Review | HKIFF ‘Chinese Content Global Communication Forum’ Sharing China’s Story with the World

2023 Hong Kong International Film and TV Market (HKIFF) held the first Chinese Content Global Communication Forum, where the major film and television organizations, creators, experts and international partners gathered to talk about telling good Chinese stories

After an absence of three years, the Hong Kong International Film and TV Market (Filmart) offline exhibition£¬the largest film and television event in Asia, was held again on March 13 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center, and the film and television professionals from all over the world gathered to seek cooperation and development . As an important activity of Filmart, the first “Chinese Content Global Communication Forum”, organized by ¡®Department of International Cooperation Department of National Radio and Television Administration of China¡¯, co-organized by the ¡®Information Office of Zhejiang Provincial People’s Government¡¯ and ¡®Zhejiang Radio and Television Group¡¯, and hosted by China (Zhejiang) Film and TV Industry International Cooperation Zone and ¡®Phoenix Television¡¯, was held in the morning of March 14 at the Starlight Theatre in Hong Kong.

The forum set up an exchange platform of “sharing China’s story with the world through audiovisual media”, attracting the first-line creative teams of Chinese film and television industry, leading enterprises such as iQIYI, Youku,Tencent, Mango TV and Huace Group, as well as the heads and creative teams of media organizations in Hong Kong, Macao, the United States and Korea, to share information, exchange experience, enlighten each other and discuss the future on the new situation and development of international dissemination and cooperation of Chinese content.

More than 200 people attended the forum, including officials from the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in Hong Kong, the ¡®Department of International Cooperation Department of National Radio and Television Administration of China¡¯, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, the China Television Arts Council, the Hong Kong Correspondent Station of China Radio and Television, the Propaganda Department of the Zhejiang Provincial Party Committee, the Propaganda Department of the Shanxi Provincial Party Committee, the Zhejiang Radio and Television Bureau, the Shandong Radio and Television Bureau, and other relevant organizations, as well as major media organizations from china and abroad. The forum was full of big names and wonderful contents, which firmly attracted the audience throughout the whole process, and warm applause broke out frequently at the scene.

Zhou Jihong, the first-level inspector of ¡®Department of International Cooperation Department of National Radio and Television Administration of China¡¯, said in his speech that in the current diversified development of the global content industry, the supply capacity of Chinese content has increased, the distribution channels have diversified, and the international competitiveness is growing. Strengthening the international dissemination of Chinese language content is a warm echo to enhance the influence of Chinese civilization and strengthen the exchange and mutual appreciation of Chinese and foreign civilizations, we hope that the industry will strengthen the creation of high-quality content, deepen audiovisual exchanges and cooperation, develop innovation, work together and form synergy to tell the China¡¯s story and contribute Chinese wisdom and power to build a community of human destiny.

Mr. Linfeng, Deputy Director of the Propaganda Department of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in Hong Kong, said in his speech that Hong Kong has a highly developed film and television industry, rich international communication practices, a mature network that radiates around the world, and is good at telling China’s story from an international perspective and in an international discourse. The successful practice of “one country, two systems” in Hong Kong provides valuable resources for audiovisual creation.

We look forward to the industry’s organic combination of the Mainland China and Hong Kong’s advantageous resources to share the China story with the world, so that the world can better understand China and identify with China.

Mr. Lai Yingjie, Executive Vice Minister of the Propaganda Department of Zhejiang Provincial Party Committee, said in his speech that in the international cooperation of exchange and mutual appreciation, a number of outstanding enterprises have emerged in Zhejiang, represented by Huace Film and Television, which have been cultivating overseas market for many years, and the “Hua Theatre” is bringing new audio-visual experience to overseas audiences. In the future, Zhejiang will focus on promoting cultural prosperity and development, improving the quality of development of radio, film and television, literature and art, and creating a number of cultural landmarks and literary masterpieces.

Yi Kai, Secretary General of China TV Arts Council, with the theme of “Hundred Flowers Welcoming Spring – TV Literary and Artistic Excellence Telling China’s Story with Heart and Emotion”, believed that we should draw resources from the rich mine of Chinese culture, tell China’s stories, further promote the blossoming of Chinese TV and network audiovisual literature and art, and lay a solid foundation for telling China’s stories to the world.

