With the integration of industries in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, "Bay Area film" is being redefined. At the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area College Student Film Week "Film Industry Innovation, Integration and High-Quality Development" Forum held in September 2023 , Professor Lu Chunyan of the School of Art and Media of Beijing Normal University emphasized that Bay Area movies are not a genre, but a theme. The creation of Bay Area films should be a process that is rooted in the living lives of the land and captures their characteristics and the cultural traits behind them.
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Guangdong box office has ranked first in the country for 22 consecutive years
According to statistics from the Maoyan professional platform, as of 12:00 on January 1, 2024, the total annual box office of the Chinese film market in 2023 reached 54.923 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 83.4%. Among them, the movie box office in Guangdong Province in 2023 reached 6.715 billion yuan, accounting for 12.2% of the country. The total number of moviegoers was 158 million, reaching the highest record since 2020. The annual box office ranked first in the country for 22 consecutive years, ranking first in the country. One ticket warehouse."
The movie box office in Guangdong Province in 2023 will reach 6.715 billion yuan. Data source: Maoyan Professional Edition
Among the top ten national movie box office lists in 2023, the Guangdong animated film "Bear Bears: Bear with Me" ranked eighth with a box office of 1.495 billion yuan, setting a new box office record for the series.
According to relevant data, Shenzhen Cinesky Xintian Cinema (Yifangtiandi IMAX store) and Shenzhen Broadway Cinema Center won the national championship and runner-up with annual total box office of 49.579 million yuan and 43.721 million yuan respectively. position, surpassing the top theaters in Beijing for the first time. Within Guangdong, the performance of Shenzhen’s leading cinemas also surpassed that of Guangzhou for the first time. According to reports, in the eight years from 2015 to 2023, the number of theaters operating in Guangdong Province increased from 709 to 1,326.
The vitality and potential of the Guangdong film market provide strong support for the integration of the film industry in the Greater Bay Area.
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Take root in the local area and explore the Lingnan culture
In 2023, Bay Area movies will continue to take root in the local area and explore the inherent nature of Lingnan culture. Cantonese opera, also known as Guangdong opera, is a mainstream opera in Guangdong originating from Nanxi opera. It is also an intangible cultural heritage of mankind recognized by UNESCO. In recent years, due to the decline of opera art, Cantonese opera has also faced difficulties in transformation. Under such a situation, Guangdong filmmakers innovatively developed "Cantonese Opera Movies", combining the form of Cantonese opera with the content of movies, revitalizing Cantonese opera culture.
In 2021, the Cantonese opera film "The Legend of White Snake: Love" became very popular on Bilibili, where Generation Z gathers, and won the Outstanding Feature Film Award at the 19th Huabiao Awards. In 2023, Cantonese opera films will once again make an appearance. "Mrs. Qiao Guo" and "Prince Rui and Concubine Zhuang" were shortlisted for the 36th Golden Rooster Award for Best Opera Film. In the end, "Mrs. Qiao Guo" won this award. Cantonese opera culture is being integrated into the Bay Area film industry. trend.
Guangdong is the largest overseas Chinese province in the country, with more than 30 million overseas Chinese. The export of overseas immigrants in modern times has accelerated the integration of Chinese and foreign cultures, forming an overseas Chinese culture with obvious regional characteristics. As an important hometown of overseas Chinese in Guangdong Province, Jiangmen's first overseas Chinese-themed film "Dreams of the Past" reproduces the century-old wandering history of an overseas Chinese family and presents the bitterness and patriotism of the older generation of overseas Chinese who left their hometown. The film showcases the folk culture of the hometowns of overseas Chinese in Jiangmen and Taishan, such as the national intangible cultural heritage Taishan Pumice, Guangdong music, Taishan volleyball, etc. It also puts local characteristic architecture and food on the big screen to show the beauty of the landscape and culture of the hometowns of overseas Chinese. "Once Upon a Time in the Past" was selected for the 48th Toronto International Film Festival Chinese Film Festival, and the film was also permanently collected by the China Museum of Overseas Chinese History.
