Industry Forum

Forum

On the morning of April 21, the "Industry Forum: Establishment and Breakthrough amidst the Changing Film Industry Landscape” of the 14th BJIFF Theme Forum was held at Langyuan Station, which was hosted by the BJIFF Organizing Committee, China National Film Museum and Film Art Center of CFLAC.

Yu Junsheng, Deputy Director of the Publicity Department of the Beijing Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China, Secretary of the Party Leadership Group and President of Beijing Radio & Television Station, and Vice Chairman of the Organizing Committee of the BJIFF; Cassius Rosa, Brazil's Vice-Minister of Culture; Song Zhiqin, Executive Deputy Director of the Film Art Center of CFLAC; Fu Ruoqing, Secretary of the Party Committee and Chairman of China Film Group Corporation, Chairman and General Manager of China Film Co., Ltd.; Huang Xiaowei, Secretary of the Leading Party Members Group and Director of the China National Film Museum; Zhu Na, a member of the Leading Party Members Group and Deputy Director of the China National Film Museum attended the forum. The attending guests included Cameron Bailey, CEO of the Toronto International Film Festival; Kurt Rieder, SVP of Theatrical Warner Bros APAC; Daniel Manwaring CEO of IMAX China; Huang Jianxin, renowned director, screenwriter, and producer, Chairman of the Beijing Film Association, and Dean of the School of Film, Xiamen University; Joan Chen, Chinese-speaking actress, director, and screenwriter; Gong Yu, Founder and CEO of iQIYI, and Wang Changtian, Chairman of Enlight Media Co., Ltd. The forum was moderated by Lan Yu, hostess of the Movie Channel, and Raymond Zhou, a famous film critic and columnist.

Attending Guests of the Theme Forum of the 14th Beijing International Film Festival

▌Speeches by Multiple Parties: Building a Cultural Bridge between Film and International Exchanges

Cassius Rosa, Brazil's Vice-Minister of Culture, enthusiastically said in his speech that China is a very important partner of Brazil, and the two countries have carried out rich and in-depth cooperation in many economic fields. Brazil has already signed an agreement on cooperation in the film and television industry with China. Brazil is very willing to improve the understanding between the two peoples and deepen the friendship through the development of audiovisual industry in both countries.

Cassius Rosa, Brazil's Vice-Minister of Culture

Song Zhiqin, Executive Deputy Director of the Film Art Center of CFLAC, said in his speech that as a bridge and link between the Party and the government and the film industry, the China Film Association (CFA) and the Film Art Center of FCLA have given full play to their organizational and professional strengths by deeply linking the "humanist work" with the "advancement of film creation" to guide the order of the industry, stimulate the vitality of creativity, and promote the prosperity of the market through the organization of awards and reviews, education and training, publication of books and magazines, forums and exhibitions, and support for creation, etc. In the future, we will adhere to Xi Jinping's cultural thought as a guide, further implement the 14th Five-Year Plan for China's Film Development, and continuously improve the degree of organization and professionalism of people's associations in the film industry.

Song Zhiqin, Executive Deputy Director of the Film Art Center of CFLAC

Huang Xiaowei, Secretary of the Leading Party Members Group and Director of the China National Film Museum, said that film is the common language of human beings all over the world. It is also an important bridge to integrate the world, carry out humanistic exchanges and dialogues, and build a community of human destiny. As a special partner of the series of events of the "Everlasting BJIFF", the China National Film Museum, relying on exhibitions and screenings, social education and cultural exchanges, has been recording and presenting the brilliant achievements of the BJIFF and the film and cultural exchanges between China and the world, so that films can become an important carrier for practicing the initiative of global civilization, promoting cultural exchanges and mutual understanding, and pushing forward the common progress of the global civilization.

Huang Xiaowei, Secretary of the Leading Party Members Group and Director of the China National Film Museum

▌Roundtable Dialogue: Coexisting with AI -- Intermingling Game of Technology and Art

In the roundtable dialogue, Cameron Bailey, CEO of the Toronto International Film Festival, talked about his opinions on AI. He said that "AI is a very good technology to enhance the artistry of a film. But AI still needs to be used under human guidance because technology doesn't always bring what we want." He said that there is no way for AI to bring empathetic resonance directly to the audience, and it needs more time to create a resonance between humans and the artwork. Cameron Bailey also cited animated films as an example, mentioning that some animated films use a lot of transformative technology, but we still need a sense of humanity inside. "I think that's just what we need to pay attention to. As human beings, we need to have this kind of humanistic touch inside, a lot of individual artists will make their own artistic breakthroughs, but in their art there's still a humanistic touch even if they have adopted technology.”

