On June 24, the 29th Shanghai TV Festival kicked off, marking another year of Shanghai's film and television feast and industry event: the TV Forum provides a cutting-edge platform for the industry to exchange ideas, offline TV series screenings provide citizens with an opportunity to appreciate world-class works, the TV market provides exhibitors with global opportunities for transactions and cooperation, and the "Magnolia Award" selection is a film and television event that audiences across the country are looking forward to. Today, the Shanghai TV Festival, as an important cultural brand in China, is continuing to exert its huge influence in the film and television industry.

TV Forum: Three major themes - culture and tourism, technology, and training

The "Magnolia Dialogue" TV Forum will be held from June 24 to 27. As the official main event of the Shanghai TV Festival, the "Magnolia Dialogue" TV Forum continues to pay attention to new developments in the TV industry and showcase the new landscape of the TV industry. 12 theme forums invite domestic and foreign industry leaders to discuss hot topics such as boutique creation, international communication, and technological innovation; 3 master classes invite representatives of the judges of this TV Festival to discuss the industry, exchange views, pay close attention to industry changes, and promote high-quality development of the industry.

The theme of the opening forum of this year's TV Forum is "Image Leads the Integration of Culture and Tourism". Against the background of high-quality development of the TV drama industry, various themes and works have emerged in an endless stream. This year, a number of typical cases of film and television promoting cultural and tourism consumption have emerged, such as the popular "My Altay" a while ago, the "Going to a Windy Place" which has won a very high reputation, and the ancient puppet drama "Traveling with the Phoenix" not long ago, all of which have used the content of the series to drive the prosperity of cultural tourism in the filming location. Building a new pattern of industry development with the strategy of "film and television + cultural tourism" and exploring a new blueprint for the development of the TV drama field are the current focus of the industry. This forum invites outstanding TV drama creators, expert representatives, cultural and tourism industry representatives and platform representatives to exchange creative experiences, jointly discuss the development direction and trend of Chinese TV dramas in the new era, and promote the innovative and integrated development of the TV drama industry. At the same time, the market activities of this TV Festival have also vigorously followed up on this theme and prepared a "film and television + cultural tourism" policy promotion meeting. I think the local government is willing to discuss cooperation and development with industry peers.

Opening Forum Event Poster

"Integration of ultra-high definition and all-media intelligent creation - the new ecology of the radio and television industry under high-quality development", "Work together to pick the stars! A panoramic perspective of the animation industry ecology", "Focus on the new quality productivity of the media - AIGC Use and Governance Dialogue" The three major technology forums focus on the great development and prosperity of the new productivity of the industry.

With the rapid development of high-tech technologies such as 5G, artificial intelligence, big data, and ultra-high definition, the radio and television industry is facing new opportunities and challenges. At the same time, the media has recently conducted a series of explorations in the field of content production in combination with AI technology. The development of new technologies has also enabled the efficient production and dissemination of content in the radio and television industry, improving production efficiency and improving production processes. In the Chinese animation industry, high-quality works continue to emerge, and the IP industry chain continues to improve. With the upgrading and leap of production technology and contemporary aesthetic values, more and more mature production companies have seen the bright future of the Chinese animation industry. With the entry of more mature creative teams, Chinese animation has stepped on a new wave of the times and become the next important cultural potential.

Therefore, the three major technology forums invite well-known experts and industry insiders from home and abroad to discuss technological changes, new production methods and ecological construction such as ultra-high definition, new radio and television networks, and all-media intelligent innovation integration through various forms such as keynote speeches and industry releases. Scholars and colleagues from the world's top universities, as well as industry media, will also gather together to discuss the governance and use of AIGC. They will also release the 2023-2024 Global Artificial Intelligence Media Development Report (preview version), the Generative Artificial Intelligence Credibility Index System (preview version), and the First Financial "Star Wing AIGC Big Model" (beta version). Tencent Video Animation will discuss the content and technology applications of Chinese animation driven by new trends in industrial development, industrial development and IP development and cultivation, commercial development and other topics with colleagues in the animation industry ecosystem forum, and further explore a better future for China's animation industry.