In addition, Ms. Fu Binxing, President of Huace Group, Mr. Luo Chong Wen, Chairman of the Executive Committee of Macao Radio and Television, Ms. Xu Xinxin, CEO of Phoenix Show, Mr. Chen Fang, Head of the Studio of Interpretation China of the State Administration of Foreign Languages, as well as the relevant persons in charge of ASTORY Corporation of Korea and Latin American Media Corporation of the United States, each shared their successful cases in the creation and international dissemination of Chinese language content.

In the roundtable session of the forum, around the theme of “Opportunities and Challenges of International Distribution of Chinese Content in the Streaming Media Era”, Li Lu, a national first-class director, film publisher and producer, Yang Lei, director of the hit TV series “Three -Body” and Zhang Zhuo, senior producer of the TV series ” Meet Yourself”, which has achieved remarkable results in international distribution, shared their highlights and experiences in the international creation of Chinese content. With their works full of “hotness value”, the three first-line creators of Chinese films and TV brought their own traffic, and their wonderful speeches won the applause of the audience.  Xie Ying, Vice President of Youku, Ren Xu, General Manager of Mango TV Copyright Center, Zhong Shujia, President and Director of TVB77 Studio, and Wang Zheng, General Manager of Yawen Media and other guests, had in-depth discussions and exchanges on the development trend, challenges and opportunities of international distribution of Chinese content.

The classic cases shared by the guests at the forum are full of useful information, which played a positive role in the international dissemination of Chinese content. For example, the leading Chinese film and television enterprise Huace Group has created a new model and carrier, cooperated with YouTube, Netflix, Amazon, Facebook, Twitter, Huawei Video and other domestic and international platforms, and created its own overseas broadcast platform for Chinese films and TV dramas “China Theatre”, which brings a new audiovisual experience for overseas audiences. At present, there are nearly 15 million overseas subscribers, and the translation and distribution languages cover more than 30 languages such as English, French, Spanish and Arabic. At the beginning of this year, the modern idyllic healing drama “meet yourself” was very popular in China, which tells a warm healing story through the beautiful scenes in the countryside, and one drama has made Dali a hit. At the same time, the drama is available in 6 languages on Youtube and distributed to Southeast Asia, Europe and America, and is highly sought after by overseas young audiences and recommended by the New York Times as “Outstanding International Drama in 2023”.

The Phoenix Show has introduced more than 254 films and TV dramas, variety shows, animations, documentaries and other outstanding Mainland productions with nearly 6,000 episodes to Hong Kong viewers.

Since 2011, the Macau Radio and Television Corporation has translated more than 600 hours of outstanding Chinese TV programs for broadcast in the mainstream media of Portuguese-speaking countries, which has well promoted the understanding of Chinese history, culture and social development among the audiences of Portuguese-speaking countries.

China (Zhejiang) Film and TV Industry International Cooperation Zone, one of the organizers of this forum, is one of the first national cultural export bases and a national film and TV industry park in China. The zone features film and television exports and has successfully distributed more than 150,000 hours of film and television works to more than 200 countries and regions in Asia, Africa, Europe and North America through a market-oriented approach.

Participate in Hong Kong International Film and Television Exhibition with a number of excellent dramas such as “Meet Yourself” and “Flight To You”, and will also show and promote the global film and television copyright trading cloud platform C-dramarights, which was officially launched in March last year as the world’s leading digital B2B film and television copyright trading platform that integrates copyright protection, rights verification, distribution and trading. It has become a window and platform for global buyers to understand and one-stop purchase of high-quality Chinese content. At present, the cloud platform has more than 9,000 hours of quality content online, with more than 4,000 users worldwide.

The participants expressed that Chinese-language audiovisual is an important carrier for telling China’s Stories and Convey China’s Voice. As China’s comprehensive national power and international status continue to rise, the demand for Chinese films and TV dramas in overseas markets is getting higher and higher, and the overseas influence of Chinese content and file is significantly stronger. They all expressed their strong desire to further strengthen cooperation and jointly promote the international dissemination of Chinese content.

After three years of momentum, the 27th Hong Kong International Film & TV Market (Filmart)  returns from March 13-16, which is the largest cross-media and cross-industry film and entertainment trade fair in Asia, combining exhibition, release, seminar and exchange. The exhibition attracted more than 700 exhibitors from 30 countries and regions, of which exhibitors from mainland China accounted for nearly half of the total exhibitors, the highest ever.