Cameron Bailey, CEO of the Toronto International Film Festival

Kurt Rieder, SVP of Theatrical Warner Bros APAC, said that AI can greatly improve production efficiency, but that doesn't mean that people won't have anything to do. There's no way for AI to complete all the other work on the stage. He also believed that AI can serve as a very important tool to make us do things in a faster and more efficient manner. As for the impact of AI technology on the creation of film content, he believed that "we often need to create some unique elements in films sometimes, and there is no way for these elements to be replaced by machines. That is the importance of the camera. Only with real shooting can we bring the most authentic experience to the audience". When talking about the difficulties faced in the process of transforming film broadcasting from traditional cinemas to streaming platforms, he said that films need to be well sold first. If they are screened directly on streaming media without going into cinemas, there is a high probability that there is no way to recover the costs.

Kurt Rieder, SVP of Theatrical Warner Bros APAC

Daniel Manwaring, CEO of IMAX China, said that the changes brought by AI technology will come faster than being expected, it’s just between half a year to one year. When talking about the impact of AI on film content, he said that "creativity will become more and more unique, and it will bring more pressure on the whole industry because there will be competitors. Anyone, not only well-known or unknown directors, can become an expert in content creation. However, I think it's a better experience for the audience." In addition, he also mentioned that there are currently a lot of well-known producers around the world who are coming back to film authenticity while AI continues to rise, which is very necessary and important. He also emphasized that the biggest impact of AI on the film industry is something else instead of only the content. "For example, AI knows that your favorite film will be screened soon, and it can help you immediately book the ticket. It knows where your favorite seat is, and the car can arrive downstairs to take you back. Everything has been turned into very convenient experience, which is very helpful."

Daniel Manwaring CEO of IMAX China

Huang Jianxin, a famous director, screenwriter and producer, chairman of the Beijing Film Association and Dean of the School of Film, Xiamen University, expressed his opinions in terms of the development of AI. He believed, "The appearance of Sora is not the original face of the physical world, it is the face that caters to the needs of human illusion. With this regard, it remains an outgrowth of human illusion rather than an essential confrontation." He believed that technology is the supporting and driving force of the film, all the creativity is based on this technology, which is the principle of the birth of the film. AI is almost born at the same time with the theory and the film, just that we did not intervene in the edge of the life before, and we do not have the profound experience. He said that AI is technology, and a good relationship with it can benefit us all, and we can embrace AI.

Huang Jianxin, chairman of the Beijing Film Association and Dean of the School of Film, Xiamen University

Joan Chen, Chinese-speaking actress, director, and screenwriter, said that AI-generated images do impact our insight and have a huge impact on the perception and cognition of what is true and false. This technology will help film as well, since it can replace most of the very simple, unattractive, and most ordinary issues. However, it can't replace the best works and the best creators. She believed that the biggest danger AI technology can pose is not the fact that it may replace people, but that people are increasingly in favor of it. "It trains us all the time, which does mean it will replace us, but that we can become closer to it. We may get used to its way of thinking more, which is very scary, because it does not train us any less than we do on it. It trains us all the time."

Joan Chen, Chinese-speaking actress, director, and screenwriter

Gong Yu, Founder and CEO of iQIYI, believed that AI development will allow the film and TV industry to enter a stage of high-quality development, which is driven by technological innovation. He said that from a purely technical point of view, machine intelligence will exceed human beings within a time not very long. But the human intelligence reached through technology does not mean that it can replace humans. He also believed that AI technology will have both positive and negative impacts on young filmmakers: machines can replace people in terms of text writing and screen splitting. The directors, producers and screenwriters may not need young people in the future, which is a disaster for the young. On the other hand, machines can help young people lacking experience and financial support to produce a complete work, which is another opportunity for the young.

Gong Yu, Founder and CEO of iQIYI

Wang Changtian, Chairman of Enlight Media Co., Ltd., believed that AI in general is a kind of technology and a kind of tool for us to use, just like the film industry changes from ordinary film into digital film in more than 100 years of development, and the communication also changes from the cinema to the Internet. Technology is always used as a tool, so it is not able to replace the film. He also believed that AI will make unique aesthetics more and more scarce, because AI in general is a mass aesthetic, a universal issue, and the products it produces are contradictory to everyone's unique emotions and unique aesthetics. He also mentioned that AI will make it increasingly difficult for products to stand out, as increased production will inevitably lead to difficulties in audience selection. It may also make producers face enormous competitive pressure from similar products during the process of product promotion. With this regard, AI will also make exclusive IP more valuable.

Wang Changtian, Chairman of Enlight Media Co., Ltd.

Raymond Zhou, a famous film critic and columnist, concluded that new technology will bring countless impacts to reshape the film, but the audiovisual way will not disappear. On the contrary, it will become richer and richer. The new will not replace the old, but rather a complementary relationship with mutually coordination and development.

Raymond Zhou, a famous film critic and columnist

The 14th BJIFF Industry Forum themed “Establishment and Breakthrough amidst the Changing Film Industry Landscape” is rich in content with broad vision and novel ideas. It focuses on the opportunities and challenges faced by the film industry and the direction of the future development which are discussed in the collision of ideas and exchange of wisdom between Chinese and foreign filmmakers, and the participating guests are full of confidence in the future of the film industry.

Theme Forum of the 14th Beijing International Film Festival

Please download the Beijing International Film Festival APP for more interesting content