Magnolia Awards for TV Series (China) | To Capture the Endeavoring Figures in the Torrent of the Times

In the past year, reality-themed TV dramas still dominate the small screen in China among a number of masterpieces that run deep into real life, reflect real-world, and convey warmth and positive energy. As the solicitation of works for the Magnolia Awards of the 28th Shanghai TV Festival (STVF) has ended on March 31, these realistic masterpieces, not surprisingly, are all among the entries for this year's Magnolia Awards – MEDAL OF THE REPUBLIC pays tribute to the backbone of the state, and retraces the glorious journey of the eight meritorious figures; A FAMILY STORY IN ABA tells the touching story of how the Han nationality and the Zang nationality usher in a new life with unity deep in the mountains; THE OLD DREAMS captures the endeavoring figures in the torrent of the times; RED FLAG CANAL revisits to the historical scene and reproduces the great miracle of the man-made canal – Red Flag Canal; DEAR PARENTS shows the fierce collision between two generations arising from different concepts of marriage and parenting; THE BOND recalls the plain blessings in ordinary life; A LIFELONG JOURNEY presents a panorama of all beings in the society under the great changes of the times...

These works, setting in the remote memories of generations, restore vivid life scenes in the changing times, and tell the stories of inspiring struggle, adding a unique charm to the TV screen of China.

MEDAL OF THE REPUBLIC

Developed with the artistic technique of "nation-based narrative, and era-inspired expression", the work tells the soul-stirring stories of the first eight winners of the Medal of the Republic - Li Yannian, Yu Min, Zhang Fuqing, Huang Xuhua, Shen Jilan, Sun Jiadong, Tu Youyou, and Yuan Longping, to vividly interpret their noble characters of loyalty, persistence, and sincerity, and their exemplary spirit of unswerving determination, tenacious struggle, and selfless dedication. Compared with previous biographical works, MEDAL OF THE REPUBLIC is characterized by more humanistic and life touches in artistic style, allowing the audience to enter the very inner worlds of the characters and get a glimpse of the unknown bitterness and choices behind the medals.

A FAMILY STORY IN ABA

A FAMILY STORY IN ABA, with the poverty alleviation of ethnic minorities as the theme, casts the spotlight on the story of a big Han-and-Zang family in Aba Prefecture, who gradually embarked on the path to prosperity through self-reliance and arduous struggle. With documentary language and fine expression of sentiments, the work vividly outlines the spiritual world of people who have lived in Aba for generations and are dare to conquer all hardships and difficulties. While portraying the natural beauty, humanistic beauty, and the beauty of the times in Aba Prefecture, it truly presents the realistic issues that Aba Prefecture faces in the process of modernization.

THE OLD DREAMS

The drama recreates the historical scene of the reform and restructuring of state-owned enterprises and employees’ venture into business in the 1990s through the story of a group of enthusiastic young people living in a tube-shaped apartment in Qingdao who tried to save an old bicycle factory. The work, nostalgic for youth, combines youthful growth with the entrepreneurial story of a state-owned enterprise struggling to survive during the reform and opening-up transition period with an unpretentious, emotional, and life-like narrative approach, showing a group of passionate young people growing and struggling in the changing times.

RED FLAG CANAL

The story, based on the severe drought and water shortage in Linxian County, Henan Province, in 1959, retraces the great journey of how the protagonist Lin Jie leads the people of Linxian to overcome all odds and build the Red Flag Canal with a tough spirit. The drama, where the real historical video materials and the currently shot images intermingle with each other artistically, adopts an intuitive, all-round and documentary expression to let the audience relive the historical miracle, pay tribute to national heroes, and praise the Red Flag Canal spirit of "self-reliance, hard work, unity and cooperation, and selfless dedication", as a mirror of the ideals, beliefs and unremitting pursuit of contemporary Chinese people.

DEAR PARENTS

DEAR PARENTS, taking a special era as the background, reveals the sweets and bitters of life of a reorganized family in a nostalgic and warm expression. The whole drama is full of tinges of life and depicts the daily trivial family life in great detail through the life-flow narrative, greatly getting thus closer to the audience emotionally. With a warm and witty "style", the work also keenly captures the social issues hidden in the kaleidoscope of reality, unveiling various problems a reorganized family will face through the insight into and analysis of family bonds.

THE BOND

The drama is about the story of the five children of the Qiao’s family who supported each other and depended on each other in difficult years. An ordinary Chinese family in the 1970s is under lens as the microcosm of the changes and development of Chinese society in the past 30 years. In the work, the Qiao brothers and sisters sometimes have differences due to their respective personalities and face various setbacks; yet they are always ready to encourage and warm each other. Their ordinary and rich growth experiences awaken the youthful memories of an entire generation. In addition, the humorous Nanjing dialect and two-part allegorical sayings also bring extra lustre to the work, which is frequently searched among hot topics during the broadcast.

A LIFELONG JOURNEY

Based on the Mao Dun Literature Award-winning work and Liang Xiaosheng's novel of the same name, A LIFELONG JOURNEY takes the fate of the three brothers and sisters of the Zhou’s family in half a century as the mainline to paint an ordinary, warm, simple and pure picture of the age. With delicate strokes, it undrapes the stories of people from different strata of Chinese society in half a century, highly restores the social outlook in the big era, and the life scenes of ordinary families, winning wide recognition among the people. To create a realistic sense of age, the crew built a 40,000-square-meter real scene in Changchun at a scale of 1:1. The calendars, furniture, radios, and other props in the drama are also recreated manually with ingenuity.

The reality-inspired dramas shining on the screen closely follow the pulse of the times in terms of themes, and respond to practical concerns; and while seeking multiple perspectives in the creation and exploring innovative expressions, they not only reflect the vicissitudes of the times but also map the spirituality of the times. As the industry wind vane in the field of TV dramas, the Magnolia Awards will, as always, encourage and expect more TV workers to take "portrait the people and compose a biography for the times" as the mission, and create more works that tell the stories of the people and gather the motivating power.

Which works will stand out and shine at this Magnolia Awards Ceremony? Please keep tuned to find the answer!