SIFFORUM | Create Fine Works for the Era and Carry Forward the Chinese Spirit

In the past year, facing the challenges of the global epidemic, the Chinese film market took the lead to recover and continued to pick up, showing the world the new look of Chinese films. Embark on a new journey after the hundred-year struggle. At the new historical moment, how will Chinese filmmakers concentrate their efforts to create fine works for the ear? How to persevere in telling the Chinese story and promote the Chinese spirit? At the opening session of the 24th Shanghai International Film Festival (SIFF) held this morning, leading figures from domestic film companies gathered to offer advice and suggestions for the high-quality development of China's film industry.

Mainstream creation should express the true feelings

This year marks the centenary of the founding of the Communist Party of China, and a group of film works focusing on major themes have received widespread attention. At the opening session, the guests talked about their creation experience around the related works made and produced by their respective companies.

Fu Ruoqing, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and Vice Chairman of China Film Group Corporation (CFGC), and Vice Chairman and General Manager of China Film Co., Ltd., revealed that CFGC has planned nearly ten major themed works this year, including "Cliff Walkers", which was released on May Day, and "Me and My Father", "In Wuhan" and so on. He said that through the exploration and summary of the past two years, CFGC has found a successful expression path for the mainstream films-"develop from the perspective of little man, and using artistic methods to restore historical events, often will receive better results." He believes that all the excellent works that are welcomed by the audience are all true and sincere in expression, and the creators have worked hard to strick a responsive chord among the audience.

Fu Ruoqing, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and Vice Chairman of China Film Group Corporation (CFGC), and Vice Chairman and General Manager of China Film Co., Ltd.

Secretary of the Party Committee and Chairman of Shanghai Film Group, and Chairman of Shanghai Film Co., Ltd. Wang Jianer shared a number of works of major themes produced by them, including "1921", "Chen Wangdao", and "City and Buildings". The movie "Chen Wangdao" was created based on the deeds of Chen Wangdao, an important figure in Party history and the first translator of the Chinese version of the "Manifesto of the Communist Party"; "City and Buildings" shows the great love of Shanghai from the perspective of the post-90s generation. Wang Jianer believes that it is particularly important to dig out and refine the timeliness of major historical themes. He revealed that in the creation process of "Chen Wangdao", 100 college students from universities across the country were recruited to participate in the creation of the film from text to performance. "The mainstream works should reflect the thoughts and values of contemporary young people to resonate with the young."

Cheng Wu, Vice President of Tencent Group, CEO of China Literature, and CEO of Tencent Pictures, shared the creation story of the movie "1921". He said that in order to find a suitable way to start this grand theme, the main creative team had repeated discussions. In the end, I chose to restore the youthful demeanor and ideal pursuit of the young representatives at the First National Congress of the Communist Party of China. "At that time, the average age of most representatives was 28 years old, and they were really young people. Why did they establish the Communist Party of China, how did they make it, combined each individual's personal experience and aspirations? At that time, the entire creative team felt that if they started from this perspective, we can not only reproduce a large historical fact in a panoramic view, but also more importantly, from the perspective of young people, from the perspective of everyone, fully show this ideal, youth, and dream of the time.

The crews of the films "The Revolutionary" and "Sniper" produced by Enlight Media, all appeared on the red carpet of the Golden Goblet Ceremony last night, attracting a lot of attention. At the forum, Wang Changtian, Chairman of Enlight Media, said that these two epic works not only convey profound ideas, but also are excellent in production. "I believe that they will leave a mark in the history of Chinese film." The film "Revolutionary", with a multi-perspective narrative technique, intercepted the story that happened a few days before Li Dazhao's sacrifice, restoring the real picture of society at that time and the image of a group of revolutionary pioneers. "When the film was previewed, many audiences cried." And another work  "Sniper" created with the historical background of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea will also be a major tear-jerker film. "My colleagues cried from beginning to end while watching the film, and they were sobbing loudly. They said such a movie with the mainstream theme is really touching."