Chaoshan culture is an important part of Lingnan culture. The suspenseful spy movie "Storm" is produced by Pearl Film Group and directed by Hong Kong director Chan Ka-shang, starring Mainland actor Wang Qianyuan and Hong Kong actor William Chan. It is based on Shantou in the 1930s. In the background, the whole process was shot in Shantou, showing a strong Chaoshan style. The film reproduces the historical features of the opening area of Shantou Small Park as a "hundred-year commercial port, buildings and ships from all over the world" as well as Shantou's characteristic folk culture such as Gongfu tea, English singing and dancing.Wang Chuilin, Secretary of the Party Committee and Chairman of Pearl River Film Group, commented at the premiere of "Storm" that ""Storm" brings together the professional film resources of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and is a vivid practice of film creation and production cooperation in the Bay Area."
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Animation innovation, double upgrade of content technology
The Bay Area has given birth to many big animation IPs, such as Bears, Pigman, McDull, etc. In 2023, Bay Area animated films will further innovate in subject matter, content and technology, achieving double success in box office and word-of-mouth.
"Bear Bears" released during the Spring Festival is the ninth major movie in the "Bear Bear" series, with a cumulative box office of 1.495 billion yuan, ranking among the top three in the Spring Festival box office list. As an "evergreen tree" in the animation IP industry, one of the secrets of the success of the "Bear Bears" series is to keep up with the trend. "Bear Bears: Accompany Me Bear Core" introduces the current hot artificial intelligence to enlighten children's audiences about scientific exploration. interest.
The classic animated IP "Pig Man", which is also loved by the audience, also launched its eighth major movie series this year "New Pig Man Movie·Super Racing". The racing and competition elements are very popular among children. "Super Racing" brings the racing theme to the big screen, with the super star agent Pigman leading the audience on a tense and exciting racing journey. At the "Guangdong Province Excellent Film Promotion Conference" held in April 2023, the main creative staff revealed that in order to present a car with a design and texture close to daily life, post-production technicians repeatedly polished the details. In the end, "Super Racing" was released on May 1st The film grossed more than 50 million yuan at the box office, breaking the box office record for May Day adventure films in Chinese film history.
The upgrading and renovation of Guangdong cinemas also plays a technical role in promoting film production in the Bay Area. In July 2023, South China's first heyled movie screen with independent intellectual property rights was lit up at the Jinsheng Jinyi Cinema in Guangzhou. It also heralded a new trend in Bay Area movies - the subject matter and content are based on local culture, and the technology is more advanced. Emphasis on integration and upgrading with high technology.
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Complementary resources, rich types of co-productions
Relying on the complementary resources of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao, co-productions have become a trend in Bay Area movies. This year’s cinemas are flooded with co-productions in a wide variety of genres. In addition to "Storm" produced by Pearl Film Group and created by the Hong Kong creative team, the third part of the "Anti-Drug" series "Anti-Drug 3: Man at the End of the World" is produced by Guangzhou Yingming Culture Communication Co., Ltd. and directed by Hong Kong director Qiu Litao, starring Liu Qingyun and Louis Koo. , starring Aaron Kwok, and joined by mainland actress Yang Caiyu. The film inherits the wild and explosive style of Hong Kong police and gangster films. At the Guangdong Province Outstanding Film Promotion Conference held in June this year, director Qiu Litao revealed that "the action scenes and scale in the film are much better than those in the previous film." "The film has been upgraded to include highly difficult action scenes such as speeding car explosions, mountain forest gunfights, and air raid pursuits," creating an adrenaline-filled movie.
