16 | Thursday, June 24, 2021 HONGHONG KONG KONG EDITION EDITION || DAILY LIFE PATH TO GLORY film Cinema’s leading role

Topping the global box office, the movie industry adopts various innovations to keep viewers on the edge of their seats, Xu Fan reports.

o paraphrase a silver istration and China Association screen classic, to boldly for Science and Technology go where no one has issued a joint guideline to boost gone before could be the the sci-fi film sector, with policy Tmission statement for the Chinese measures ranging from visual-ef- box office. As of June 23, China fects enhancement to training. had grossed more than 27.10 bil- The move is seen as State-level lion yuan ($4.18 billion) in the first support to encourage sci-fi film- six months of this year — cement- making, according to insiders. ing its position as the world’s larg- “Sci-fi film is a significant genre est movie market in terms of in the global film industry,” says yearly box office — as local talent Wang Hongwei, also deputy head was encouraged to explore new of China Film Directors’ Guild. “It frontiers in diverse genres. can propel the innovation of cine- Propelled by iconic auteur matic techniques, broaden film- Zhang Yimou’s first espionage makers’ imagination as well as thriller Cliff Walkers, ticket reve- raising interest in exploring the nue in May came to 4.90 billion unknown.” yuan, a record, according to the Interestingly, the development national film industry develop- of sci-fi films is usually related to ment special fund management the advance of science and tech- commission, which is operated by nology in the country, signaling the country’s top movie and its ambition and power in the finance authorities. most advanced scientific sectors, Eight of the 10 highest-grossing adds Wang. films this year are Chinese block- China’s feats in space explora- busters, with female comedian- tion, exemplified by the first Mars turned-filmmaker Jia Ling’s rover Zhurong and the country’s directorial feature Hi, Mom in the recent deployment of three astro- top slot with stunning box-office nauts to the core module of what takings of 5.40 billion yuan. It pro- will become China’s new space pelled the smash hit to become station, have laid the foundation this year’s highest-grossing block- for filmmakers to conceive their buster so far, according to trackers own sci-fi stories with a more Beacon and Box Office Mojo. localized perspective, he explains. The success of Hi, Mom — a Scriptwriter-director Dong Run- sleeper hit — marks the seventh nian, known for the 2019 sci-fi film consecutive year of dominance for Gone With the Light, says the domestic blockbusters at the top reform and opening-up, the change of lifestyle caused by the of the country’s annual box-office founding of People’s Republic of rapidly expanding internet sector chart, highlighting a watershed China, and the founding of the can also be used as an inspirational period for the expansion of the CPC, the genre has found a way to source for Chinese filmmakers. Chinese film industry. reach a wider viewership, says Yin “China has developed very fast Before China’s cinemas were Li, vice-chairman of the China in recent decades,’’ he says. “In closed for the COVID-19 outbreak Film Directors’ Guild. some sense, the transformations in 2020, the nation’s yearly box- “Nowadays, insiders and taking place in China are a bit like office receipts expanded from researchers are more willing to call a sci-fi tale. I believe our story 29.60 billion yuan in 2014 to 64.10 such films ‘new mainstream block- writers and filmmakers can pay billion yuan in 2019. Last year, busters’, as those tales not only con- more attention to, and dig out despite the six-month closure of vey the mainstream values of our more interesting, materials from theaters nationwide, China still society, but also achieve remarka- which to produce films.” managed to gross 20.30 billion ble success in the market,” adds Ne Zha’s unexpected success in yuan, becoming the world’s first Yin, an award-winning director. the summer of 2019 has also given major movie market to stage a Widely regarded as a watershed animators a boost, drawing more robust recovery from the pan- blockbuster to redefine such films, talent to portray the subjects demic. the movie The Founding of a inspired by Chinese myths and Screens and cinemas have also Republic — which was produced cultures. seen a huge rise in numbers over to mark the 60th anniversary of Films in the category include the past decade. In 2014, there New China’s founding — gathers a the likes of Jiang Ziya: Legend of were 23,600 screens in the Chinese cast unprecedented in star power, Deification and New Gods: mainland, but that figure surged packed with more than 170 big Reborn. They are among the high- to more than 75,000 this year, the names, including Jackie Chan and est-grossing films of 2020 and highest in the world. Jet Li in cameo roles. The movie 2021, respectively. These block- An example that sums up the grossed 450 million yuan, topping Wang Changtian, president of busters are inspired from the evolution of the nation’s cinematic the country’s box office in 2009. the -based studio Enlight (1368-1644) novel facilities is ’s sci-fi Following the success, The Media, predicts that, over the next Fengshen Yanyi (The Investiture epic Avatar. When it was first Founding of a Party, a second five years, the film industry will of the Gods). released across the mainland in installment of The Founding trilo- shoot around 50 zhuxuanlyu The 2019 animated feature January 2010, the country at the gy to mark the 90th anniversary of films with a total budget up to 20 White Snake — a retelling of one time had fewer than 1,000 3D-ca- the founding of the CPC, again billion yuan. He made the predic- of China’s most popular folk tales pable cinema screens. When Ava- employed a similar formula. Gath- tion during a forum at the recently about the love