"Pei Xin" means cultivating talents. Talents are the top priority for the sustainable development of the industry. This TV Forum attaches importance to the cultivation and support of young talents in the industry. The Magnolia TV Drama Jury Chairman Master Class, Magnolia Animation Master Class, and Magnolia Documentary Master Class will bring together masters and senior people in the industry to provide an excellent opportunity for learning and communication for young people in the industry.

2024 Online Film Venture Capital Youth Entrepreneurship Program Launch Ceremony Poster

In addition, the launch ceremony of the 2024 Online Film Venture Capital Youth Entrepreneurship Plan and the industry forum will also be a highlight of this TV forum. As we all know, after ten years of development, the online film industry has gone from disorder to order, from extensive to refined practice, accumulated a lot of exploration experience, and produced many excellent works, providing audiences with diverse and rich online spiritual entertainment consumption content. At present, the online film market is in a new stage of adjustment and innovation. On this occasion, the "2024 Online Film Venture Capital Youth Entrepreneurship Plan" provides online film creators with the opportunity to discuss and communicate with film and television industry experts, investors, and creators, and specially invites relevant experts, platform representatives, and well-known creators to form a review group to provide convenience in project production, publicity and distribution, encourage new forces, promote the implementation of high-quality projects, and cultivate the market to reach new heights.

Shanghai Micro Drama Conference Poster

"Cultivating new" refers to cultivating new content. It is worth noting that the Micro-Short Drama Conference appeared for the first time in this TV forum, which may mean that the TV drama industry has begun to incorporate the micro-short drama, a content form that has rapidly emerged in recent years, into the industry's professional vision. As an emerging and active literary and artistic form, the scale of the micro-short drama industry has grown rapidly, the creators of micro-short dramas have become more diversified, the professional division of labor has been continuously improved, and the industry ecology has become more mature. In the official forum introduction of this TV festival, the micro-short drama content form was recognized: "Micro-short dramas have the characteristics of short duration, small investment, fast creation, flexible and diverse themes and genres, which meet the diverse cultural needs of the people, and at the same time deeply integrate with cultural tourism to help economic development and cultural going overseas." In order to strengthen the guidance of micro-short drama creation and the demonstration and guidance of boutique creation, the Shanghai TV Festival upgraded the Shanghai Micro-Short Drama Conference this year, and actively explored the cross-border deep integration with cultural consumption and cultural tourism through a series of activities such as policy release, roundtable forum, project performance, project venture capital negotiation, etc., which not only reflects the Shanghai TV Festival's foresight in the industry, but also reflects its broad vision and responsibility.

Huimin Screening: TV Festival at Your Doorstep

The "Magnolia Fragrance" Shanghai TV Festival program show and offline screenings for the benefit of the people will continue to create a "TV Festival at your doorstep". By showing and screening more than 50 outstanding Magnolia Award entries, artistic nourishment is within reach and urban aesthetic education permeates every corner. This year, the number of screenings for the offline screenings for the benefit of the people has been expanded from 18 last year to 20. Citizens in 16 districts can choose cultural spaces at their doorsteps to appreciate masterpieces from home and abroad and communicate face-to-face with filmmakers from around the world.

It is reported that 40 domestic and overseas cartoons, overseas dramas and documentaries registered for the Magnolia Awards will be broadcast on the prime time of Shanghai local TV channels, and 10 domestic and overseas cartoons, overseas dramas and documentaries registered for the Magnolia Awards will be broadcast on the BesTV online screening platform. Under the guidance of the State Administration of Radio and Television, Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism, and Shanghai Municipal Radio and Television Bureau, the Shanghai International Film and Television Festival Center will work with the Shanghai People's Art Museum and the Shanghai Television Artists Association to coordinate and deploy various professional cultural venues and institutions at all levels in the city, make full use of their respective unique resource advantages, and carry out a five-day screening for the benefit of the people during the TV Festival.

