SIFFFORUM | The Belt and Road Film Industry Roundtable: Exploring New Pathways for IP Scene-Based Development

On the afternoon of June 18, SIFFORUM hosted the Belt and Road Film Industry Roundtable at the Shendi Cultural Center. As the global wave of content consumption upgrade and experience economy continues to rise, high-quality IPs are breaking the boundaries of the screen through innovative models of scenarization, interactivity, and commercialization, deeply empowering the real economy and cultural consumption. This forum brought together film content creators, top IP operators, and practitioners in the cultural tourism industry. It focused on the transformation of Chinese IPs into offline experiences under the Belt and Road Initiative, and explored full-industry-chain innovations from content incubation to immersive entertainment implementation. The goal is to provide insightful strategies for the creation of Chinese mega IPs and the building of their global influence, thereby fostering synergy between cultural consumption and regional economic development.

Li Jinlei

General Manager of Shadow Time, Wanda Film

For Shadow Time under Wanda Film, “trend toys” are not a new business. As early as 2015, Shadow Time entered the trend toy industry as a “film merchandise operator”. In 2024, the company repositioned itself as a trend entertainment company, with the goal of incubating, operating, and reaching a global matrix of trend toy IPs.

Beyond operating its own IPs in films, TV series, and games, as well as collaborating with leading trend IPs, Shadow Time has also been actively developing original IPs over the past 500 days. It has signed 14 artists and incubated three IP brand lines and two original IPs.

In terms of IP evaluation, the company works backward from commercial outcomes and focuses on three key criteria: emotional resonance - the extent to which the IP’s character design and themes emotionally connect with users; world-building potential - which determines the range of derivative products, from merchandise to physical parks; contemporary relevance - the ability to inspire user-generated content. Based on these, the company has established a standardized evaluation process.

Faced with the challenges of industrializing IP in China’s content market, Wanda leverages a vast scene matrix consisting of nearly 800 cinemas, over 6,000 screens, and more than 1,000 commercial partnerships. This infrastructure has enabled landmark collaborations, such as the co-branded campaign with Genshin Impact, which launched 18 limited-edition merchandise items, generating 64 million yuan in sales. The campaign also drove box office revenue in the tens of millions and stimulated over 100 million yuan in commercial consumption. Through immersive experiences like IMAX livestreams and themed theater exhibitions, Wanda is redefining what audience engagement can look like.

In addition, the group has proposed a “Super Entertainment Space” concept and launched its “Shadow Time Verse” commercial space brand. By integrating immersive IP experiences such as themed exhibitions and creative workshops, this new format has improved sales efficiency by 50% compared with traditional cinema lobbies. Wanda emphasizes that true industrial-scale IP operations require full-cycle planning from the early stages - balancing content investment, product operation, and consumer engagement. The group also focuses on adapting IPs through cinematic capabilities and exporting original IPs. By blending cinematic storytelling, emotional development, game interactivity, and hardware manufacturing technology, Wanda is committed to creating multidimensional Chinese IPs rooted in film DNA.

Qian Zhongyuan

Chief Producer, As One Production

Our company, As One Production, was founded by director Chen Sicheng. In the five to six years since its establishment, it has produced several hit films, including the Detective Chinatown series, the Sheep Without a Shepherd series, and Lost in the Stars. Beyond producing the films themselves, Director Chen also places strong emphasis on IP expansion and the development of real-world immersive entertainment. For example, when preparing to shoot Detective Chinatown 1900, the production team found it impossible to film authentically in San Francisco’s Chinatown circa 1900. In response, they partnered with the city of Leling in Shandong Province two to three years in advance to build a 200,000-square-meter Detective Chinatown film city. When the film was released during the Spring Festival this year, the film city opened to the public, welcoming over 100,000 visitors in just seven days and generating tens of millions of yuan in direct and indirect economic benefits. This stands as a successful example of turning IP into immersive, real-world entertainment.

