Overview of Finalist for Magnolia Awards – To Convey the Power of Warmth via Exchange and Mutual Appreciation

Civilization and culture thrive with exchange and mutual appreciation. As one of the major international television exchange platforms in Asia, Shanghai TV Festival (STVF), known for its professionalism and internationalism, is gathering more and more well-made foreign dramas to make a splash on the stage of Magnolia Awards for mutual appreciation with its growing brand influence year by year.

Recently, the finalists for Magnolia Awards of the 28th STVF were unveiled, with ten exceptional foreign dramas being selected for the final competition. Whether retracing history or highlighting the present, these works all zoom in on common people's aspiration for truth, goodness and beauty, and their pursuit of love and freedom, to tell about greatness in commonplaces and convey the power of warmth.

Be it spin-off dramas of classic IPs to the enduring " generation-N dramas", this year's foreign drama unit is packed with hits that have overwhelmed the global market and social networks.

1923

1923, for example, is a sequel to the award-winning classic YELLOWSTONE, which follows the Dutton family as they struggle through the Great Depression in the American West. The series travels back in time to the end of World War I, when the American society was in the midst of social problems such as Prohibition and the Great Depression. By portraying the courage and perseverance of the long-standing Dutton family, this work provides the audience with a glimpse of the Dutton family's spiritual legacy.

INSIDE NO.9

Enjoying a wide viewership in the UK, INSIDE NO.9, which has scooped numerous awards including a BAFTA, has been shortlisted for the foreign TV film/miniseries unit for its seventh season. The show comes with well-knit conflicts that bring together elements of comedy, drama and thriller, offering a one-of-a-kind cinematic experience.

BETTER CALL SAUL SEASON 6

SCENES FROM A MARRIAGE

The sixth season of BETTER CALL SAUL, which traces the conversion of the good-natured Jimmy into a sleek villain that plays with the law, and SCENES FROM A MARRIAGE, adapted from the film of the same name directed by Ingmar Bergman in 1973, were nominated for the foreign TV series/serial and foreign TV film/miniseries sections respectively. The former looks at how to turn the tables when human goodness is exploited by greed, while the latter spotlights the collision of contemporary urban attitudes towards gender relations and the institution of marriage.

Being novel in ideas and realistic in works, these creation teams have made sustained dedication to work creation, showing their insight and innovation in capturing market changes and breaking through. We believe that through these shortlisted works, more audiences will discover the tireless exploration and innovation of global TV professionals and the new trend of the global TV industry.

Varied in cultural background and historical context, these shortlisted works, however, share the same undertone, which is about reality, human nature and warmth. The 10 masterpieces from overseas explore the common virtues of humanity from different aspects and dimensions, as an ode to the extraordinary in the ordinary.

REBOOTING

Among the finalists for the foreign TV series/serial section, REBOOTING from Japan, is a "whimsical" time-travel comedy about an ordinary woman who dies suddenly in a car accident and decides to restart everything in her prelife so that she can make up for her regrets.

WOMEN AT WAR

The French drama WOMEN AT WAR, which is also about the theme of “changing destiny”, is set against the backdrop of the French-German War of 1914, and chronicles the extraordinary feat of four ordinary women who joined hands to confront the sudden and dramatic change and rewrite their lives and even history.

1985

Another film from Belgium, 1985, is drawn from a real historical story, and trains its lens on three young people who have just stepped into the society and fall into the grips of the darkness. These ordinary yet extraordinary characters, from either the remote past or the current life, together present before us a spiritual picture of mankind's unfailing aspiration and benevolence.

Among the finalists for the foreign TV film/miniseries section, Canada's APRES, Germany's DER PALAST and Italy's BLANCA each portray women from different social groups, with different upbringings and life experiences.

APRES

APRES is a work created from a female perspective, to revolve around on the physical and psychological impacts of a violent incident in a remote town on the local villagers, especially the women, and its social consequences.

DER PALAST

Set on the eve of the reunification of Germany, DER PALAST is the story of twin sisters who have never met before and who, after a coincidental encounter, decide to swap identities and live each other's lives in order to solve the mystery of their origins.

BLANCA

BLANCA is the story of a lively and sunny girl who, after a fire has robbed her of her sight and the lives of her beloved ones, regains her faith in life and decides to uncover the truth. These shortlisted works convey the concern of the creators for the growth of women and depict the “awakening process” of women facing different situations to assert themselves, break the shackles and achieve growth and transformation.

These fine works from overseas, developing with exquisitely conceived storylines and exploring the shared emotional language from varied cultural backgrounds, allows the power of humanity to go beyond geographical and cultural barriers with the message that warmth can heal the heart. The fact that these masterpieces have gathered on the stage of Magnolia Awards once again reaffirms the brand influence and international fame of STVF, and reflects its unswerving commitment to setting eyes on the whole world and the real life. In this sense, STVF will push ahead with its role as a platform to provide a stage for exchange and mutual appreciation of masterpieces from all over the world, and to facilitate the collaboration and growth of global TV professionals.

So, which work will take home the trophy for the “Best Foreign TV Series/Miniseries”? Just stay tuned for the Magnolia Awards Ceremony on June 23!