On June 21, after the Shanghai TV Festival "Magnolia Award" jury meeting, Hu Zhifeng, chairman of the TV drama category jury and a well-known Chinese film and television scholar, was interviewed by the media, saying that the specialization and internationalization of the Magnolia Award is the consistent purpose. Internationalization lies in the participation of a large number of overseas works and the participation of international judges this year, which increases the interaction between China and the world, and also brings a great boost to the TV drama market; the specialization lies in the selection of the Magnolia Award. A weather vane for creative production and dissemination. "All awards are not only a summary of the past, but also a guide to the future."

Hu Zhifeng, chairman of the TV drama category jury of the Magnolia Award

Chinese dramas going overseas is a hot topic in the TV industry and the media every year. Among the domestic dramas shortlisted for the "Magnolia Award" this year, "The World" was pre-purchased by Disney for exclusive overseas distribution rights during the filming stage. The exquisite presentation of Chinese traditional culture has aroused heated discussions among overseas audiences. "People's hearts are interlinked, and human nature is also interlinked." Hu Zhifeng commented, ""Human World" deeply describes the idealism of the Chinese people who never give up and never abandon in the face of hardships. Emotion and value, so it can generate a wide range of empathy around the world."

"Three-Body Problem" Poster

"The Three-Body Problem is a relatively rare sci-fi exploration. It not only pays attention to reality and history, but also pays attention to the future. It uses sci-fi to express the imagination of the possibility of the future world. This is also a topic of common interest to all mankind." "Human World" " and "The Three-Body Problem" can have a certain international influence, and Hu Zhifeng believes that the key lies in "empathy".

However, on the issue of how to enhance the competitiveness of Chinese TV dramas in the international market, Hu Zhifeng believes that we should not "cater" for the sake of "empathy": "You can properly consider the preferences of overseas markets, but in the general direction of creation, don't deliberately cater to the different needs of other countries. , Chinese stories to successfully go overseas, the first thing is to unswervingly tell your own story well. Don't speculatively imagine what the other party might like. Tell your own story well. Only when you are moved can you move others. You even yourself If you can’t even move, you still want to move others?”

In Hu Zhifeng’s view, the TV drama industry is a complicated system. “The channels and prices of overseas distribution are related to the demand of the international TV drama market. Only when there is demand can there be sales.” The changes in the international market all affect the overseas Chinese TV dramas. An important indicator of influence or the promotion of overseas industrialization, and these are quite uncertain. "In the future, how we will achieve higher market goals and value in a larger international market may depend on changes in the entire international TV drama market. We need to try and explore accordingly."

"The World" poster

At the same time, among the shortlisted works this year, there are still mainly large-scale and large-scale works, and small and medium-sized dramas are rare. When various video platforms and film and television companies shouted "cost reduction and efficiency increase", Hu Zhifeng bluntly said that high investment and large output is the traditional model, and it should be the dominant model in the future. "Because large-scale epic works like "The World" and "Mountain and Sea Love" need to be carefully crafted, and the quality will definitely not come out without a lot of investment. I don't think this model will follow the platform's "cost reduction and efficiency increase" If the platform or the capital has spotted a good project, I believe they will be willing to spend money.” But he added, “There are both long dramas and short dramas in the form of content, and what kind of investment model will be used to invest in different forms of dramas, and what will happen? There are uncertainties in the income effect of the industry, which requires long-term exploration and experimentation by the market and the industry.”

This "Magnolia Award" is the first time to include online audio-visual content in the scope of the award selection of the entire sector. Hu Zhifeng believes that this is a "particularly gratifying phenomenon", which shows that after years of hard work, the integration of traditional TV media and Internet media has been explored A new situation has emerged. "In fact, 80 to 90 percent of our viewers today do not watch TV dramas through TV, but through online platforms. This is a reality. We include online audio-visual into the evaluation system. First, it is in line with reality. The second is to keep pace with the times, and the third, it can bring new guidance and possibilities to the future "integration of Internet and stations."

In recent years, benchmarking works of realistic creation have emerged continuously. Judging from the shortlist of this year's "Magnolia Award", realistic creation and realistic themes are still the mainstream of our TV drama creation. That’s it.” Hu Zhifeng said, “The content of the current era must be the most concerned issue for our ordinary audience. If we stay away from society, reality, and the present, our TV dramas may lose their vitality and interest in attention.”

"All history is contemporary history. No matter which era your content is about, it must be created and polished with the vision and thinking of the current era, and presented and reproduced in a way that people like to hear and see today."