Boasting tens of millions of views and offering previously unheard of artistic freedoms, China’s “micro film” movement has made it possible for anyone with a smartphone to become a moviemaker.
Until two weeks ago the Internet-based films — made by everyone from first timers to established directors — existed in a grey area in terms of censorship, with content screened by host Internet portals, but with the phenomenon seeing two years of rapid growth, Beijing has tightened scrutiny, vowing to prevent “unhealthy content.”
The impact of the new restrictions in China’s already heavily regulated cyberspace remains to be seen, with Chinese filmmakers having come to see the micro movies as a haven from box-office pressure and a means of artistic release.
“This type of film allows almost anyone to be a director,” veteran Chinese filmmaker and Academy Award nominee Gu Changwei (顧長衛), 54, said.
“I can present what I think and the story I wish to tell — like a blogger who can publish their own articles,” said Gu, nominated for an Oscar for his cinematography on Chen Kaige’s (陳凱歌) 1993 hit Farewell My Concubine.
He added that micro films, which tend to be no longer than 30 minutes and are broadcast across China on portals such as Youku and Sohu, instantly reach a massive audience. Jean Shao, director of communications at Youku, said the micro film movement first caught the public’s attention with the release of Old Boys in 2010, a film that has been viewed more than 47 million times. It formed part of the Youku-sponsored “11 Degrees” series of 10 micro films, which has been seen by 120 million viewers combined.
Directors say the films allow them to connect with their viewers in a nation where video-sharing Web site YouTube is blocked.
“I can see feedback right after people have watched and I am able to know what is good and what can be improved,” Gu said. “Micro films present a real, direct communication between the director and the audience”.
He is one of four Asian directors to contribute to the “Beautiful 2012” micro film omnibus supported by the Hong Kong International Film Festival Society and Youku, which has screened at festivals in Asia since March. It includes the mesmerising Walker from Taiwanese director Tsai Ming-liang (蔡明亮), which charts a monk’s journey through chaotic Hong Kong streets. Tsai’s short film helped close Critics Week at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.
Gu’s contribution to Beautiful 2012 was Long Tou, which sees its characters ruminating on the meaning of beauty
According to US investment managers Needham, China has become the world’s largest market for smartphones. Some 33.1 million of the devices were sold in the first quarter, compared to 25 million sold in the US, while China’s State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT) has claimed that 325 million Chinese regularly watch videos online.
“We have witnessed how fast mobile technology has developed,” said Tang Liujun (唐麗君), managing director of the Shanghai International Film Festival.
“It has changed the way people obtain their information and entertain themselves. Almost everybody holds such a smart handset, and our interest in using the device is increasing, just as people move from TVs to PCs,” Tang said.
Previously, the content produced by the micro film movement was monitored by the likes of Youku, but an increasingly wary Chinese government two weeks ago vowed to boost its management of the craze.
Unlike television or films shown in cinemas, online series and short films had existed in a relatively uncensored world. Beijing imposes strict rules over what films are allowed to be seen by the public, banning what it sees as any negative portrayal of contemporary politics or issues it says might lead to social unrest. State media reported that SARFT called on Internet video service providers to ensure “unhealthy content” was not screened and urged them to form an association of censors to ensure content was more controlled.
Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is to visit Russia next month for a summit of the BRICS bloc of developing economies, Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) said on Thursday, a move that comes as Moscow and Beijing seek to counter the West’s global influence. Xi’s visit to Russia would be his second since the Kremlin sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022. China claims to take a neutral position in the conflict, but it has backed the Kremlin’s contentions that Russia’s action was provoked by the West, and it continues to supply key components needed by Moscow for
Japan scrambled fighter jets after Russian aircraft flew around the archipelago for the first time in five years, Tokyo said yesterday. From Thursday morning to afternoon, the Russian Tu-142 aircraft flew from the sea between Japan and South Korea toward the southern Okinawa region, the Japanese Ministry of Defense said in a statement. They then traveled north over the Pacific Ocean and finished their journey off the northern island of Hokkaido, it added. The planes did not enter Japanese airspace, but flew over an area subject to a territorial dispute between Japan and Russia, a ministry official said. “In response, we mobilized Air Self-Defense
CRITICISM: ‘One has to choose the lesser of two evils,’ Pope Francis said, as he criticized Trump’s anti-immigrant policies and Harris’ pro-choice position Pope Francis on Friday accused both former US president Donald Trump and US Vice President Kamala Harris of being “against life” as he returned to Rome from a 12-day tour of the Asia-Pacific region. The 87-year-old pontiff’s comments on the US presidential hopefuls came as he defied health concerns to connect with believers from the jungle of Papua New Guinea to the skyscrapers of Singapore. It was Francis’ longest trip in duration and distance since becoming head of the world’s nearly 1.4 billion Roman Catholics more than 11 years ago. Despite the marathon visit, he held a long and spirited
China would train thousands of foreign law enforcement officers to see the world order “develop in a more fair, reasonable and efficient direction,” its minister for public security has said. “We will [also] send police consultants to countries in need to conduct training to help them quickly and effectively improve their law enforcement capabilities,” Chinese Minister of Public Security Wang Xiaohong (王小洪) told an annual global security forum. Wang made the announcement in the eastern city of Lianyungang on Monday in front of law enforcement representatives from 122 countries, regions and international organizations such as Interpol. The forum is part of ongoing