Record excellence with film, and witness miracle via sports. 

This year, the Beijing International Sports Film Week made its debut at the BJIFF, with a theme forum held on August 15 at Beijing Yanqi Lake International Conference Center. The forum invited well-known documentary and feature film directors, representatives of sports brands, directors of sports foundations, athletes of national teams and other fields to exchange and discuss on the topic of "Why Sports Documentaries are Going Viral".

The forum was attended by such Panelists as Fan Lixin (Director, Producer and Editor), Sheng Zhimin (Director and Screenwriter), Cai Qiude (founder of Chengwa Sports, senior sports documentary producer, former director of Letv Sports Program Department, former founder of Heima Sports), Ye Dawei (Secretary General and director of Yao Foundation), and Ying Rudi (puckster of the national team). The moderator of the forum is Wang Xiaoman, founder and chief planner of HiShorts! Film Festival.

　　

The forum focused on the films themselves, with panelists watching five sports films, including Invisible Summit, Body Contact, Ala Shenhua, CHANGE 2: Rays, and If Wuhan Is a Team.

　　

In the post-screening dialogue session, all the panelists shared the most touching stories in the shooting process of sports documentaries based on their own experiences, and conducted in-depth discussions on the topic of "Why Sports Documentaries are Going Viral".

In the dialogue, several directors first gave their views on why they chose sports as the subject. Fan Lixin, international award-winning documentary film director and producer used his work Invisible Summit as an example to tell the story behind making a sports film. He believes that films are "ultimately about people" and that the subject will resonate with audiences, while the Chinese sports film market lacks such adventurous outdoor adventure films or documentaries. Director and screenwriter Sheng Zhimin believes that the most important thing about sports movies is their authenticity. To present the true charm of sports on the big screen, not only to let industry insiders see the professionalism, but also to let the audience feel the power in the shot. Chinese puckster Ying Rudi explains it in terms of emotion. He believes that movies can bring emotions to people, while sports itself has its own emotions, and sports films can capture these emotions and transmit them to the audience. The two are interlinked and integrated, making sports films present better expressions.

　　

　　Fan Lixin, documentary director and producer

　　

　　Sheng Zhimin, director and screenwriter

　　

　　Ying Rudi, Chinese puckster

Fan Lixin believes that at present, it is difficult to connect the fan culture with sports in China, and the domestic sports audience has not formed a good growth trend and real feedback of community culture and fan culture. To promote the development of sports film market through the popularity of sports industry, some new attempts are needed, for example, the market can be expanded through various forms such as packaged film panorama and cinema cooperation, so as to enhance the value of the whole chain, strengthen the expression of sports spirit in films, promote Chinese sports movies to the world, and enhance the global influence of Chinese sports films. Sheng Zhimin also talked about the influence of audiences on sports films' entry into the mainstream market. In the exploration of the mode of sports films entering the mainstream market, he emphasized that the first step is to enhance the audience's demand for sports culture market, bring the audience into the field of sports culture consumption, and then further promote the combination of sports films and the mainstream market. Cai Qiude, founder of Chengwa Sports, senior sports documentary producer, former director of Letv Sports Program Department and former founder of Heima Sports, explained that, if sports movies want to actually enter the film market, they need to pay attention to the shaping of sports culture. The retention of professional sports images is very scarce in China, which requires the competition parties and IP parties to work together to create their own effective market, so as to solve the real market dilemma. Ye Dawei, Secretary General and director of Yao Foundation, took CHANGE 2: Rays as an example to explain the influence of the public welfare nature of sports on the sports industry. The public has formed the consumption habit of enjoying free products, and the peripheral products of domestic sports culture are still in a very preliminary stage. To promote the high-quality development of the sports industry, the government is actually required to lead and guide and promote the industry development with the power of the government.

　　

　　Cai Qiude, founder of Chengwa Sports, senior sports documentary producer, former director of Letv Sports Program Department and former founder of Heima Sports

　　

　　Ye Dawei, secretary general and Director of Yao Foundation

In 2022, Beijing became the first "Dual Olympic City" in history, which not only revived people's enthusiasm for sports, but also rekindled filmmakers' enthusiasm to spread Chinese sports culture and help the dream of sports power. The passion and enthusiasm of Chinese athletes in the competition match with reality through the screen, transmitting positive energy to the audience and igniting people's unyielding fighting spirit. The extremely rich stories and spiritual core in these kinds of themes are worth exploring. With the historic breakthrough in competitive sports and the rise of national fitness as a national strategy, films focusing on sports themes will also have a broader space for development.