It is worth mentioning that the offline screening event "Magnolia Fragrance" of this TV Festival will be upgraded and expanded. Last year, 18 screening points for the benefit of the people, including the China Art Palace, Shanghai Museum of Contemporary Art, Lane 8, Bingang Commercial Center, Shanghai People's Art Museum, Shanghai Children's Library (New Building), Jiading District Library, Fengxian Museum, Songjiang Yunjian Hall Culture and Art Center, have become popular and beloved "Internet celebrity check-in places" for citizens. This year, the number of screening points for the benefit of the people will be expanded to 20, including Shanghai Grand Theater, Shanghai Book City, and Shanghai Library East Library Reading Theater. These venues will take "benefiting the people" and "aesthetic education" as the starting point to comprehensively broaden the boundaries of "watching TV". Citizens can enjoy excellent film and television works at home and abroad at their doorsteps, and aesthetic education can immerse a better life anytime and anywhere.

In terms of the selection of content for the benefit of the people, the Shanghai TV Festival has carefully designed eight units, namely, Enjoying Childlike Fun, Trendy Chinese Comics, Power of Life, Charm of Competition, Colorful World, Shanghai TV Festival x BBC Studios Cooperation Unit: Endless Exploration, Brilliant Planet, and Wonderful Journey. A total of 33 animated films, Chinese dramas, overseas dramas, and documentaries registered for the Magnolia Awards will be screened.

Animation "Dart Man" poster

The screening list includes not only the Chinese animated films "The Dart Man" and "Time Agent Season 2", but also the Chinese drama "Jin Yong's Martial Arts World". Chinese documentaries include the natural theme "China's Qinling Mountains: Memories of a Golden Monkey", the sports theme "Hangzhou Asian Games Album - E-sports in China", and the historical and cultural theme "I've Been Watching the Crossroads Where You Come From". Excellent works from the United States, Britain, Italy, France, Germany, Japan, Finland, the Netherlands, Spain and other countries will also be screened offline.

Poster of the overseas drama "The Man Called Professor"

The overseas drama "The Professor" screened at the Power Station of Art in Shanghai is quite eye-catching. The director of the film, Giuseppe Tornatore, has directed classic films such as "The Legend of 1900", "The Beautiful Legend of Sicily", and "Cinema Paradiso". "The Professor" is Tornatore's debut film in 1986. During this TV Festival, two episodes of "The Professor" will be screened, each episode is 50 minutes, which is also the first time the film has been screened in Asia. In addition, the "Endless Exploration", a cooperation unit of the Shanghai TV Festival and BBC Studios, is also a highlight of the screening list for the benefit of the people. Eight BBC works such as "Planet Earth Season 3", "Dogs Love Reading", "Bluey", "Jurassic Adventure", "Digital Detective", and "Secret No. 9" Final Season will be screened together.

Poster of the documentary Planet Earth Season 3

Compared with TV and Internet broadcasts, offline screenings for the benefit of the people allow masterpieces from various countries to be screened in the city's cultural space. While enhancing the cultural value of the venue, it will also enhance on-site exchanges between the audience and the main creators and professional workers, and broaden the social function of television works. In order to allow citizens to have a better viewing experience, the China Art Palace, Shanghai Grand Theater, Shanghai Jiushi Art Museum, Shanghai Book City, and Shanghai Library East Hall will hold 10 offline meet-and-greet sessions. The main creators of many popular works such as "Jin Yong's Martial Arts World", the final season of the BBC's signature drama "Secrets of Number 9", the documentary "Planet Earth Season 3", and the American drama "Star Trek: Picard Season 3" will participate in pre-screening or post-screening guided tours. Among them, "Planet Earth Season 3" is a masterpiece shot by BBC Studios over a period of 5 years. Chief producer Michael Gunton will attend the offline meet-and-greet at the China Art Palace to reveal the stories behind the wonders of the sea and land to the audience. The writers and leading actors of the final season of the BBC dark comedy "9", Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton, will also appear at the Grand Theatre. Through their in-depth interpretation, the audience will understand how this imaginative drama was created.

