Xiamen aims to be nation's film and TV hub

The 35th China Golden Rooster Awards kicks off in Xiamen, Fujian province, on Thursday. CHINA DAILY

The 35th China Golden Rooster Awards, which honors actors and movie professionals, opens in coastal city of East China's Fujian province

The 35th China Golden Rooster Awards opened in Xiamen, East China's Fujian province, on Thursday, drawing together industry representatives and offering a feast of films.

The three-day film festival has invited directors, actors and industry experts to hold discussions on academic forums on such topics as film industry development, base construction for film and television, and the digital development of the industry.

As a cultural gala, this year's Golden Rooster festival has brought a series of exhibitions featuring domestically produced new movies, videos filmed by cross-Straits youth and movies adopting virtual reality technology.

Part of the film festival, the 2022 Golden Rooster International Film Section, which runs from Nov 9 to 20, has selected and demonstrated 34 film works from 40 countries and regions, with 90 percent being debuted in China.

"This year's film section has picked movies catering to the aesthetic requirements of Chinese audiences. Movie fans in Xiamen have supported this exhibition section since it opened, and we expect to bring more good movies from across the world to people in Xiamen," said Lin Zhe, a manager in charge of the film section.

Lin Anqi, a student from the Xiamen University of Technology, attended the film section with her classmates.

"For a film exhibition, it should promote movies to the public. The Golden Rooster film section in Xiamen has provided local movie fans with good resources," Lin said. "To see such a large-scale film exhibition not only brings me opportunities to watch the world's best films but also provides me with a learning platform."

Another highlight of the festival was the fourth Golden Rooster Films Project Market held to discover new film talent to produce excellent film projects and invest in the future of the Chinese film industry.

In addition, the China Film Association and the Xiamen city government cooperated to launch a jointly built film cultural project, demonstrating fingerprints and signatures of famed film artists who attended the previous Golden Roosters and have made contributions to China's movie industry. It aims to expand the influence of the film festival.

Holding the film festival for three consecutive years since 2019, Xiamen has given full play to the Golden Rooster Awards to accelerate film and television infrastructure construction to spur its development.

As of October, Xiamen had 2,287 film and TV businesses, with a total registration capital of 17.4 billion yuan ($2.45 billion).

A group of industry-leading businesses along with studios of famous directors and actors have settled in the city, which forms an industrial chain linking film production, promotion and circulation. In addition, film and TV industrial parks such as the Xiamen Shooting Base and the Jimei film and TV culture creative park have been implemented.

With the improved film and TV industrial ecosystem, Xiamen has become an ideal destination for shooting crews to go to create impressive works, officials said.

Recently, a TV series, directed by Jin Binlin, started shooting in Xiamen.

"Xiamen's scenery, coastlines and city landscape are well suited for our TV series. The city has supported us a lot, especially the local actors who are quite enthusiastic," Jin said.

This TV series has been shot in scenic spots in Xiamen's Siming, Huli, Jimei and Tong'an. It is set for release by the end of the year. Tongxinheli, a local media company, is the co-producer of Jin's TV series.

The atmosphere of film and TV has been getting stronger and this industry has been optimized in Xiamen in the past two years, said a manager of Tongxinheli.

That is conducive to the development of local media businesses and allows Xiamen to take a leading role in boosting cultural tourism, rather than just being a beautiful shooting option for movie producers, the manager said.

Another online suspense series is being shot at Xiamen's Wutong wharf.

Xiamen's bustling metropolis views and its quiet and leisurely atmosphere have satisfied the shooting needs of the series, said a manager of Xiamen Saite Century Film.

Xiamen has formed a mostly completed supply chain for supporting the production of film and television. Its specific preferential policies help businesses save costs and operate easily, the manager said.

Other film and TV works such as Upcoming Summer and Reset, which have been well received, are all produced in the city.

Xiamen will continue to leverage the Golden Rooster Awards to take the lead by further developing the film and TV industry to build the city into a film and TV hub of China, the officials said.

A booth at the exhibition featuring virtual reality technology. CHINA DAILY

A visitor records a recitation at the opening ceremony of the 35th China Golden Rooster Awards. CHINA DAILY