While Chinese films are going global, Chinese film industry workers are making extensive exchanges with counterparts in the world. They are making visits, inspections and studies at higher frequency, averaging scores of cases involving hundreds of people each year. In 1997, China sent out 92 groups, involving 370 persons, to inspect foreign film economic operation, cinema construction, film management system, film distribution and projection. It received film delegations from Republic of Korea, Japan, the United States, as well as officials of many important international film festivals.

V. International A class: pride of Shanghai International Film Festival

Film is a borderless global art. In order to exchange art and experiences, enhance cooperation and friendship among film artists, producers and distributors from various countries, and promote the progress and development of the film art and technologies, some countries and regions have made valuable contributions in the mode of holding international film festivals.

According to international customs, international film festivals are largely registered by the organizing committees at IUMM. When examined, they are graded into various layers according to actual situations. Latest figures with the authoritative Oxford Companion to Film, there are 360 film festivals in the world. Among them, six are classified as A-level, the highest, which are the Berlin, Cannes, Karlovy Vary, Moscow, Venice, and San Sebastian international film festivals.

In order to hold an international film festival in the country, also for gaining experiences, China experimented with sponsoring a large-scale international science and educational film festival in Beijing in November 1987. A total of 16 countries sent 81 films that came from the high-tech and new science sectors of microelectronic technique, biology, aerospace, and computer science.

In order to have its own internationally influential film festival, China submitted an application to international filmmaking organizations to hold the Shanghai International Film Festival after long-term and sufficient preparations. On May 14, 1993, International Federation of Film Producers Associations approved the application at its annual meeting. On October 7, the first session of the Shanghai International Film Festival was inaugurated at the Shanghai Film Art Center, under the tenet of “unity, friendship and progress”. Xie Jin, the most prestigious Chinese film director, acted as the chairman of the panel of judges. Members of the panel included famous Brazilian film director Hector Babenco, and famous American film director Oliver Stone. It was an international film festival in the real sense, as it had 164 films from 33 countries and regions from Asia, Africa, America, Europe and Oceania.

Through holding the Shanghai International Film Festival, China broadened its visions, saw the actual situations in leading filmmaking countries, understood the world better, particularly the lives, moralities and mentalities as exposed in the films. It also displayed to film artists of all countries the great achievements and artistic progress of China after reform and opening up.

VI. Active film exchanges and academic studies

After the Third Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee of Communist Party of China, China implemented the opening up policy. The film industry developed rapidly. In subsequence, film exchanges and academic studies, as links of friendly relations among Chinese and foreign peoples, were growingly extended and activated.

In order to accommodate to the new situation, the Ministry of Culture approved to set up the China Film Import & Export Company at the end of 1979 to unify the operation and management of film import and export and film exchanges with foreign countries. To date, the company has set up business ties with 400 companies from 100 countries and regions. Incomplete statistics show that since 1980, China has sent nearly 1,000 long and short films to participate about 300 international film festivals in 40 countries and regions. Scores of countries and regions held Chinese film weeks or other activities showing Chinese films. They were DPRK, Japan, Philippines, Egypt, Nepal, the United States, Canada, Columbia, Brazil, Mexico, Portugal, Italy, Britain, Sweden, France, Australia, Sudan, Congo, Tanzania, Cameroon, Hong Kong and Macao. Many outstanding feature movies, animated cartoon films, science and educational films and documentaries were awarded and appraised. As Chinese films enjoy higher reputations and status in the international film arena, film distributors from many countries and regions have come to China, out of admirations, to purchase films.

Besides, many Chinese films are warmly welcomed when shown in foreign countries.