The style of co-productions is affected by the form of cooperation. The content creation of "Storm" and "Drug 3" is mainly based on Hong Kong teams, and the style is close to Hong Kong movies, while another co-production "I Love You!" 》 directed by Mainland director Han Yan, starring Mainland veteran Ni Dahong, and starring Hong Kong actors Hui Yinghong, Tony Leung Ka Fai, and Yip Tong. The film tells the story of the love, family affection, and friendship of several elderly people. It is sensational and tear-jerking. It is worth mentioning that the story of this film With Guangzhou as the background, the lines are in both Cantonese and Mandarin, showing the fireworks of the city.
The documentary "Not an Island" produced by Shenzhen Radio, Film and Television Group is the work of mainland director Cao Jinling. The film focuses on Hong Kong during the epidemic prevention and control period. It records the touching stories of ordinary people during the construction of the Central Aid Hong Kong Emergency Hospital and witnessed the The Mainland and Hong Kong are helping each other. "Not an Island" was shortlisted for the 36th Golden Rooster Award for Best Documentary/Scientific Educational Film. Also shortlisted for this award was the documentary "Music without Sound" produced by Guangzhou Radio and Television Station. The film tells the story of A Pu, the first art teacher for special persons in Guangzhou Children's Palace. story.
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A low-cost dark horse, recognized by the film festival
Among Bay Area movies this year, three low-cost "dark horses" appeared.The reality-themed feature film "The Last Night", which was shortlisted for the "New Chinese Style" screening section of the 25th Shanghai International Film Festival, was directed by Tang Hao and shot in Guangzhou. The film uses one night as the cutout and one family as the window to describe the complexity of human nature and life. dilemma. The youth film "The First Year of Graduation" created by young filmmakers born in 1995 in Guangdong focuses on the process of graduates transforming from students to professionals. It tells the story of graduates stepping out of campus into society and independently choosing their own lives. Road, a story of independently digesting the ups and downs of life. At the launch ceremony of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area College Student Film Week in September 2023, "The First Year of Graduation" was screened as the opening recommended film.
The feature film "Traveling Together" directed by Guangdong director Cai Jie tells the story of a Guangzhou girl, Mai Wanting, who goes to Hong Kong to find her father, jumping between two time and space. The film shooting team assembled filmmakers from Guangdong and Hong Kong. Director Cai Jie was born in Chaozhou, Guangdong. The producer is Kwan Jin-peng, a well-known Hong Kong director and the author of "Ruan Lingyu" and "Rouge Button". Art director Pan Yisen has worked in many films such as "Sister Tao". This is the first collaboration with Ann Hui. Hong Kong actor Sun Yang, who became popular with "All or Nothing" in 2023, also stars in it.
As a support project of the "2023 Guangzhou Cultural and Tourism Industry Development Special Fund", "Traveling Together" was shortlisted for the "Bright Future" unit of the 53rd Rotterdam International Film Festival to be held in December 2023, and premiered in Europe. Previously, "We Travel Together" has been shortlisted for the 2023 Busan International Film Festival and Pingyao International Film Festival. The Busan International Film Festival’s promotion line for “We Are Traveling Together” is “The film skillfully uses warm light and smart photography techniques to capture this inner journey, shuttling between the flowing boundaries, connecting the past, present, and Reality and fantasy intertwine into a beautiful movement."
In 2023, Bay Area movies will continue to innovate on the basis of inheriting excellent traditional culture, and a rich variety of genre films will emerge. Based across the country, Bay Area film is not only an industrial concept, but also a cultural integration. As an important part of the construction of the "Humanistic Bay Area", Bay Area movies tell the stories of the Bay Area and reflect the spirit and value orientation of the people in the Bay Area. It is expected that in 2024, through the exchanges and cooperation between filmmakers from Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao, Bay Area films that adhere to integrity and innovation can reach new heights.
Producer: Rong Mingchang Liu Jiangtao
Planning: He Bei
Coordinator: Peng Simin
Coordinating editor: Liu Fang
Writer: Nandu reporter Jian Yue
Picture: from the Internet
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