The Belt and Road Initiatives Leads to New Development of China's Film Industry

　　

　　Chen Zhiqiang, Secretary of the Party Committee and Vice Curator of China National Film Museum

　　BJIFF 2017 "Summit on the Beauty of Film" focused on development of the Belt and Road film & new landscape of global film, and explores the magnificent blueprint for the development of China, the countries along the Belt and Road and the world from the perspective of films serving China and the countries along the Belt and Road, and provides intellectual support for promoting the healthy and rapid development of the "Belt and Road" and intensifying international exchange and cooperation. Today our guest speakers will focus on the increasingly prominent influence of films in economy, culture and politics, as well as the role of films in serving world economy and culture. They will discuss the opportunities of film cooperation with you, share the results and experience of film development, predict the trends of film development, and take us to feel the beauty of film.

　　Zhang Hong, Secretary of the Party Leadership Group and Residence Vice President of the China Film Association

　　People-to-people communication is the important content, key element and basis of the "Belt and Road" strategy. What is people-to-people communication? It lies in cultural mutual understanding and respect.

　　People-to-people cognition and exchange in social fields such as history, language, religion and customs can promote the countries along the "Belt and Road" to build cultural consensus. The film is an important medium for people-to-people communication. Films have witnessed the progress and development of modern civilization and become important part of the treasure house of humans.

　　China is an ancient civilization with a history of over 5,000 years, as well as the most populous country in the world. China boasts tremendous strength and huge potential in creative materials, talents and capital scale. The countries along the "Belt and Road" have shown great interest in the Chinese film market.

　　The film plays an important role of cultural exchange in China's "Belt and Road" strategy, and will become an envoy of promoting civilization and cultural exchanges. We always believe that film development will make remarkable contributions to people-to-people exchange, common development, civilization and progress, and world peace.

　　Yang Shuo, Vice Chairman of the Organizing Committee of the 7th Beijing International Film Festival and Director-General of the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television

　　Since starting in 2011, BJIFF has upheld the purpose of sharing the screen and shaping the future, focused on the implementation of the national "Belt and Road" strategy, highlighted the orientation of internationalization, professionalization, innovation, high-end and marketization, striven to build a Sino-foreign film exchange platform, gradually become an internationally influential cultural exchange brand, and played an increasingly important role in promoting the healthy and rapid development of Chinese films, promoting the prosperity of world films, and deepening the cultural exchanges and cooperation among the countries along the "Belt and Road". Now global filmmakers have come together for BJIFF. They will discuss hot topics, exchange ideas, share experience, enlighten thinking, share results and look into the future through the international exchange platform of the theme forum. As a main forum of BJIFF, the Summit on the Beauty of Film will probe into the prominent role and far-reaching impact of films in world economic and cultural exchanges with focus on the subject of "Belt and Road" film development and the new pattern of global films, to promote Sino-foreign cultural dialogue and cooperation in exchange, provide intellectual support for the development of China's film industry and offer advice on the development of cultural exchange among the countries along the "Belt and Road".

　　This year marks the fifth year since President Xi proposed the Belt and Road Initiative. Over the past five years, extensive and in-depth cooperation in economic and cultural sectors has been carried out and remarkable achievements have been made, which have attracted constant attention from the international community. Film is a bridge for cultural transmission as well as a tie for establishing and maintaining friendship. Over the past five years, China and the other countries along the Belt and Road have provided the audience with rich cultural experience through different various forms including film panorama and further enhanced cultural exchange and emotional communication between people from different countries.

　　As China's film industry reform deepens, a problem- and audience's demand-oriented new perspective is required to analyze the industry objectively, and promote sustainable and sound development of the industry. Under such background, this summit, themed "Development of the ‘Belt and Road’ Film & New Landscape of Global Film", draws the attention of the countries along the Belt and Road and the world to Beijing, and invites well-known professionals in the filmdom from Canada, UK, and other countries to deeply discuss the theme, explore effective ways to tell Chinese stories and spread Chinese voice with films, and make Chinese film become a goodwill messenger for people-to-people bonds and an effective carrier for promoting deep integration of diversified cultures of the countries along the Belt and Road.

　　of countries along the Belt and Road. Holding BJIFF is a combination blow made by China and other countries along the Belt and Road, which shows we don't follow the rules Western powers set, instead, in the Belt and Road cultural community, we set rules for the international film festival with Chinese characteristics, and construct new rules for the world film market. This is to develop our own film industry by making use of the international environment, and to make contributions to the development of the world’s film with our own development.

　　To promote cooperation and communication in economy, trade, culture and education between countries along the Belt and Road in a comprehensive way, and let the countries and people share the fruit of sound development of the Belt and Road Initiative, shows China's open-mindedness as a responsible power, and it's an important responsibility of China's higher education.

　　China's film education undertaking began in the 1920s, and saw an upsurge in the 1980s. With the film renaissance since the 1980s, China's film industry has developed by leaps and bounds. In accordance with the essence of General Secretary Xi's talk at the National Meeting of the Ideological and Political Work in Universities and Colleges on December 7-8, 2016, higher education should perform five functions--abiding by the strategies of the Party and the nation, bringing the strategy of film higher education into play, serving scientific research, serving cultural inheritance and innovation, and promoting international communication and cooperation. Therefore, we should attach greater importance to and enhance the necessity and urgency of internationalization of higher education film strategy from the perspective of the Belt and Road Initiative and comprehensive development of the country.

