In order to have the world better understand China, China have shot many documentaries for publicity towards foreign audiences. They are well received as well. For instance, The Face of China was eulogized by people of all walks of life, when it was shown in Chinese embassies and consulates in foreign countries.

As China implements the opening up policy, new and high-techs are applied in wider scopes. Science and educational film exchanges with other countries are growing year after year. China has sent many science and educational film delegations to take part in international science and educational film festivals or international science film association annual meetings. Chinese science and educational films have attracted high interests from the international science and educational film sector, because of their intense scientific and artistic nature. They are exerting ever greater impacts.

For the purpose of enriching Chinese people’s cultural lives, providing audiences with beneficial and healthy entertainments, and facilitating audiences to correctly understand the outside world through films, China has purchased some foreign films and distributed them in the country under the principle of equality and mutual benefits. Since 1980, China has imported a large number of films from dozens of countries, including DPRK, Romania and Yugoslavia.

Xie Jin

Since 1995, China Film Corporation has introduced blockbusters from foreign countries, particularly from the United States. These films, as represented by True Lies, Forrest Gump, Lion King, and Speed, have made a stir among Chinese audiences. They are amazed at the charms from the use of high-tech in the films. The import of such blockbusters has also added a brand new film distribution mode in the country – account-divided distribution. In addition to importing films from the United States, China Film Corporation has introduced nearly 150 films from India, Italy, France, Republic of Korea, Japan, Germany, Britain and Australia. They effectively promoted film cultural exchanges with foreign countries.

After 1976, China has held some film days, film weeks and film festivals in some countries.

China greeted the spring of literature and art after smashing the Gang of Four in 1976. Similar to other modes of art, Chinese films are demonstrating vigor and vitality. Academic exchanges and discussions have become growingly active. Film groups and agencies are back on track in daily operation. China Film Association has come into friendly ties with the film circles in Japan, the United States, France, DPRK, Sri Lanka, India, Australia, Canada, Britain, Federal Germany, Yugoslavia, Romania and Tunis, and those from Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao.

In 1984, China held its first international film seminar. In the same year, it sponsored the first international film workshop, inviting three U.S. film professors to give lectures.

China has also sent many film delegations to visit and make cultural exchanges in Australia, Romania, France, Federal Germany, DPRK, the United States, and Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao.

Meanwhile, films from some senior Chinese directors have attracted wider attention in the international film circles. They hold individual film shows for these distinguished directors. At the end of 1983, the The Festival of the 3 Continents, held in Nantes, France, sponsored a review of Chinese film director Xie Jin’s individual works, with great success.

As film exchanges go deeper and wider, some foreign film ideas and schools have gradually shown impacts on the growth and development of the Chinese films. Our priority is to keep an eye on the actual situation of Chinese film creation, evaluate international film thoughts, borrow beneficial elements, so as to correctly guide the Chinese films to march towards the healthy direction. For this purpose, China Film Association, a people’s organization for film cultural exchanges and friendly ties with foreign countries, has worked with other film research institutions to sponsor modern literary thoughts and modern film academic seminar, Soviet Union film and Soviet Union literary academic seminar. In response to the film review shows, new release shows, anniversary shows and film weeks, which were run for some countries all these years, it sponsored some film academic seminars, inviting experts from the literary, art and aesthetic circles, and people from the film circle, to discuss mutually interested topics. They opened up visions for the film circle and strengthened exchanges with the outside world.

As regards translating foreign film theories, China Film Press and some others have done a lot of work after the down of the Gang of Four. They reprinted all valuable theoretical books. They published Completed Works of Stanislavsky, and the General History of Films.

To facilitate academic researches, China has extended the scopes of translating film theories. It has published a large number of theoretical works on the film art and techniques, such as Novel into Film, by Bluestone of the United States, and What is Cinema by Andre Bazin from France, and film scripts from some countries, world film stories, Chinese and foreign famous films, famous film artist biographies, and their individual film scripts.

In March 1980, the China World Film Society was founded in Beijing to actively launch academic activities. It is established to promote researches and theoretical evaluations of films in all countries, correctly learn from their advantages, so as to contribute to developing and flourishing the Chinese socialist film undertakings. To enable the Chinese film industry workers duly understand latest research results in the world film circles and progress of filmmaking, China periodically publishes the periodical World Screen and the internally circulated publication World Film Trends. Readers might widely borrow and absorb merits from films of other countries to promote the progress and improvement of the Chinese films.

The contemporary Chinese film industry, boasting admirable traditions, has entered its 60th anniversary. It has edged into the international film circle with impressive works and become a widely accepted major power in film production.

 Editor: Wen Yi