between a snake tar was re-screened on the ering together more than 100 stars concluded 24th Shanghai Interna- spirit and a handsome man — is mainland in March this year, there to retell the Party’s early history, it tional Film Festival. another hit that exemplifies the were 60,000. also earned critical acclaim and A total of around 200 such rise of the domestic animation “We are living in an unprece- commercial success, becoming films have been screened since sector. dented era,” says Zhang Hong, the second highest-grossing Chi- 2007, drawing a box-office reve- Currently working on a sequel to deputy head of the China Film nese film in 2011. nue of more than 52.5 billion White Snake, director Amp Wong Association. “What the domestic After Tsui Hark’s The Taking of yuan, according to the National says the animation industry is film industry needs the most is the Tiger Mountain became a hit Business Daily. struggling with a shortage of talent innovation, ranging from film- in 2014, mainland studios realized and he hopes that more young- making formulas to screening that Hong Kong talent could help Top: A visitor examines a prop spacesuit at an exhibition Game changers sters will join the sector to help platforms, in preparation to han- China’s zhuxuanlyu films adopt a themed on the movie The Wandering in 2019 in Beijing. In 2019, two Chinese smash develop animation applications dle future demands from the view- more appealing perspective. Their ZHU XINGXIN / CHINA DAILY Middle: People walk by a poster of Hi, Mom hits — the animated feature Ne that will assist in producing scenes ing public.” profound knowledge and skill in at a cinema in February in Shanghai. Above: People show their Zha and sci-fi epic The Wandering which reflect typical Chinese aes- dealing plot twists and action e-tickets to see the film My People, My Homeland last October in Earth — earned 5.04 and 4.69 bil- thetics. Breakthrough were honed in Hong Kong’s fast- Shanghai. pHotos bY CHeN YUYU / for CHINA DAILY lion yuan, respectively, to take With the people’s rising confi- An enduring genre perhaps paced and prolific film industry. both the No 1 and No 2 positions dence and interest in culture and distinctive to Chinese cinema, A greater number of directors on that year’s box-office charts. history, Huang says that he zhuxuanlyu (mainstream from Hong Kong have since joined direct Chinese Doctors, a movie comprising several stand-alone They were both hailed as game believes domestic animators will theme) — referring to films revis- projects retelling the tales of Chi- about medical staff battling stories based around a single changers. figure out better means to visual- iting revolutionary chapters of nese heroes, exemplified by against the pandemic in Wuhan, theme, have set a successful Unlike some Western sci-fi ize traditional values and philo- the Communist Party of China or Andrew Lau’s The Founding of an the capital city of Hubei province, example for domestic filmmak- blockbusters that depict individu- sophical thoughts, helping grow a eulogizing role models and patri- Army (2017), as well as Dante the Chinese city hardest hit by the ers about assembling top talent al heroes single-handedly rescu- greater appreciation of animated otic heroes — is one of the catego- Lam’s Chinese Navy-themed Oper- COVID-19 outbreak earlier last and resources to tell zhuxuanlyu ing the world or defeating alien works among cinemagoers. ries that has enjoyed the biggest ation Red Sea (2018) and The Res- year. stories through the perspective invaders, The Wandering Earth “We all know that our country improvement in terms of innova- cue (2020). Approaching the 100th anniver- of ordinary people. conveys values and emotions dis- is experiencing a great change,’’ tion in recent years, say experts Exemplifying the public’s rising sary of the founding of the CPC, “This year has set a trend that tinctive to Chinese people, thus says Ma Ping, director of the Chi- and insiders. appetite for such films, Tsui and which will fall on July 1, a clutch of sees more renowned filmmakers resonating more with locals, na Film and Television Photogra- The term was first raised during Lam have also joined hands with revolutionary films will be shown, and A-list stars moving to shoot according to critics. phers Association. “This can also a meeting of China’s top movie renowned director Chen Kaige to with the celebrity-studded 1921 such films,” says Zhao Ningyu, a Director Guo Fan explained in influence cinema. Boosted by the regulators in 1987, ushering in a shoot the patriotic film, The Battle being one of the most anticipated. professor with the Beijing Film an earlier interview that the film development of new techniques decadeslong period of creating at Lake Changjin. This focuses on Another format that has Academy. showcases Chinese people’s deep and the potential of China’s huge such films. Getting the incredible the Chinese People’s Volunteers proved successful for filmmakers “We believe that using ordinary bonds to the land, rooted in the market, we believe the domestic story out to the public in cinemat- who went to the Korean Peninsula in the Chinese mainland is the people as protagonists, from col- country’s thousands of years of film industry has a promising ic form was initially a challenge. to fight in the War to Resist US one employed in My People, My lege students to soldiers and farm- agrarian endeavor, so the charac- future.” But with blockbusters tailored Aggression and Aid Korea (1950- Country (2019) and My People, ers, could become a new way of ters want to move the Earth to for significant anniversary cele- 53). It is set to be released this year. My Homeland (2020). These two doing things in the future,” adds save it from an all-devouring . Contact the writer at brations, such as the marking of Lau has also been recruited to blockbuster anthology films, Zhao. In 2020, the China Film Admin- [email protected]