Everlasting Pictures – Movie Poster Exhibition of the 40th Anniversary of Reform and Opening-up

In 1978 when the 3rd plenary session of 11th Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee was held, China ushered in a new journey of Reform and Opening-up. Over the past 40 years, the initiative has brought tremendous changes to this oriental nation. Among them, there shines the brilliant achievements China cinema has made.

During the extraordinary four decades, generations of Chinese filmmakers emancipated their minds and forged ahead. Not only did they produce numerous remarkable film works that greatly satisfied the cultural needs of all Chinese people, they were also taking solid steps to promote Chinese films to “go global” with the cultural awareness of telling Chinese stories, carrying Chinese voices and demonstrating the image of China. In particular, since the 18th CPC National Congress, China’s movie industry have been furthering and accelerating its development, thereby becoming the world’s second largest movie market and occupying an unprecedentedly high position in the world cinema.

On the occasion of celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Reform and Opening-up, we’ve elaborately prepared the “Everlasting Pictures – Movie Poster Exhibition in Celebration of the 40th Anniversary of Reform and Opening-up”, where everyone could look back at each step of the Chinese movie through these precious posters. In this way, we could stay true to our mission and look into the future: along with the new era of socialism with Chinese characteristics, we shall, with sufficient cultural awareness and self-confidence, embark on a path of socialist film art with Chinese characteristics; let Chinese films become the spokesman of our cultural heritage, as well as a prominent emblem of our national soft power.

The Reform and Opening-up initiative brought Chinese films a flourishing and fruitful spring, giving birth to talented filmmakers from generation to generation. The third-generation directors represented by XIE Jin, the fourth represented by WU Yigong,  WU Tianming, ZHANG Nuanxin, and HUANG Shuqin, and the fifth represented by ZHANG Yimou and CHEN Kaige, while inheriting the fine traditions of Chinese films, have been motivated by the reform wave to make bold attempts in art, thereby crafting a number of colorful and sparkling film works.

 

Born in the midst of the Reform and Opening-up in 1993, Shanghai International Film Festival (SIFF) comes to its 21st edition this year. In the past 25 years of sturdy growth, the Festival has been continuously innovating its organizing mechanism, and seeking maturity along with the rapid development of the Chinese film industry. Taking root in Shanghai, the cradle of Reform and Opening-up, it is constantly attracting global attention. The official posters of SIFF in previous editions displayed here are the footprints it has made from inception to sophistication.

Over the 40 years since the Reform and Opening-up, Chinese films have become increasingly connected to the world cinema. With cross-national cooperation gradually deepening, a large number of outstanding co-produced movies have successfully marched into overseas markets. Through co-production and overseas distribution, more splendid Chinese stories, more long-standing Chinese culture and more amazing Chinese landscape are displayed on the world stage, which not only enhances the overseas communication and global influence of Chinese films, but also injects infinite vitality into Chinese cinema. This chapter features a number of remarkable films that practiced international collaboration and won market success after Reform and Opening-up, showcasing the significant achievements Chinese movies have made in promoting co-production, opening up international markets, and disseminating Chinese culture.

The Reform and Opening-up has opened the gate for China to the international exchange of films. As the vanguard and frontier city of the initiative, Shanghai has not only drawn the attention of the world, but also become a popular shooting location of global film producers. As an array of Hollywood blockbusters including MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE, and SKYFALL choose to present their stories in Shanghai, the metropolis has been added more appealing radiance. Whether it is historical ambience or modern vibe, Shanghai is showing the unique charm of its culture to the whole world – the sophisticated and rational culture about being tolerant to diversity. In this chapter, a series of celebrated films shot in Shanghai are displayed in chronological order, manifesting the radiant and prominent role of the city on world screen, and highlighting its increasing international influence brought about by Reform and Opening-up.

 

Thanks to the Reform and Opening-up, Chinese films started to march towards the world cinema, during which time they showed themselves up at major international film festivals, winning numerous glories. From 1983 when the film MY MEMORIES OF OLD BEIJING produced by Shanghai Film Studio took over the Golden Eagle Award at the Cinemanila International Film Festival, Chinese movies commenced its glorious journey. Since then, Chinese productions have been making brilliant appearances at renowned film festivals in Cannes, Berlin, Venice, etc., receiving the highest recognitions. The hundreds of awards have written a splendid chapter for the Chinese film industry. This chapter has selected Chinese films that have been honored at major international film festivals after Reform and Opening-up to show the splendid awards  of Chinese cinema on international stage.

The 18th CPC National Congress added new momentum to the thriving of Chinese films. Since 2012, the movie industry in China has ushered in a new wave of development. By closely following the pulse of the times and making bold innovations, filmmakers were devoted to telling Chinese stories, carrying Chinese voices and demonstrating the image of China. With the significant improvement achieved in quality, they have managed to produce a large number of outstanding films that are meaningful, artistic, and marketable. At the same time, as the industrialization reform continued to deepen, the scale of domestic film market kept growing, boosting a number of box office successes. China has emerged as the second largest movie market in the world, as well as an integral part of global film industry.

 

The 19th CPC National Congress marked China’s striding into a new era. Guided by its spirit, Chinese films have never stopped creating new successes. In the Spring Festival of 2018, a series of outstanding domestic films such as OPERATION RED SEA, AMAZING CHINA, DETECTIVE CHINATOWN VOL 2 and MONSTER HUNT 2 emerged in succession, earning a total box office of over RMB 6 billion in 7 days, another historical record. Surrounded by the trumpet sound of the new era, filmmakers are filled with numerous passions. With confidence in the path they chose, in the theory they accumulated, in the system they established, in the culture they inherited, they strive to enhance the core competitiveness of made-in-China films, build cultural soft power, and shape the international influence of Chinese civilization. In order to build the socialism with Chinese characteristics and realize the China Dream in the new era, filmmakers will continue to work hard to further promote the development and prosperity of Chinese cinema.