2019-06-12

Flourishing Creation, Expecting TV People to Reach New Peaks Together-- The Juries of Magnolia Award

On the morning of June 12, the press conference for the juries of the 25th Shanghai Television Festival Magnolia Award was held. All the juries in the three categories of TV drama, documentary and animation appeared in the conference. Gao Xixi, chairman of the jury, pointed out that he was glad to see so many new and excellent works shortlisted in this year\'s Magnolia Award. He and the juries will adhere to the consistent objective and fair principle of the Magnolia Award, use the fairest criteria to find the best television works, and strive to recommend excellent works to the industry insiders and the general audiences who pay attention to the development of Chinese television.

Times Leads TV People to a New Creation Peak

This year\'s Magnolia Awards have attracted nearly 1,000 entries from 52 countries and regions, among which 62 were short-listed, including 17 Chinese TV dramas and 10 overseas TV dramas. For short-listed Chinese TV dramas, Gao Xixi said, these works "all reflect audience\'s spiritual desire for dream, beauty and struggle without exception, show the mutual reflection and value pursuit of personal destiny and the trend of the times, the goodness of human nature, and have unique aesthetic value of the times." Among them, there are not only works such as LIKE A FLOWING RIVER reflecting the growth of ordinary people in the reform and opening up, but also works like ALL IS WELL rooted in contemporary family life, showing the rich and colorful appearance of the current TV series development. He feels that the important trend of the shortlisted works is "connecting the past with the future", "the era is leading the television people to a new peak of creation", and the prospect of Chinese TV drama is even brighter.

Scene of press conference for the juries of the 25th Shanghai Television Festival Magnolia Award

When it comes to the selection criteria, Chen Tong, writer and screenwriter, said that the jury will definitely "maintain fairness and justice." Actor Huang Zhizhong said: "Magnolia is a benchmark in the industry. I have harvested honor here and have great responsibilities as a jury this year. I am confident to do my job well." He stressed that objectivity and fairness are the principles of the juries, but when he meets a favorite work, he "may argue with the juries" and discuss it with them more, and the juries will ultimately vote for the results. Zack Stentz, jury of overseas TV dramas, senior screenwriter and producer, said that he valued the emotional connection of the works and wanted to impress his heart, "Want to focus on the drama and eager to know the content of the next episode". Portuguese director and producer Leonel Vieira said he would look for the most touching content in the shortlisted works as an ordinary audience.

The juries also discussed the topic of training new people. If Chinese TV plays want to produce more excellent works, the foundation is the cultivation of new people at present. Director Zhang Yongxin said that there are many opportunities in the film and television industry and many films and television works are produced. There is no shortage of opportunities for newcomers, but the key lies in "cherishing the opportunities seized and giving full play to them". Actor Ma Yili believes that the industry is really booming. Although she cannot train new people herself for the time being, if she meets talented young people at work, she is also very happy to discover the new talents.

Juries of the 25th Shanghai TV Festival Magnolia Award TV Drama

Stories and emotions are the core to impress the audience

At the conference, Mark Edwards, chairman of the Magnolia Award Documentary Jury, talked about his impressions of watching the shortlisted works recently: "This batch of works are diverse, and documentaries of any type are deeply exploring the real situation in life, which we are very eager to see in documentaries. Some of the stories are very simple, but they inspire us to think deeply about the world from the perspective of documentaries." He thinks that the 10 documentary films shortlisted this time are all surprising. Judge Fu Hongxing pointed out that he would especially observe whether the shortlisted works have aesthetic innovation and value, as well as concern for reality. He also suggested young people to watch more documentaries. "Documentaries can enrich people\'s emotions and experience the life course of different people. Secondly, documentaries are also an important window to open the world." Ryota Kotani, jury from Japan, said that documentary creation has an important task, that is, to impress viewers by passing on stories they might not have known. Regarding the development of Chinese documentaries, Ryota Kotani said: "China\'s market is developing very fast, and I expect more documentary talents."

Scene of press conference for the juries for documentary and animation of the 25th Shanghai Television Festival Magnolia Award

Max Howard, chairman of the jury for animation of the 25th Shanghai Television Festival Magnolia Award, was delighted to see the growth of China\'s animation market. For him, the most important thing about animation is story, "telling stories is very important and is the foundation of good works. Animation is a special form of art, through which you can create any character and make it go through a magical journey in a wonderful world." Jury Shuzo John Shiota agreed with this: "Animation is creating the world, which is very special. Creators need to start from scratch, frame by frame, making the world in the film." Jury Liu Kuo said that animation has great charm and emotions can break through the age. However, in China, many viewers may still look at animation with a younger age. He thinks that this phenomenon will gradually improve. "Now, it is a rigid need for post-90s and post-00s in their life. I believe that when they become mainstream viewers, our animation will usher in more colorful development."

Juries for documentary and animation of the 25th Shanghai Television Festival Magnolia Award