Magnolia TV Forum | The Magnolia Awards Inspire TV Professionals to Move Forward through Inheritance and Innovation

On the morning of June 23, the “Thirty & Thriving: Screen Arts’ New Horizon - Opening Forum of the 30th STVF” was held at the central hall of the Shanghai Exhibition Center. As a wind vane of China’s television industry, this year’s festival brought together nearly a thousand works from 43 countries and regions around the world. Centered on the Magnolia Awards selection, the festival highlights its authoritative value as an industry benchmark. At the opening forum, past Magnolia Award winners, jury representatives, and industry guests gathered to discuss inheritance and innovation, injecting new momentum into the industry and writing a new chapter in the Chinese television industry’s journey toward new heights.

Empowering Creators and Capturing the Spirit of the Times

Yan Jiangang, Vice Chairman and Secretary-General of the China Television Director Committee of China Federation of Radio and Television Associations and jury president for two editions of the Magnolia Awards TV drama section (21st and 29th editions), believes television art serves as a faithful chronicler of our era, a vivid communicator of national culture, a vital builder of spiritual homes. “The vitality of television art ultimately lies in unceasing creation,” he emphasizes. “We need more works with emotional resonance, intellectual depth, and impactful expression.”

“The Magnolia Awards are not just honors – it’s an inspiration for creators to ‘strive for excellence,’” says renowned screenwriter Gao Mantang, who chaired the 16th edition’s jury for TV drama. He particularly applauds the Best Original Screenplay category as “embracing the value of writing.” To Gao, screenwriters are the primary creative force - quality content begins with quality writing. This award category reaffirms the Magnolias’ “content-first” philosophy.

Outstanding productions need the platform, encouragement, and reach that STVF and the Magnolia Awards provide. Hou Hongliang, Vice Chairman of the China TV Artists Association and Chairman of Daylight Entertainment, reflects: “The recognition from the Magnolia Awards has profoundly shown me that while times change, platforms evolve, and audiences transform, creators must remain anchored in three essentials: penetrating insight into life, deep compassion for humanity, and reverence for artistic craft. Only through this steadfast commitment can works transcend time and resonate across generations.”

“From being a nominee to a winner, and then to serving as the jury president, my bond with the Magnolia Awards has spanned 12 years. This stage has witnessed the growth of Chinese television and, even more so, the creators’ unwavering pursuit of genuine narrative and craftsmanship,” said Chen Baoguo, Jury President for the 30th Magnolia TV Awards, as he fondly reflected on his deep connection with the Magnolia Awards. He particularly emphasized: “What the Magnolia Awards value most is not fame, but sincerity in creation - sincerity toward the characters, sincerity toward the times, and sincerity toward the audience.”

Expanding Global Vision, and Shining on the World Stage

From the perspective of Luo Yi, Deputy Director of the Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture and Tourism and Deputy Director of the Shanghai Municipal Administration of Radio and Television, as well as a First-Level Inspector, the Magnolia Awards have now become Shanghai’s ambassador to the world. This year, STVF is “committed to building a more efficient and in-depth international industry hub,” establishing its first international zone to further create a platform for centralized exhibitions and cross-border collaboration, and to “make Shanghai a hub for international film and television, a pivotal center for international communication, and a frontline for international cooperation.”

Vikram Channa, Vice President and Editor-in-Chief for Greater China and Southeast Asia of Warner Bros. Discovery, as well as Jury President for the Documentary section of the 29th and 30th Shanghai TV Festival Magnolia Awards, places great emphasis on the international outreach of the Magnolia Awards. He believes that documentaries, which “use a universal language, emotions, and visuals to tell stories,” “can transcend national and cultural boundaries.” Leveraging the Magnolia Awards, originally niche documentaries can reach a global audience, playing a significant role in the development of the genre.

Renowned director Mao Weining, winner of the Best Director award at the 21st STVF Magnolia Awards and Jury President of the TV Drama section at the 23rd STVF Magnolia Awards, has a direct and profound understanding of the role of STVF and the Magnolia Awards. “For me, just a starting-out in the television industry back then, STVF was a window - I stood on tiptoe, eager to see the world outside,” Mao Weining recalled emotionally. “My destiny has since been inextricably linked to STVF and the Magnolias Awards.”

From its inception, the Magnolia Awards have been positioned as an international television accolade. Li Yuesen, former executive editor-in-chief of China Television and a judge for the Chinese TV Drama section at the 29th STVF Magnolia Awards, has observed the festival’s deepening internationalization. This is reflected in “the annual increase in participating countries and overseas submissions, as well as the evolution of co-production projects from simple cooperation to integrated industrial system alignment, marking progressively deeper collaboration.”

Confronting Industry Transformation, Reshaping Momentum through Innovation

Jiang Wenbo, member of the editorial board of China Media Group, emphasized that excellent content requires equally outstanding presentation. He advocated seizing the developmental opportunities presented by ultra-high-definition and artificial intelligence to build an independent, controllable ultra-HD television production and broadcasting system. This would foster new qualitative productive forces in the media sector, further advance the all-media dissemination of ultra-HD television, and promote high-quality development in audiovisual media and industries.

Currently, the micro-drama market has emerged as a dark horse, experiencing explosive growth and attracting significant industry attention. Challenges and opportunities coexist. In the view of Sun Zhonghuai, Vice President of Tencent and Chairman of WeTV, vertical short dramas have become a fiercely competitive “red ocean”. However, he believes the market will eventually reach an inflection point, shifting from a traffic-driven model to competition based on quality and differentiation. “As a long-form video platform, our approach to vertical dramas is to adhere to an artistic strategy and cultivate the market for the long term,” he stated.

As the industry evolves with ever-emerging new content forms, maintaining focus on “content” and producing high-quality works unremittingly remains essential for the steady progress of the industry. Hou Xiaonan, CEO and President of China Literature, noted that regardless of market fluctuations, audience demand for premium content endures. “The profound resonance and emotional connection forged by great storytelling have always been the vitality of quality content,” he said.

Standing at the milestone of “Thirty & Thriving”, the Magnolia Awards’ inclusivity and forward-looking vision have become increasingly prominent. As Song Jiongming, Deputy Party Secretary, Deputy Director, and President of Shanghai Media Group, highlighted in his speech: “Amid the transformative tides of the audiovisual era, we must not only unleash the traffic potential of premium content but also ensure vibrant traffic translates into enduring brand value - creating a symphony where quality content meets meaningful reach.”