On the opening day of the 26th Shanghai International Film Festival, the first Golden Goblet Forum "Her Film Era - Embracing and Reshaping" invited a number of screenwriters, directors and producers from the film and television industry to focus on female issues in film and discuss The future of Chinese cinema.
Wanda Film Chairman and President Chen Zhixi , director of the TV series "My Altay" Teng Congcong, screenwriter of " Assassination of Novelists ", "July and Ansheng" and other works, as well as actor Wang Ziwen, " Guarantee You" Su Biao, the screenwriter of "Safe " and " Passionate ", discusses the female power behind creation from different standpoints.
As the new head of Wanda and the youngest chairman of Wanda Film, Chen Zhixi naturally attracts a lot of attention. When she was awarded the "Dior Female Filmmaker of the Year 2024 Shanghai International Film Festival" award, she said that she has always believed that women's independent spirit and wisdom can bloom their most beautiful talents.
Chen Zhixi, who has transitioned from an actor to a behind-the-scenes actor, is a well-known producer in the film industry. Xu Zheng's "囧", Dapeng's " Pancake Man", Chen Sicheng's "Chinatown Detective", Jia Ling's "Hello, Li Huanying", these are all movies with good box office and reputation Behind the movie, there is Chen Zhixi, and in the process, her vision has become wider and wider.
When talking about the topic of "Embrace", Chen Zhixi said that when she decided to give up her career as an actress and turn to behind the scenes, she actually used reason to understand herself. "My image is not very popular with the audience, and it is impossible for me to be good at acting. What standards can be achieved?" She believed that she could be qualified as an actor, but it was not the best track for her, so she decisively gave up and started working as a producer and a film planner. Looking back, she believes that women should embrace their imperfect selves and be aware of their flaws and problems.
When he first became a producer, what Chen Zhixi was best at was selecting new directors and screenwriters to promote their works to the mass market. The first new director chosen by her was her friend Xu Zheng. Back then, Xu Zheng's script for "囧囧" was rejected everywhere, but she believed that the movie would be a hit, so she invested her savings. Thanks to her vision and courage, "囧囧", which cost less than 30 million yuan to produce, eventually sold 1.3 billion yuan, becoming the first Chinese-language film to have a box office of over 1 billion yuan. The same story happened to actors-turned-directors Dapeng, Chen Sicheng and Jia Ling, and Chen Zhixi was also called a "tens of billions producer".
"Actors who transform into directors actually have more advantages than screenwriters. They are all successful actors. They have accumulated a lot of experience on the set every day. They have experienced all kinds of situations on the shooting scene, and they have the best foundation for turning into directors. "Chen Zhixi believes that movies are actually about stories and performances. A director who is an actor can always find shining stories in many scripts, and can also well balance the performances of all actors in a movie, which will Make the movie's narrative smoother. Her criteria for selecting new directors are the compatibility of personality, three views, and the ability to judge the director.
Chen Zhixi also collaborated with Teng Congcong on "My Altay". "I hope to see directors who have firm self-expression and do not blindly cater to market types. The subject matter of the film market should be a hundred flowers blooming, and everyone Creators should have sufficient desire to express themselves and be firm in the works they express. "
Teng Congcong is a screenwriter. Her first directorial work "Send You to the Clouds" focuses on women's desires and physical pain. . When it came to this year's hit drama "My Altay", she thought it was a risky attempt. At first, she did not think it would be a work that would be widely accepted by the public.
"Maybe "My Altay" is quite successful now, which further proves that doing things you are good at and like is a path that will lead to good results." Teng Congcong believes that if creators are just trying to cater to the market, If you rely on guessing market trends to please the audience, you may never know how to please others. "I can only make works that I like from the bottom of my heart. Then maybe this work will connect with a small number of people."
From "Send You to the Clouds" to "My Altay", Teng Congcong focused on women. In "My Altay", she borrowed a line from an Altay woman: "No matter how bumpy your life is, you must live it brightly." This sentence is also a portrayal of Chen Zhixi's life in the director's eyes.
Teng Congcong thinks that he is not a particularly optimistic person, and often uses humor and jokes to package the angry youth side, "But I am fortunate to know all kinds of women in my life. For example, when I went to Altay to collect stories, I met Women, their lives may not be so happy, but they have their own way of coping with many difficulties. Working in this profession brings me a lot of happiness. After seeing the big world, you will find out. , my little pretentiousness and angry youth are no longer so important."
In "My Altay", the vast and pure scenery of Xinjiang heals people's hearts. The mother Zhang Fengxia in the play makes people see an open-minded, tenacious, free and sober female image. Teng Congcong said that all the women in her scripts come from her insights into daily life, "I have a pair of eyes to observe others, and I have seen many outstanding women in life that make your eyes shine. They make up the I have all kinds of women in my scripts. I write these women easily. Their shining points will suddenly hit me and make me reflect on myself. That kind of ridicule, humor and optimism about life all come from the people I know. woman".
"Women are really a ray of light. They support many families and shine brightly." Screenwriter Qin Haiyan has made masterpieces such as "Assassination of Novelists" and "July and Ansheng". Last year, she transformed into a director and directed the female-themed film "I Passed the Storm".
Speaking of the creation of this film, Qin Haiyan said that it was precisely because she saw the strength and plight of women and saw countless full-time mothers on call 24 hours a day, doing what seemed like a natural job but without wages. Not recognized by society. She wanted to present these female issues in "I Passed the Storm" and conducted many interviews for this purpose.
Qin Haiyan’s creations are inseparable from life and her personal feelings. “It is very difficult for women to balance between family and career. There are many shining female friends around me who can still shine in the chaos of life. So I really want to reflect them in my works. If I want to sum up my experience over the years in one sentence, it would be 'whatever life comes to me, I will go towards that life'."
Qin Haiyan believes that creators should embrace all life and emotions and live passionately and bravely. The works she is writing recently want to make people feel warm.
Teng Congcong believes that the success of "My Altay" has allowed her to have a process of re-understanding herself. "It seems that I can connect with many people's values. In the next two or three years, I will try more Connecting and seeing which direction it can go is an exploration for me.”
(This article is from China Business News)
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