When movies are more than just a single beam of light projected on the big screen in the dark, and when watching movies is more than just a group of people holding their breath and passively receiving in the theater, the 130-year-old film art and the 120-year-old city with a connection to movies are redefining the narrative of light and shadow with their unique urban genes, and exploring more possibilities related to it with a pace that keeps pace with the times.
On the afternoon of June 6, the salon "Light and Shadow Dialogue - Internet Celebrities Talking about Shanghai Films" was held at the Shanghai Film Art Center. Movie and TV industry leaders, cultural KOLs, and Internet trendsetters gathered together to talk about the century-long history of Shanghai films, the codes of communication in the Internet era, and the secrets of going viral overseas, and clearly explained the magical bond between Shanghai and film.
"Light and Shadow Dialogue - Internet Celebrities Discuss Shanghai Film" salon scene
This salon, taking advantage of the upcoming Shanghai International TV and Film Festival, will further expand the "circle of friends" for the traditional film and television industry, and also allow a group of Internet celebrities who have a sincere love and passion for movies to have the opportunity to have a closer contact with the "City of Movies".
The cultural texture of Shanghai films in the eyes of big Vs
"Shanghai is the birthplace of Chinese film, and it is also a 'honeypot' that breeds art." The speech of Cao Kefan, the host and person in charge of the account "Kefan Listening", kicked off the review of the history of Shanghai film. He counted the many "firsts" in the century-long history of Shanghai Film: the first feature film "Difficult Husband and Difficult Wife" was born in 1913, the first Chinese feature film "Yan Ruisheng" was born in 1921, and the first color film "Life and Death" directed by Fei Mu and starring Mei Lanfang in 1948 was China's first color film. The Magician's Adventure in 1962 was China's first 3D film. Xie Jin's "Furong Town" and "The Shepherd" and Wu Yigong's "Old Things in the South of the City" have become the spiritual imprint of a generation. In 1993, Director Wu Yigong advocated the establishment of the Shanghai International Film Festival, making Shanghai an important window for the display of world films in the East, and also building a solid bridge for the exchange of Chinese and overseas films.
Host Cao Kefan
Having interviewed a large number of old artists from Shanghai Film Studio, he said with emotion, "Shanghai is a melting pot. I once wrote an article called "Honey Pot". The artists of Shanghai Film Studio together are an artistic honey pot. Everyone in this era can absorb a lot of nutrients from this honey pot."
Li Yibao, the person in charge of the account "Shanghai Baoye" that talks about the history of old Shanghai architecture in Shanghainese in the streets, connected the memories of the city and movies with his personal experience. He recalled the Xinhua Cinema that was once located at the intersection of Shimen Road and Nanjing West Road. He remembered that when he was a child, he saw "Waterloo Bridge" here, which was screened simultaneously with Hollywood. Now it has disappeared without a trace. Talking about his origins with the Shanghai Film Studio, he said with emotion: "In the 1990s, I rented a house in the Shanghai Film Studio and worked with teacher Zhang Ruifang for two and a half years. The old artists lived a simple life, but they were full of sincerity for art." Now, he plans to return to the office of that year to shoot and dig out "the stories of the old actors of the Shanghai Film Actors Troupe". "I want to use short videos to let young people understand the history of the Shanghai Film Studio, recall the past, and tell the story of Shanghai."
Li Yibao Account name "Shanghai Baoye"
As a representative of Shanghai's middle-aged actors, Chen Long also spoke out to justify the name of "Movie City": "Shanghai is a movie city, and as someone who grew up in Shanghai, I have a lot to say about it. I have been surrounded by movies and cinemas since I was a child. I lived on Huaihai Road and Tibet Road when I was a child, surrounded by cinemas such as Volkswagen, Songshan, Cathay, and Daguangming. In the summer, there was no air-conditioning at home, so I would stay in the cinema to 'incubate the cold air', from catching the cool breeze through the door to sitting in the cinema to watch movies all day long." When he was young, Chen Long could watch a movie over and over again in the cinema for dozens of times. His later interest in painting was initially due to the hand-painted posters that were often changed at the entrance of the cinema.
Chen Long, deputy director of Shanghai Film Actors Troupe, account name "Chen Long"
Today, he is not only a household name actor, but also a new "Internet celebrity". As the person in charge of the account "Chen Long" , Chen Long uses short videos to tell his understanding of this city and life. In the short video, he is not the character he plays, but Chen Long himself. "Whether it is the big screen, the TV screen, or the current mobile phone screen, they are just a way of expression. The key is what you say and what content you output. This is very important. What do you want to express?" Chen Long admitted that he is now a little "addicted" to making videos. "I keep posting what I think is good and can be interpreted. I understand Shanghai. I have also recorded the road I have walked with my mother since I was a child in the form of images. I like this way of expression very much. It is very personal and very Chen Long."
When a century of art meets the Internet
In the Internet age, film and television commentary content has become an important bridge connecting audiences and movies. Although the relationship between short videos and long content is sometimes a bit subtle, it is undeniable that film and television commentary has become an important form for many current audiences to understand and approach movies.