In terms of scriptwriting, Director Chen Sicheng places great emphasis on content creation. The company has established a tiered creative structure, including an exclusive team of signed screenwriters, external writing and planning collaborators, and a group of young, signed directors. As the creative core, Chen personally leads the team’s development work, using a group-based writing model. For example, Detective Chinatown 1900 was developed by a small group of four to five writers brainstorming under his guidance, with planners and young directors also involved in the process - ensuring a balance between artistic quality and commercial appeal. This year, the company also launched an open call for screenwriters to attract more creative talent.

In terms of IP expansion, the company works closely with Wanda’s Shadow Time. Their shared Detective Chinatown IP goes beyond surface-level tourist attractions and focuses on curating in-depth experiential engagement. They are also exploring the possibility of adapting the IP into games. Last year, Director Chen took the opportunity of attending the Cairo International Film Festival to explore the local culture in cities like Cairo and Luxor. More recently, he visited Malta and Italy. These experiences have been hugely beneficial for future film development. He expressed hopes for deeper exchanges among filmmakers across the Belt and Road countries, with the aim of learning from one another and collaborating on future productions.

Zhang Hang

Senior Vice President, iQIYI

As one of China’s leading online video platforms, iQIYI was among the first to propose the strategy of “multi-channel monetization” of film and TV IPs. Offline, the company has integrated emerging technologies such as VR and MR to deepen emotional connections between audiences and IPs, creating new consumer experiences that, in turn, reinforce IP value.

Since 2017, iQIYI has been using virtual reality technology to develop and continuously upgrade offline immersive experiences. Among its flagship projects are full-sensory theater experiences based on IPs such as Fengqi Luoyang and Strange Tales of Tang Dynasty II. In the fourth quarter of this year, iQIYI will launch its first large-scale immersive entertainment venue in Yangzhou - iQIYI Park - covering around 10,000 square meters. The park will feature immersive experiences centered on Chinese film and TV IPs integrated with cutting-edge digital technology. Within the park, visitors will enjoy over four hours of interactive content, including full-sensory theaters, holographic light-and-shadow spaces, and immersive live performance venues. These experiences aim to reconnect audiences with iQIYI’s original IPs in a vivid, participatory way. The second iQIYI Park is scheduled to open in Kaifeng in the first half of next year. The content in these offline parks is also deeply integrated with local culture, offering the potential to create highly valuable localized IPs. For instance, Yangzhou’s “Flying Over the Canal” project uses VR technology and 8K dual-lens headsets to simulate a cycling experience enhanced with wind, heat, and scent effects. In Kaifeng, themed experiences will be developed around Yellow River culture and Shaolin traditions.

When it comes to IP development, we believe content that incorporates universal values, grand world-building, multi-dimensional character growth, and strong visual identity holds the greatest long-term potential. In addition to the traditional adaptation of films and TV series, there is a growing trend of starting from simple character designs, amplifying them through theme parks and social media, and then reverse-engineering more complex content. Offline theme parks serve as a crucial touchpoint in IP operations. With features like NPCs (non-player characters), they can transform two-dimensional IPs into rich, interactive three-dimensional experiences, deepening emotional resonance. iQIYI’s Experience Division is actively exploring this model in both park development and IP merchandise, aiming to further extend IP value by linking it with online content.

Zhang Ying

Vice President, Damai Entertainment

Damai Entertainment focuses on three major in-house business lines: films, live performances, and drama series. Its IP portfolio is diverse, encompassing both reserved and independently developed film and television adaptation rights, including original novel IPs, screenplays, derivative IPs, and self-produced film and television copyrights. Additionally, it holds licensed rights for derivative commercialization or co-operation of globally popular IPs such as Sanrio characters, Pokémon, Minions, Crayon Shin-chan, and Chiikawa.

In terms of IP operations, Damai Entertainment has a dedicated team for IP commercialization. A key player in this effort is Alibaba Pictures’ Alifish, which ranked sixth globally and first in China on the Top Global Licensing Agents 2025. Alifish operates under a unique full-chain IP2B2C (IP-to-business-to-consumer) service model, connecting upstream rights holders with downstream merchants. It helps rights holders enhance the commercial value of their IPs, while supporting business partners from IP asset development to design supervision and approval, product supply channels, and integrated marketing campaigns. This enables brand upgrades, product premiumization, user acquisition, and differentiation - driving diverse forms of IP monetization and post-launch commercialization.

