Award-winning director pays thanks to China for playing inspirational role

After Chen Jianying, a 27-year-old Chinese movie director, saw her film The Water Murmurs win the Short Film Palme d'Or at this year's Cannes Film Festival, video of her acceptance speech quickly attracted 200,000 likes on Sina Weibo.

Viewing footage of the speech, many netizens voiced admiration for and confidence in China's film industry.

Chen, who graduated from New York University, said in her speech: "I need to thank China, my home country. What I describe and present in the film are the poetic and affectionate feelings I experience when standing on Chinese soil." She also thanked her team, her parents, her company, fellow filmmakers and movie fans.

During the 12th Beijing International Film Festival, which recently ended, Chen was invited as a guest of the Young Filmmakers Forum, one of the annual event's most popular attractions.

Using "Youthful Expression and the Spirit of the Times" as her theme, Chen shared her thoughts and feelings about her award-winning film and the development of Chinese films in the new era.

She said that studying abroad made her aware that amid booming globalization, emotions and the most fundamental needs of humans are commonly experienced. She also said that China's poetry and beauty made her movie stand out at the Cannes Film Festival.

"Many audience members in Cannes told me they loved the poetic, visual language of my film. This unique narrative is exactly what China gives me," Chen said.

She also said she hoped to make films that reflect the dynamism of the new era, showcase its spirit, and which make a sincere expression. China's mainstream films can also become mainstream movies for the world, Chen said.

"For the film industry in China, 'going out' doesn't mean we need to cater to Western audiences. Instead, we need to confidently present a picture of China and the life of its people," she added.

China, home to the most cinema screens in the world, aims to become a strong movie power by 2035. With more young Chinese filmmakers emerging at home and abroad, the domestic movie market is seeing a range of new ideas for artistic creation to reflect and embrace the new era.

Along with Chen, several young Chinese filmmakers, including director Wen Muye and scriptwriter Yu Xi, shared their thoughts at the forum on contemporary Chinese movies.

Wen, best known for the smash hit Dying to Survive and Nice View, said that in making these two films, which are based on real-life stories, the chief creative team conducted field research to gauge the mood of the times, and also tried to make the characters more impressive and vivid.

However, it is difficult to strike the right balance between commercialization and realistic themes, Wen said.

Screenwriter Yu Xi shared his experience of working on the revolutionary blockbuster 1921. He said he read a lot of literature as he wrote this major historical film. Combined with academic research, the fictionalized plot should conform to the characters' personalities and the environment at that time, he said.

"The so-called balance between history and imagination lies in the fact that an audience cannot see any traces of the design process when they watch the film," Yu added.