　　Film is a medium connecting us from different cultures and countries. China and Canada have concluded several co-production agreements since 1987. As filmmakers, we should establish mutual connections with industry participants before connecting others with our works. It is very exciting for us to hold Canada China International Film Festival. What should be done to make cross-cultural works? My background is highly related to cross-cultural co-production. The most important experience I’ve got is to find a working environment benefiting you and your partners. Only under this environment can you make a project that you are proud of and can be accepted by both cultures. You must trust your instincts and give each other an opportunity to create an environment in which people know they may make mistakes and keep trying. Although you are not certain sometimes, you should trust them since creation comes with risks. You should trust them as they understand their audiences and dare to try if the effects are good. Meanwhile, you should help others solve various problems. 

　　To achieve cross-cultural cooperation, we should not innocently expect that all the challenges and conflicts can be naturally solved, but learn to observe and listen. With exchanges based on cooperation, we can make the best co-cooperation effect, thereby achieving the prosperity of the film industry. 

　　From the time of Hero to now, Chinese films have become one of the centers of the world film industry as the world is now sharing the key capacity of audiences of China’s film industry. The history of capacity changed the pattern of the world’s film industry, which urged the US film (especially Hollywood film), which was the only international film center to make profound adjustment, namely taking China as a core market. 

　　Therefore, we find an important change between Chinese stories and world's films. Despite the difficulties and challenges, Chinese films are now starting the world-based imagination to go global, which is a new progress for China’s film industry. 

　　The cross-market efforts are also worthy of note. For The Great Wall directed by Zhang Yimou, it is interesting to transfer the cooperation with Hollywood to a story between China and western space. The story holds subtle and complicated connection with the global situation in 2017, which is a manifestation of cross culture and shows a complicated cultural relation and a new opportunity. 

　　　Now as we can see, China’s film industry needs a Hollywood-style space to seek balanced development, instead of competition, with Hollywood, and vigor to keep emerging of new audiences in Tier-3, 4 and 5 cities of China. On the two bases, China will win a future for its film industry. 

Bao Jie, Founder of Dreamax Media Co., Ltd.

　　How to go deep into the development of an international film industry is what I want to discuss with friends present today. Here is our simple assumption about cooperation during each link from production to distribution and how to enable in-depth exchanges and development. It is our hope to take film & TV exchange centers in such a form to the whole country and even the rest of the world. We have designed an exchange center with a lantern shape that is a striking Chinese symbol. We hope that Chinese exchange centers can collaborate and exchange with foreign counterparts, and finally become a window for the film & TV industry to conduct international cooperation during each session under the framework of the Belt and Road  as well as a place where talents gather.

　　The simple assumption is divided into three parts: first, film panorama section—hopes are high that outstanding films can be regularly screened in the section in a same way as China National Film Museum, key museums and major film festivals; second, space for the promotion of film creation—talents from various regions are attracted through the idea of project pitches, and some aspiring talents who hope to participate in the creation of the film and the production of the whole film from place to place can be gathered together through such a cultural exchange center; third, artists and performances—I hold that a wide range of interactive courses online and offline or various exchanges available in the market today need such a face-to-face communication, exchange and demonstration. 

　　I have little knowledge of Asia because I have only spent a total of 47 hours in Asia before and just arrived here yesterday, but what I see and hear this time is a breath of fresh air. There is a lot that deserves Europe to learn from Asia. It is my great honor to attend this year’s Beijing International Film Festival, where I can see many international stars. I hope we can exchange ideas with them and learn a lot from China which, after all, has a long history of more than five thousand years and a very rich film culture. One of my colleagues once said at the Montreal World Film Festival that China boasts a unique history and culture and there is a lot worth learning, from which we can not only learn knowledge and cultural features specific to its cinemas, but also show them to European and Western audiences, allowing them to understand the uniqueness and charm of Chinese films. We’re also willing to share our experience in film education, film production and so on. In my view, we can set up a film & TV cultural incubator, something in Asia that you might not heard about before, where both remarkable and not-so-great results can be achieved. But in such an incubator on the whole, different ideas can be found and make me exciting, regardless of from the West or the East, modern or ancient, or about the Silk Road.

　　The Belt and Road actually represents a cultural sharing. For international film & TV culture, there should be a bring-in strategy other than the go-global strategy. Based on such strategies, the Belt and Road can offer development opportunities to the film & TV industry. Among its own advantages, the greatest advantage of Chinese film & TV industry is the booming of the market. For international exchange of the Chinese film & TV industry in a short term, the priority should be given to overseas investment and exploitation of foreign markets over product import, which in my view might be a more practical logic. As we can see, during the whole business process of other industries in China going aboard, the entire logic of cross-border merger and acquisition is pretty clear. In fact, such a practice can be copied and pasted in the film & TV industry: first, foreign advanced technology and power, which I think remains to be interlinked in the industry; second, foreign advanced productivity, as well as brand and market grafting, namely, the so-called industrial synergy, which is also applicable to the industry; third, the upsurge of domestic merger and acquisition drives the rise in value in China, and comparing with the West, China still has the value advantage, which remains valid in the film & TV industry. Looking at the future, there will be an increasing number of cross-border exchanges.