The two main creators and leading actors of "Secret No. 9" will come to China to interact with the audience

TV market: service first, transaction-oriented

For more than 30 years, the TV Market has always adhered to the concept of service first and transaction-based, and has won a good reputation with its international, professional and forward-looking characteristics. It is one of the most distinctive, influential and mature film and television trading platforms in Asia.

The 29th Shanghai TV Festival TV Market will be held at the Shanghai Exhibition Center from June 24 to 26, 2024. As a major event in the film and television industry, this TV Festival will not only showcase the latest film and television works, but also provide a platform for communication and cooperation for industry insiders.

Data map of TV market in previous Shanghai TV Festivals

The TV market of Shanghai TV Festival mainly includes exhibitions and market activities. The exhibition will invite film and television production companies, broadcasting platforms, shooting bases, post-production companies, Internet platforms, etc. to participate in the exhibition, and exhibitors cover the entire film and television industry chain. TV market activities mainly include project promotion, IP promotion, industry salons and one-on-one negotiations, etc. The various sections are interconnected to provide full services for participating projects. According to different program types such as TV series, documentaries, animations and program modes (variety shows), the programs that are completed or in production are invited to participate in a series of activities such as promotion and negotiation, building a one-stop platform for the exchange and transaction of Chinese and foreign TV programs. The TV market welcomes participating film and television companies to hold corporate promotion activities in designated venues.

This TV market brings together many overseas buyers such as PCCW, VIU, PPCTV, Polygon Magic, VSTV/K+, Mediaplex International, Media Prima, Coign Media, PT. Indosiar Visual Mandiri, etc. Market visitors can log in to the official website "Guest Center" to check the list of exhibitors, buyers and guests. The exhibition area has a buyer negotiation area, and film and television companies are welcome to visit the site, make an appointment for a negotiation table, and conduct exchanges and transactions.

Data map of TV market in previous Shanghai TV Festivals

"Film and Television +" series of activities, "Focus on International" series of activities, IP Film and Television Development Conference, technical theme seminars...TV market activities cover all aspects of the TV industry chain, such as policy interpretation, financial support, international exchanges and technological innovation. Cutting-edge technology discussions, innovative content discussions and professional market activities will provide cooperation ideas for domestic and foreign TV projects, and also provide practical guidance for the sustainable development of the TV industry.

"Magnolia Award": "Fang Hua" takes the lead, who will win the prize?

Finally, the most popular "Magnolia Award" selection, under the purpose of closely following the pulse of the industry, reflecting the industry trend, and promoting the international development of China's television industry, the "Magnolia Award" uses fair review rules, standardized process design and operation, takes into account both artistry and marketability, and highlights the guiding role of awards in the development of television programs. While becoming the main indicator of the domestic television industry, the "Magnolia Award" has created an international stage for countries around the world to showcase their colorful film and television culture with the diversity of content, form and region of the entries.

Since the 29th Shanghai TV Festival started collecting films, it is reported that nearly 1,000 works have been collected, the highest in the past five film collection cycles (last year, the number of films collected by the Shanghai TV Festival was nearly 1,900, but the collection spanned two years). Among the many nominated works, the "Shanghai-produced" hit drama "Flowers" leads the "Magnolia" with 9 nominations. However, all the nominated works are excellent works. "The Long Season", "Asking the Vastness", "Asking the Heart", "The Glory of My Fathers" and other works are all annual masterpieces with both good reputation and ratings. It is still unknown who will win the award, which is exciting.

The shortlist for the best Chinese TV series at this year's Magnolia Awards

Next is the week for TV dramas and Shanghai, a beautiful city with the fragrance of white magnolias. I hope everyone can benefit from or have fun in this annual TV drama feast that comes with great enthusiasm.