Last year, in film, Damai Entertainment released Hayao Miyazaki’s The Boy and the Heron in China and facilitated a collaboration with Studio Ghibli for an exhibition. Alifish secured the commercial development rights for the art exhibition and licensed popular beverage brand Heytea to launch co-branded drinks and themed merchandise, which became a summer blockbuster in the consumer market.

Damai Entertainment is actively promoting coordinated development across its three main IP sectors - films, dramas, and live performances. It leverages box office and ticket sales as a foundation to mutually empower IP value, and releases IP potential across multiple channels through both online and offline merchandise sales. Leveraging Alibaba Group’s technological capabilities, it has established an internal IP rights database and CPR (copyright and property rights) system to manage rights across the full lifecycle - from IP development to final distribution. This end-to-end approach supports the discovery, realization, and long-term growth of IP value.

Zhao Ying

Deputy General Manager, Shanghai East Joy City Cultural Entertainment Development Co., Ltd. 

Located within Shanghai International Resort and adjacent to Shanghai Disneyland, East Joy City is being developed as a premier urban leisure and vacation destination. As a wholly owned subsidiary of Lujiazui Group, the company is advancing the 2.77-square-kilometer regional development project in alignment with the directives of the Pudong New Area Committee of CPC and the Pudong New Area District Government. In close cooperation with the Administrative Committee of the Resort, it is working comprehensively across planning, strategy, investment attraction, management, and operations. 

This area will require the introduction of a wide range of IPs to create diverse and immersive cultural and entertainment spaces. We believe that high-quality IP can take many forms: it may be unique and inimitable, rich in cultural depth and narrative, or highly interactive and engaging. In the process of value transformation, we are particularly attentive to a project’s social impact, its ability to convey positive energy, and its potential to drive regional development. Our goal is to foster projects that are both critically acclaimed and commercially successful.

In recent years, Lujiazui Group has actively expanded its cultural tourism efforts. For example, L+ Snow has become the world’s largest indoor ski resort, while the Museum of Art Pudong has established itself as a cultural landmark in both Pudong and Shanghai. Alongside hosting high-profile exhibitions, the museum also collaborated with the Shanghai International Film Festival this year, incorporating a retrospective of Chen Yifei’s work - including screenings of his directed films - into its programming.

We are in search of IPs and content that carry distinctive cultural symbolism, emotional resonance, and potential for cross-sector integration. Our aim is to work in synergy with Disneyland, tapping into its vast traffic ecosystem, and cultivating a vibrant IP cluster that blends Eastern and Western cultures within East Joy City . We warmly welcome partners to bring projects to life here - through investment, IP introduction and development, and event programming - and we look forward to creating a cultural and commercial legacy together in this fertile land.

The Belt and Road Film Festival Alliance was initiated by the Organizing Committee of SIFF and was established in 2018, currently consisting of 56 member institutions from 49 countries. Against the backdrop of the Belt and Road Initiative, the alliance focuses on reciprocal film recommendations and filmmaker exchanges, and aims to enhance the capabilities of film curation, promote mutual understanding among filmmakers, facilitate film cooperation projects, strengthen exchanges in film culture among countries, establish a close information-sharing mechanism, and explore future development models for film festivals.

Civilization thrives through exchange and mutual learning. Since the establishment of Belt and Road Film Festival Alliance, SIFF, together with the Publicity Department of the CPC Pudong New Area Committee (District Cultural, Sports and Tourism Bureau), and the Administrative Committee of Shanghai International Resort, has teamed up to organize the Belt and Road Film Week, and created a mechanism with the Belt and Road Film Tour, effectively promoting two-way exchanges and mutual learning between filmmakers and film cultures along the Belt and Road route, and further enhancing cultural exchanges and people-to-people bonds among countries along the route.