On March 19, the 2025 Shanghai TV Drama Production and Broadcasting Annual Conference was held at the Friendship Hall of the Shanghai Exhibition Center. This event was hosted by Shanghai Radio and Television Station and the People's Government of Jing'an District, and was successfully carried out with the co-organization of many units. As an important part of the Shanghai Film and Television Creation Conference, with the theme of "Digital Intelligence Resonance, Drama Creation of the Future", it brought together industry elites to deeply discuss the new development direction of the film and television industry and inject strong impetus into the upgrading of the industry.
At the Shanghai TV Drama Production and Broadcasting Annual Conference, the "Quality East, Drama Shines in Jing'an" Shanghai Film and Television Creation Conference was officially launched, and it was announced that the conference will use the four main activities of the Shanghai TV Drama Production and Broadcasting Annual Conference, the TV Drama Quality Festival, the Shanghai Micro-Short Drama Conference, and the Micro-Short Drama Quality Festival as the platform to jointly explore new paths for the high-quality development of the current TV drama industry.
Fang Shizhong, Zhai Lei
The theme of this annual conference is "Digital Intelligence Resonance, Drama Creates the Future". Lin Sumin, director of the Media Organization Management Department of the Shanghai Radio and Television Bureau and second-level inspector, said that the Shanghai TV Drama Production and Broadcasting Annual Conference is a weather vane for the industry. This year's annual conference is themed "Digital Intelligence Resonance, Drama Creates the Future", which is of great significance. As a highland of the film and television industry, Shanghai has produced many high-quality dramas, such as "Fanghua" and "I am a Criminal Police", with remarkable achievements. In the face of industry opportunities and challenges, he said that the Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism and the Radio and Television Bureau will optimize the policy environment and promote the integration of the TV drama industry with multiple fields. He hopes that the industry will take the annual conference as an opportunity to explore new paths for high-quality development and allow dramas to achieve the symbiosis of humanistic education and high-quality entertainment.
Stills from "Flowering"
With the theme of "Quality in the East, Dramas in Jing'an", the Shanghai Film and Television Creation Conference will work with the Jing'an District People's Government to promote the upgrading and industrial transformation of the film and television industry with a new model of two-way empowerment, and enhance the influence of Shanghai and even China in the global cultural landscape. It is reported that the latest version 3.0 of the industrial policy "Jing Jiu Articles" proposes to support the agglomeration of enterprises and platform construction with greater efforts, support the "new quality productivity" with content as the core with a longer chain, and support the integration of events and industries in more dimensions. A series of support policies have been formulated, including a maximum reward of 40 million yuan for newly landed enterprises and a reward of 10 million yuan for high-quality film and television projects.
When the "highlight moment" of the digital era arrives, how can TV dramas continue to stimulate creative vitality? Wang Leiqing, vice president of Shanghai Culture, Radio, Film and Television Group Co., Ltd., said that digital intelligence empowerment has become a new proposition for TV drama creation. This year, Chinese TV has entered a new generation of ultra-high-definition audio-visual era, and Dragon TV will also start ultra-high-definition broadcasting within the year. In addition, a new era of intelligent interpretation is coming, and collaborative creation models such as "human screenwriter + AI screenwriter + human director" and "human actor + AI actor" are expected to reshape the industry landscape. Regarding the hotly debated debate between long and short dramas in the industry, Wang Leiqing pointed out that this is a "false proposition." The quality of a work has nothing to do with its length. Creators should respect the laws of creation and avoid wrong tendencies such as "long for the sake of long" and "short for the sake of short". The industry should further integrate resources, break down barriers, and build a "community of shared destiny" for cooperation and win-win results.
The industry is currently in a critical period of transformation and upgrading. Many guests believe that the industry should work together, take the initiative to change, and seek high-quality development. Liang Hong, deputy director of the Film and Television Documentary Center of China Media Group, used "integration, change, and innovation" as keywords to share the station's way out in the era of intelligence, pointing out the importance of adapting to industry changes, building competitiveness with high-quality content, and building a Chinese narrative system. Speaking of film and television innovation, Li Jingsheng, vice president of the China Radio and Television Social Organization Federation, believes that innovation must rely on the driving force of science and technology, respect the audience's right to choose, and at the same time take on new missions. Creators must have keen insight, story weaving ability, and theoretical thinking ability to promote the development of the industry in innovation.
The prosperity and development of the TV drama industry is inseparable from the joint efforts of all practitioners. This conference also brought together senior executives from platforms and production companies such as iQiyi, Tencent Video, Linghe Culture, and Xixi Pictures, as well as industry elites such as well-known screenwriters and producers to discuss the future trends, technological innovations, and content creation directions of the long video industry.
Chen Xiao, senior vice president of iQIYI, elaborated on the platform's core strategy for the next three years with the theme of "leading with high-quality content, empowering both technology and business". He proposed that iQIYI will deepen its high-quality and serialized content through the strategy of "improving quality and reducing quantity", such as the diversified development of the IP of "Tang Dynasty Weird Stories". In addition, he revealed that iQIYI plans to enter the Middle East and Latin American markets, promote the "mainland drama + local drama" dual-wheel drive strategy, and use content as a bridge to promote cultural exports.
Li Eryun, deputy general manager of Tencent Online Video's film and television content production department, shared the "two-dimensional evaluation system", which is to screen projects from the dual dimensions of artistic value and commercial potential. Taking "The Three-Body Problem" as an example, the overseas distribution of the series not only expanded its commercial value, but also became a new business card for the export of Chinese science fiction culture.
At the meeting, many industry leaders participated in a theme forum titled "Digital Intelligence Resonance and Drama Creation of the Future", and had a heated discussion on the issues of profitability and digital innovation of Chinese TV dramas; at the same time, a venture capital meeting for major TV drama cooperation projects was also held on the same day, giving full play to the role of the industry's "barometer".
Yang Xiaopei, founder and CEO of Xixi Pictures, shared her experience in creating realistic works based on hit dramas such as "Six Sisters" and "Like Brocade". She said that realistic works have a long creation cycle and are difficult to create. It is necessary to balance the creative rules and market timeliness and use technological tools to improve efficiency, but the original intention of the content cannot be changed. Bai Yicong, founder of Linghe Culture, and Qin Wen, screenwriter of "Flower", also expressed their views on technology empowering content creation. They believe that AI has advantages in script creation, but it cannot replace the unique experience and aesthetic expression of human creators.
Stills from "Six Sisters"
At a time when the film and television industry is facing a historical opportunity of high-quality content, intelligent technology, and diversified business models, this conference has pointed out the direction for the industry's digital transformation and content upgrade through policy interpretation, case sharing, and cutting-edge discussions. The guests at the conference unanimously agreed that only by deepening cooperation, embracing technology, and cultivating high-quality products can Chinese TV dramas move forward steadily on the road of high-quality development and shine more brightly on the global stage.
