As one of the official forums of the 21st Shanghai International Film Festival in 2018, a symposium called "Challenge VS Opportunity: New Era of Cinema" was held on June 21 in Shanghai. The event was co-organized by the festival and Shanghai Theatre Academy (STA).International experts including leading film company executives, well-known directors, filmmakers and scholars attended the event and exchanged viewpoints.Film in China is now entering a new stage of development. The flourishing development of the movie industry here and the commitment to innovate film arts have made movies a new platform for global communication.Chinese cinema occupies an increasingly important position in global film development. At present, China has become the second-largest movie market in the world, as the number of local movie screens ranks first in the world. At the same time, Chinese films are facing unprecedented challenges and opportunities.The forum invited experts to discuss the ecosystem of Chinese film, establish a new vision for domestic movies, share ideas and put forward new proposals while also conducting in-depth analysis of the industry and the future of Chinese film.In an opening speech given by Lou Wei, chairman of Shanghai Theatre Academy, Lou asked if more profits in the domestic film sector means more challenges for China's film industry, and if the industry is truly ready for such challenges.

Photo: VCG

Mike Ellis, chairman of Asia and Pacific Region, Motion Picture Association of America, used box office figures and ranking data to help the audience understand the state of China's exploding film market.According to data from a newly released report by China Film Organization, while American box office receipts in 2017 were lower than in previous years, China's box office made rapid growth, at 13.45 percent, compared to 2016.Citing this data, Ellis predicted that China will surpass North America to become the biggest movie ticket market in the world in just the next few years. Undoubtedly, China is pushing forward the growth of the global box office, he said.He mentioned new Chinese-made apps for buying movie tickets online in China, which he feels are convenient and fascinating. Ellis also said that China has the best online ticket selling system in the world and has probably sold the most tickets through the internet worldwide.Movie apps in China also provide user movie ratings and discussion forums for netizens, which makes the domestic film market more transparent and open than before.

Panel discussion Photo: Courtesy of Liu Jiaqi

Rao Shuguang, secretary-general of China Film Association, believes that Chinese cinema is presently encountering a bottleneck after continuous growth for the past decade.He worries about the drain of talent and resources and recommends setting up a proper market regulation to solve problems that accumulated during the rapid growth of development.Rao put forward three proposals. The first is to maintain a cool head and make rational judgments in light of these challenges. Second is to set up a new market mechanism. The third is to construct Chinese film schools and domestic dialogue systems based on the advanced film experience of the world and the requirement of Chinese film development."We should have a firm grip on our local market, spread our voice and influence to the world through global collaboration and tell Chinese stories in a language understood by the whole world," he said.This story was written by Yan Ming.

Rao Shuguang Photo: Courtesy of Liu Jiaqi

Mike Ellis Photo: Courtesy of Liu Jiaqi

Lou Wei Photo: Courtesy of Liu Jiaqi