Liu Nan, a top 100 UP host and the person in charge of the account "Liu Bi Movie", has a deep understanding of this: "Short videos allow film and television works to reach the audience in a lightweight form. The commentary is not a simple spoiler, but a secondary creation with personal opinions." With the development of short video platforms, film and television works as a lightweight content form have become a window for many audiences to contact film and television culture. In Liu Nan's observation, "the traditional way of film and television promotion has also ushered in a change. Our commentary content just fills the gap in the communication chain and becomes a bridge connecting the audience and film and television works."
Liu Nan Account "Liu Bi Movie"
The fast-paced life means that a considerable number of viewers do not have time to watch too many movies one by one in their daily lives, and Liu Nan’s job is to "understand the content of the film through our film and television commentary. Under the premise of respecting the work, our commentary allows more audiences to understand the movie itself, stimulates widespread discussion and enthusiasm in a short period of time, and serves as a force for the dissemination of the work." In his past creations, he often received private messages from fans in the background, naming the movies they wanted to watch, which also gave the commentator a lot of sense of accomplishment.
"Nowadays, many people's first step to getting in touch with movies is to watch the commentary video." According to Shen Chun, the person in charge of the account "1900 Film and Television Room" , this is already a fairly common phenomenon. When he recommended the movie "Eight Hundred" to his friends, the reply he got was, "Okay, I'll go back and find the movie commentary." "Modern people's thinking has changed. Many people's first reaction is not to watch the movie, but to listen to the commentary. Only when your commentary touches them will they watch the original film."
Shen Chun's account "1900 Film and TV Studio"
Ma Qian, the person in charge of the account "Shanghai Xiaoma Ge", expressed his feelings from the perspective of an audience: "Thanks to the movie editing masters, you made me watch the movies that I thought were good from a different perspective, and made the movies that I thought were not good become good. And I dared to watch the movies that I didn't dare to watch before."
Huang Jiangnan, the person in charge of another film content analysis blogger "Independent Fish" , returned to his original love of movies after 12 years as a film blogger and decided to become a real film creator. "Last year we planned to make a movie ourselves. The name of the movie has been filed and is "Light and Shadow Walker". We are still preparing for it and hope to make it as soon as possible."
As creators of high-quality content, Internet celebrities have also devoted themselves to the film creation process in various identities and ways: Yu Fu , the video blogger account "Uncle Fu" , recently participated in the filming of the Shanghainese movie "Vegetable and Meat Wontons", and Hu Muyang, the person in charge of the account "Wuhe Qilin" , introduced his experience in filming documentaries, hoping to further participate in the creation of Shanghai films from the screen to the screen. Chen Xinyuan, the person in charge of the account "Xinyi MAX" , is a director himself. He made a PPT for himself to promote himself on the spot and expressed his sincere hope to participate in the creation of Shanghai-produced films.
Chen Xinyuan Account "Xinyi MAX"
Foreign friends become "Internet celebrities" in China: telling Chinese film stories in the world's language
"Shanghai's films have always been at the forefront of the world. Shanghai is a very important port for the film industry. Chinese films are 10 years behind world films. In the 1930s and 1940s, the time difference between Hollywood films and Shanghai films was about a week. Shanghai's Grand Cinema is basically a venue for showing foreign films."
Today, Shanghai is still the most important window for China to communicate and display with the outside world. In the world of global communication, foreign friends have become "Internet celebrities" and are becoming "cultural translators" for Chinese films to go global. Alex Butler, the person in charge of the account "Shanghai Spotlight", is deeply touched by this: "When I first arrived in China in 2004, I was excited and full of trepidation about the unknown, but after coming here, I felt a warm, lively and profound cultural atmosphere." The atmosphere he personally felt made Alex discover that this place was very different from the understanding of Western media. "At that time, many foreign media reported on China's current situation with some stereotypes and one-sided interpretations. This made me realize that the market needs a more balanced, professional and in-depth voice to introduce those Chinese stories that have been ignored by the outside world, a real story that happened on the land of China."
Alex Butler account "Shanghai Spotlight"
In Alex Butler's view, "The reason why many Hollywood works can succeed in business and reputation is more due to their strong marketing and branding than the originality or quality of the works themselves. From an international perspective, the situation in China is just the opposite. Many excellent and creative projects continue to emerge here. They fully deserve more international attention, but unfortunately they have not won more praise and attention on the international stage. This is exactly what our company is working towards. Promote these excellent contents, let them go abroad, be seen by the world, and be seen by more people." Alex said, "The recent box office success of "Nezha 2" is a powerful proof. Our vision is to let as many people as possible hear the words, thoughts, emotions and stories behind Chinese talents, and enable international friends to participate in the current Chinese creation."
Another "foreign Internet celebrity" Aleksandra is the person in charge of the account "Dr. Ala Sasa" . She is a doctoral student at Jiaotong University from Russia and is now a "Shanghai daughter-in-law". Upon learning that her alma mater, Shanghai Jiaotong University, is next to the venue of the Shanghai International Film Festival, Sasa was also very surprised and said, "I want to tell other foreign friends that this is the holy land of Shanghai movies. They should come here to watch movies more often. I want to tell my foreign friends about the history of Shanghai movies, including many stories about Shanghai in the past that I learned today, so that more foreigners can know about Chinese movies."
Aleksandra Antonenko and her husband Zhao Yiwei account "Dr. Alasasha"
