From praise to profits
(China Daily)
Updated: 2005-09-12 05:49

For the past several weeks, the domestic media has been abuzz about Chinese films and movie stars at international film events.

These include the 62nd Venice International Film Festival, which just ended over the weekend, the 30th Toronto International Film Festival, from September 8-17, and the Hollywood China Film Festival, opening on September 16 in Los Angeles.

"These events bring together new films and big names from all over the world. At all of these festivals, Chinese films have been receiving more and more attention," says Li Ershi, a researcher with the Beijing Film Academy.

Chinese movies featured prominently in Venice this year. The opening film was Tsui Hark's martial arts saga "Seven Swords," with Peter Chan Ho-sun's "Perhaps Love" closing the festival. A retrospective programme, "The Secret History of Asian Cinema: China," marked the 100th anniversary of Chinese films.

Motion pictures were likely first introduced in China in 1896, but it took decades for the domestic film industry to be recognized on an international level. One of the past century's biggest victories was when Fifth Generation film director Zhang Yimou's "Red Sorghum" won the Golden Bear Award at the 38th Berlin International Film Festival in 1988.

The recent Chinese programme at the world's oldest film festival, Venice International, gave the domestic industry an opportunity to showcase its talent.

Domestic impact

The international recognition has inevitably influenced the films that local directors and producers are making. The public has also become more critical of domestic festivals and international-award winning Chinese films. People have become disenchanted with domestic film festivals.

Top Chinese awards and festivals such as the Golden Rooster, the Hundred Flower Film Awards, the China Film Huabiao Awards, the Changchun International Film Festival, and the Shanghai International Film Festival, have been criticized in recent years. Both fans and industry professionals say that standards have declined.

The 11th China Film Huabiao Awards on August 28 also puzzled many local viewers. Most of the important awards, such as best actor, were given to more than one nominee.

"Are Chinese films so good that judges can't decide which one is really the best?" writes film fan Jiang Lin in an article.

The Chinese public no longer get as excited about international film festivals as they used to.

"In the late 1980s and early 1990s, internationally recognized Chinese films were big news," says Li Baojiang, a senior editor at China Film Market magazine.

"Movie fans shared a sense of national pride."

Award-winning Chinese films can also trigger heated debate, however.

"Some question whether certain Fifth Generation films sell the ugliness and backwardness of old China to Western audiences and festival judges," Li adds.

These award-winning Chinese films also generate copycat movies at home that use similar narrative devices and imagery. Folk music and culture are also common elements, presumably to appeal to Western audiences, says Beijing film critic Miao Chun.

Awards do not necessarily translate into box office success, however. Chinese filmmakers have the domestic and international markets to reckon with as well.

In the early 1990s, internationally praised films always guaranteed solid box office results at home, says Li.

"Now, nobody can really say how much international awards affect films in the domestic market."

Sixth Generation director Wang Xiaoshuai's "Shanghai Dreams" (Qinghong), for example, received the Jury Prize at the 58th Cannes Film Festival, and hit Chinese mainland screens in early June.

Despite its success at Cannes, the premiere screening of "Shanghai Dreams" fared poorly in most major cities.

In Guangzhou, a lack of confidence in the movie market resulted in tickets being sold for 10 yuan (US$1.2), much less than the usual 25 (US$3) or 30 yuan (US$3.6).

"This embarrassment shows that international recognition does not automatically translate to audience acceptance here," says Beijing film researcher Xue Ning.

International critical praise often has little impact on domestic or international ticket sales, industry observers say.

"Hollywood blockbusters have always dominated," says film researcher Li Ershi.

"In many European countries, American movies typically account for 70 to 80 per cent of the market. Even in France, where the local film industry works hard to counter the popularity of Hollywood films, about 50 per cent of sales go to American movies."

Most countries also establish favourable policies for domestic films, Li Ershi adds.

"Even if a Chinese film has won rave reviews at international events, a strong marketing push is necessary to boost sales to local distributors, cable networks and theatres."

The most common model for Chinese filmmakers is to use foreign investment on co-productions, he says. The best examples are Zhang Yimou's "Hero" and "House of Flying Daggers," which enjoyed mainstream theatrical release and did well at the North American box office.

Despite the obstacles, the non-profit China Motion Picture Promotion International was established last November to ensure greater market share for Chinese films. Sponsors include the Film Bureau, the Chinese Film Producers Association, China Film Group Corporation and CCTV's Film Channel. It has helped at least 66 private and State-owned Chinese film enterprises promote their films at a number of international festivals, including the Hong Kong International Film and TV Market (Filmart 2005), the 58th Cannes Film Festival, the Hollywood China Film Festival, and the 30th Toronto International Film Festival, says Ren Yue, the centre's vice-director.

"Foreign film distributors from Latin America, the Middle East and southern Europe are showing growing interest in Chinese films. Romances, kung fu action flicks, and animated movies with a strong Chinese aesthetic are the most popular," Ren says.

(China Daily 09/12/2005 page5)

Close

2005 World Model Contest in Northeast China Paris Hilton turns happy homemaker Olympics themed jetliner ascends into the sky

Today's Top News     Top Life News
East coast provinces battered by Typhoon Khanun         President Hu arrives in Mexico for visit         Shenzhou VI flight 'after October holiday'         EU warns of new China textile 'disaster'         Oil prices eating away at Chinese economy         Britain opens Chinese workers drowning case	An anti-discrimination bout staged in China's cyberspace       Lights, action, kick and chop!       Ang Lee's gay film wins Golden Lion at Venice       More than just a Sanlitun pub street       Study: Breakfast helps teenage girls stay slim       Doctor sued for online dating lies