chinese culture, such as Wuershan’s Creation of the Gods I: Kingdom of Storms; stories of the Chinese people’s struggle for independence and liberation over the past century, such as Guan Hu’s My People, My Country and The Eight Hundred; and stories of Chinese modernisation, such as Liu Xiaoshi’s Born to Fly, a typical story of Chinese modernisation. The biggest change in recent years is the addition of stories that look at the future from a Chinese perspective, such as The Wandering Earth II. “If literature is the study of people, film is also about people. So when film tells China’s stories, it is more precisely telling the stories of Chinese people, using their joys and sorrows, the changes in their fates, and all their changes and feelings in their times to reflect and express the changes this era has gone through.”
A film is not only a work of art refined by its creators but also a product into which every part of the industry chain, including cinema circuits, production, distribution and exhibition, has put its effort. As representatives of film production and distribution, the guests discussed from many angles the opportunities and challenges facing the Chinese film industry in 2023 and offered suggestions for the development of Chinese cinema in the new era.
Li Jie said that this year’s summer season exceeded the expectations of the entire industry. The films covered a wide range of genres, meeting audiences’ different viewing needs, and publicity and distribution focused on striking a chord with audiences. “Audiences of Chinese films are increasingly mature, and their taste and discernment keep rising. The demands on filmmakers’ storytelling ability are rising as well. Alibaba Pictures selects films with an eye to the future, looking at audience preferences for subjects and genres, using viewing data to project the next two years, or looking at public sentiment and topics that resonate as the basis for our judgement. We also care more about the quality of the script, because a good story is the foundation of everything.”
Wang Zhonglei believes that persistence and innovation in filmmaking itself matter most, because audiences are the most honest: if they like a film, they like it. “Many films now gain popularity after release, which is very different from before. This has made me more convinced that, for filmmaking, the quality and innovation of the film itself are what matter more.”
Li Wei said that over years of exploring publicity, the Movie Channel’s integrated media has gradually formed its own approach: more customised content, longer-lasting dissemination and more precise reach.
Zhang Lin said that the number of screens nationwide has reached nearly 80,000, and cinema circuits are no longer circuits in the traditional sense; their work now is to bring audiences through the “last step” into the cinema. Wanda uses its app, mini-programmes and other media platforms to form a publicity matrix, and uses live streaming, private-domain communities and other formats to gather audiences, raising the operating efficiency of its screens.
Gong Yu shared several observations based on iQIYI user profiles: as a mass culture, the profiles of the platform’s film viewers and theatrical audiences largely overlap; in the past six months data on online film viewing has risen; the quality of Chinese films is rising steadily; the share of women in film audiences is increasing; and audience taste is becoming more mature and diverse.
The guests also discussed Chinese films going global, the training of young talent and multi-line (segmented) screening. Wang Zhonglei proposed that big-budget films should be the first to adopt multi-line screening: when a big film is released on two or three lines, many small and medium-sized films that would otherwise have no chance of getting screenings will have the opportunity to be shown. He said his next big-budget production will adopt multi-line screening. “I hope producers, distributors, platforms and cinema circuits can restart the reform of our film market.” Zhang Lin believes that multi-line distribution should bring more people into cinemas, with films of different genres released on different lines at different times to create a combined effect. “For good films, we can absolutely use release windows for multi-line distribution and build some multi-line distribution brands.” Li Jie noted that China already has the largest number of cinemas and screens in the world, and together with the variety of genres of Chinese films, the supply of content supports the feasibility of multi-line distribution. Gong Yu believes that multi-line release can supply more content and benefits long-term development. In his view, a healthy market has both a Matthew effect and a long-tail effect. iQIYI Cloud Cinema aims to serve films that use the internet as their first release window, which has particular economic and practical significance for films that are more artistic, more thought-provoking and somewhat niche.
At the end of the forum, the guests came on stage together and issued the “Gulangyu Initiative”
Chinese filmmakers will shoulder the mission of building the modern civilisation of the Chinese nation and press ahead on the path of high-quality development. Root ourselves in the people, embrace the times, and tell China’s stories well. Take on our mission, strive to achieve, and promote the Chinese spirit. Stay confident, uphold fundamental principles while breaking new ground, and carry forward Chinese culture. Deepen consensus, strengthen collaboration, and pool the strength of the film industry. Pool our wisdom and efforts to strengthen the foundation of the film industry. Care for filmmakers, be grateful to audiences, and provide good service as film platforms. Keep pace with the times, pioneer and innovate, and stride forward in reform. Base ourselves in China, look to the world, and grow stronger through opening up. The future of Chinese cinema is bright and full of hope; let us join hands to create it together! Let us move towards the light and set sail!
Issued by: Yin Hong, Guan Hu, Liu Xiaoshi, Wuershan, Li Jie, Wang Zhonglei, Gong Yu, Zhang Lin, Li Wei.
The 2023 Gulangyu Forum (Opening Forum) was co-hosted by the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles, the China Film Association and the Xiamen Municipal People’s Government, organised by the Movie Channel Program Center and the Xiamen Municipal Film Bureau, and broadcast by the Movie Channel and Movie Channel integrated media. The guests discussed the spiritual core, cultural features and forms of expression of Chinese cinema in roundtable dialogues, and the atmosphere at the venue was lively and well received. As a standing forum of the China Golden Rooster & Hundred Flowers Film Festival since the festival settled in Xiamen, the Gulangyu Forum is the film industry’s most important annual review and forward-looking discussion. Each year it sets a new theme in line with the latest trends in film, is widely disseminated through the national platform of the Golden Rooster Awards, and aims to build the “Golden Rooster + Xiamen” brand into a cultural calling card with global influence. After the forum, participants said they would continue to be guided by the guiding principles of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, study and implement Xi Jinping Thought on Culture, and present to the world a comprehensive, true and multidimensional image of China on screen through more refined art, more innovative forms and a richer supply of works.