In 2019, on the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, Bona Film Group launched the "Chinese Pride Trilogy"-"The Bravest", "Mao Zedong 1949" and "The Captain", which received tremendous social response and market success. To welcome the centenary of the founding of the Communist Party of China, this year Bona Film Group launched the "China Victory Trilogy", including "The Battle at Lake Changjin" showing the heroic deeds of the volunteers in the war to resist U.S. aggression and aid Korea, "Chinese Doctor" focusing on the frontline doctors in Wuhan's fight against the epidemic, and “The Unknow” paying tribute to the unsung hero at the hidden front. Yu Dong, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Bona Film Group, said that in the creation of mainstream works, in addition to leaders and famous generals, there are more and richer characters that can be explored and shaped. Only an artistic image that is truly touching and impressive will win the audience."

Zeng Maojun, President of Wanda Culture and President of Wanda Film, said that Wanda is the only film company that has cinemas in the world. First of all, it must ensure that these excellent mainstream films can be screened with high quality in Wanda cinemas at home and abroad. Secondly, he also shared the two mainstream works of Wanda Film-"The Spring Will Come" which tells the story of Wuhan's fight against the epidemic, and "My Father Jiao Yulu" which promotes the "Jiao Yulu Spirit". He revealed that in the future Wanda Film will also pay more attention to the stories of ordinary people's struggles, and reveal emotions that impress the audience.

Adhere to the organic unity of authenticity and artistry

The guests also shared their views and experiences on how the mainstream works find a balance between artistry and commerciality. Zeng Maojun said that artistry and commerciality have always been the two sides of film works, and when it comes to the creation of the mainstream films, he believes that the first thing to do is to base on the real history. “We need the team to dig out a lot of real data, and only real events, combined with artistic creation, will make the story look more commercial and win the audience."

Yu Dong took the creation of " The Battle at Lake Changjin " as an example, emphasizing that exquisite art and excellent production are the guarantee of the film's success. He revealed that in order to realistically present the nuanced image of the breath in the soldier’s mouth and the dust shook off from the body in the snowy weather, more than 100 special effects companies have participated in the entire film to ensure every frame of the film is perfect.

Wang Jianer mentioned that the mainstream movies are becoming more and more recognized by the market, and there are at least two laws behind them-contemporary and authentic. He said that the so-called contemporariness means that many mainstream films reflect historical dramas and chronological dramas, but it does not mean that the stories or characters a hundred years ago are not contemporary. On the contrary, the values of some characters still have strong resonance in the contemporary era. In addition to the reality of the performance, the authenticity is also reflected in the reality of the scene and atmosphere. He revealed that during the filming of "1921", in order to reproduce the building such as a site of the First National Congress by 1:1, the construction team used fire, water flushing, and other doing-old-work techniques restore the historical sense of the building.

Wang Changtian believes that the creation of the mainstream works should be regarded as an opportunity, "it is an understanding of the film, and it offers a chance for you to present your attitude on this theme successfully." In this regard, he also shared three points of creative experience: the first is to find the most suitable crew for the work; the second is to break traditional conventions, and only innovative techniques will attract the audience; the third is to pay attention to market revenue, "If Without a virtuous circle, our future creations will be unsustainable."

Fu Ruoqing proposed that a successful theme work must take into account the three core points of artistic attributes, technical attributes and commercial attributes. He said that these three points also run through the entire film production chain. "In the creative process, the first priority is the artistic attribute, and the technical control must be emphasized in the production process. When it becomes a commodity and presented to the audience, we must follow the logic of business. Only by adhering to these three core points can we take into account social and economic benefits."

Cheng Wu believes that two principles should be adhered to in the creation of the mainstream works: one is respect for history, "big things are true, truthfulness and rigor are the primary principles", and the other is the innovation of artistic techniques. "Only by using innovative methods to express traditional revolutionary stories and revolutionary groups with new ideas, can we touch the young people now and reach consensus with them."