Culture Film and TV

Pop culture saves  chineess  cinema

Memories Look at Me—an arthouse film directed by Song Fangand produced by acclaimed director Jia Zhangke about aworking woman's trip back home to a small city to spend timewith her parents—won acclaim at several overseas film festivals.But China's cinemas expected little audience interest and,consequently, didn't give it long runs.Still, it at least made it to theaters. More than half of the Chinesefilms made last year were never shown in theaters, according totwo recent reports by the China Film Association and Film ArtCenter, which operates under the auspices of the ChinaFederation of Literary and Art Circles.Altogether, 638 feature films, excluding made-for-televisionmovies, were produced on the mainland in 2013. That's 107fewer than in 2012.

But only 250 Chinese films, including productions from Hong Kong and Taiwan, and those co-produced by China and other countries or regions, were shown on the mainland's big screensin 2013.

"There were more co-produced films," the reports note."Chinese films still have difficulties going abroad, but there were more foreign participants inthe country's filmmaking."

The good news is that China's booming film market has set anew record. The films screened in 2013 earned a total of 21.7billion yuan, compared to 17 billion yuan in 2012. Fifty-ninemovies—32 of which were made in China—crossed the 100million yuan mark. Domestic films claimed a 58 percent share ofthe country's film market in 2013—the highest figure since the2002 reform of the country's film industry.The industry reports forecast China will have a bigger filmmarket than the United States by 2020.Seven of China's 10 top-grossing films were domesticproductions. The leading film was the fantasy adventure Journeyto the West: Conquering the Demons, which grossed 1.24billion.

Some 23 films, including Memories Look at Me, each brought inless than 100,000 yuan.The reports cite a survey that finds more than 60 percent of filmgoers have at least a collegedegree. Half are office workers, and 70 percent visit cinemas at least once a month.About 60 percent are women. And nearly 54 percent are ages 25 to 39. About 33 percent are18 to 24.Small-town youth comprise the fast-growing new target market, the reports say.Less population mobility in second- and third-tier cities provides a captive audience.The reports cites the youth romance flick Tiny Times and themartial arts film The Four 2 as examples in which thisdemographic contributed to commercial success. While neitherwon much critical acclaim, they catered to small cities'audiences."New media now have a strong market influence," the reportssay."More fictional TV network programs have been adapted intofilms, and online marketing has become crucial."The reports revealed matinee attendance is low. They suggestdaytime scheduling should appeal to the middle-aged and seniorcitizens of China's graying society.

The reports identified problems that loom amid the boom."Today's movies cash in on what's popular, such as comedy andromance, and neglect the artistic aspects of filmmaking. Someare short in storytelling skills. Action movies, especially historical action movies, havedeclined in popularity. There were many low-budget comedies whose quality wasconcerning."

The reports also point out the youth-oriented films that have contributed much to the market'slack of strong emotional drive and creativity. They are extremely similar to one another.For instance, a total of eight films about bachelor's lives were screened around Nov 11,China's "Singles Day"."If movies with youth themes remain shallow, they will ultimately harm audience's fragileconfidence in this genre that is new to China."

  SOURCE : chinadaily.com