Film Industry Insiders Discuss Barriers to Growth

The lack of a movie rating system, professional skills and stable sources of capital concerned mainland Chinese filmmakers, industry insiders said yesterday at a 14th Shanghai International Film Festival workshop.

Despite the boom in China\'s cinema and movie markets, famous filmmakers such as Jia Zhangke, Zhang Yibai, Manfred Wong and Dayyan Eng also didn\'t hide their worries about the levels of innovation and creativity in the industry.
The workshop titled "Discovering the Next Film Genre" also attracted media critics and senior executives from domestic film production companies.

"Without a mature movie rating system, domestic filmmakers have to give up on many original film scripts because they don\'t get approval for audience of all ages." director Jia said.

In addition to more creative spaces, filmmakers also called for diversity in Chinese cinema, to move away from the prevalence of ancient fighting and battle themes chosen by Chinese directors for international box office profits.
"The sad truth is that only a few Chinese film directors get enough investment and distribution channels for movies of other genres and topics." said director Zhang Yibai, known for his romantic films "Spring Subway" and "Eternal Moment". "Market segmentation is a necessary step for the Chinese film industry to break away and develop beyond the stereotypes."

Film critics and industry insiders attending the workshop also encouraged filmmakers to do more movies displaying the unique traditions and culture of China rather than simply copying production style of Hollywood blockbusters.

 

By Joyce Xu Pic by Li Yan