2016年CRI Good Story-telling Key to Chinese Movies' Going abroad: Political Advisers

 

Laws to regulate China's film industry date back to the early 1980s. 

After decades of discussion and rapid growth in the sector¹, a draft of the China Film Industry Promotion² Law officially entered the legislative³ process late last year. 

Once approved, the law will establish the most comprehensive regulations to date.

Chinese Film Literature Association Chairman Wang Xingdong is a national political adviser⁴. 

The a-list playwright⁵ has lobbied for film legislation for years. 

He says it will encourage Chinese movies to go overseas.

"It will be easier for Chinese movies going overseas because censorship is relaxed. The draft law covers a lot of aspects, including film release, international exhibition, and more policies for encouraging co-productions. This will guarantee more communication, cooperation and win-win opportunities. An open market can inspire creativity and help the industry thrive through competitions."

Last year, box office revenue in China hit a record high of nearly 7 billion U.S. dollars, and domestic productions earned over 400 million US dollars around the globe, with year-on-year growth of nearly 50 percent. 

Industry observers expect China will overtake the United States to become the world's largest film market in the near future.

However, as the industry is experiencing a great-leap-forward in its development, some political advisers⁶ say Chinese film still has long way to go to meet international standards. 

Film director Yin Li is one of them. 

"We know Americans have super heroes like Spiderman and the Transformers, but if you look at this year's Oscar, besides the popcorn⁷ commercial movies, they also have many works with a more human focus."

Many insiders believe co-productions are a good way to borrow insights and nurture⁸ success in overseas markets. 

Last year, China had a total of 82 films that were co-productions with overseas partners, which is historical high. 

As co-production is seen as a must if Chinese films want to go further in the global market, political adviser Wang Xingdong suggests that it's time for domestic filmmakers to focus more on local creations.

"Co-production is an effective way to go out in the very beginning, but once the technical part is developed, story-telling becomes the key. Domestic filmmakers need to think how to tell a Chinese story with original flavor, tell the world what's the spirit of our culture, and shape the real image of China. This is important."

Some insiders are making efforts to put this into practice. 

In the beginning of 2016, crime drama "Mr. Six" made more than 1.3million US dollars in the US, which was among the highest-grossing Chinese films in America over the past decade. 

Director Gao Qunshu says the government should encourage more original stories and productions.

"Filmmakers should settle down to make real good movies. Like Mr. Six, it covers a lot of aspects of the society, and also gains box office success. The government should praise this kind of success. There are also those with high reputation but relatively⁹ lower box-office revenue. Sometimes a movie's value can be several times greater than what revenue implies. It's not just about earnings¹⁰ and numbers. We should judge a movie objectively, in a rational, scientific way. "

As a more open industry environment is provided, insiders and political advisers say that good story-telling and emotionally connected characters will foster the success of Chinese movies and the industry as a whole, both domestically and internationally. 

For CRI, I'm Zhou Jingnan

1 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

2 promotion   

n.提升，晋级；促销，宣传

参考例句：

• The teacher conferred with the principal about Dick's promotion.教师与校长商谈了迪克的升级问题。
• The clerk was given a promotion and an increase in salary.那个职员升了级，加了薪。

3 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

4 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

5 playwright   

n.剧作家，编写剧本的人

参考例句：

• Gwyn Thomas was a famous playwright.格温·托马斯是著名的剧作家。
• The playwright was slaughtered by the press.这位剧作家受到新闻界的无情批判。

6 advisers   

顾问，劝告者( adviser的名词复数 )； （指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• a member of the President's favoured circle of advisers 总统宠爱的顾问班子中的一员
• She withdrew to confer with her advisers before announcing a decision. 她先去请教顾问然后再宣布决定。

7 popcorn   

n.爆米花

参考例句：

• I like to eat popcorn when I am watching TV play at home.当我在家观看电视剧时，喜欢吃爆米花。
• He still stood behind his cash register stuffing his mouth with popcorn.他仍站在收银机后，嘴里塞满了爆米花。

8 nurture   

n.养育，照顾，教育；滋养，营养品；vt.养育，给与营养物，教养，扶持

参考例句：

• The tree grows well in his nurture.在他的培育下这棵树长得很好。
• The two sisters had received very different nurture.这俩个姊妹接受过极不同的教育。

9 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

10 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。