On May 14, the 2024 Shanghai International Film and Television Festival held a press conference in Beijing. The 29th Shanghai TV Festival, hosted by the State Administration of Radio and Television, China Central Radio and Television, and the Shanghai Municipal People's Government, will be held from June 24 to 28. At the press conference, the full list of the TV Festival Magnolia Awards jury was announced, posters for this year's film festival and TV festival were released, and the overall preparations were introduced.

Press conference site

On the afternoon of the same day, Yan Jiangang, chairman of the TV drama unit jury of this year’s Magnolia Awards, accepted interviews with the media after the meeting. In 2015, he served as the chairman of the jury for this award unit. This is the second time he serves as the chairman. Yan Jiangang first lamented, "I am nine years older again." Later, he said bluntly that in the past nine years, the social form, the film and television industry form and the technological form have all undergone tremendous changes, and the audience's understanding and demand for TV series have also undergone tremendous changes. Both creators and audiences "pay more attention to social reality and personal destiny." ". The changes in communication methods are even greater. Internet communication has become the main channel, and popular video platforms have become the main communication method.

Yan Jiangang

The Magnolia Award selection call for this year's TV Festival received nearly a thousand entries from 57 countries and regions on five continents around the world. In the TV series category, about 190 Chinese dramas were registered, and overseas dramas increased from nearly 110 in the previous year to nearly 170, achieving a 53.7% increase.

Yan Jiangang was asked about the participating works. He said that he has not officially started to participate in the judging work yet, and he is not sure about the specific situation of the shortlisted works. However, as a practitioner, he has always paid close attention to industry trends. Regarding the 2023 TV series, he concluded: The quantity and quality of dramas broadcast on the platform have significantly improved. There are more works that focus on reality and the production is becoming more sophisticated.

During the interview, he also specifically mentioned excellent realistic works such as "Flowers" and "South and North": "This year's selection is a difficult selection process. There are many good dramas such as "Flowers" and "South and North". "In 2023, although the number of TV series will be smaller than in previous years, the number of high-quality dramas will be one after another." He believes that whether they are dramas broadcast on online platforms or TV stations, or short videos, A distinctive feature of short plays is that they pay more attention to reality and are more sophisticated in production.

In addition, he also mentioned the impact of AI technology on creation. He believes that in the future, AI technology will inevitably be deeply involved in the creation process of film and television dramas, and creators must learn how to incorporate new technological thinking into future creations. In his observation, "In the past, we have always emphasized the entertainment function of TV dramas; but now TV dramas are a virtual world, and young audiences regard watching TV dramas as a kind of participation and interaction in virtual life. Look at today With the barrage, young viewers can have spiritual conversations with all kinds of people on the Internet, whether virtual or real. "The needs of this new audience and film and television consumption demand have undoubtedly put forward new requirements for the industry. Brings new possibilities.

Yan Jiangang also emphasized in the interview that during the selection of the Magnolia Awards, the judges will adhere to the spirit of professionalism and fairness, and pay attention to the award setting and the evaluation space of new film and television content. Finally, he talked about the innovation of Chinese TV dramas and believed that "innovation is not only reflected in the subject matter and type, but more importantly, the creator's cognitive ability of life and the cognition of the characters' lives."

Yan Jiangang's works include many historical dramas and period dramas. He said that no matter what era the story takes place or what era the characters are in, they should be "contemporary." "Any TV series from each period that can arouse strong resonance must be because it is very consistent with the contemporary reality. Because what we want is the response of contemporary people, and we want the characters in the drama to have a dialogue with today's young people. "

It is reported that the major awards of the 29th Shanghai TV Festival Magnolia Awards will be announced on the evening of June 28 at the Lingang Performing Arts Center.