Magnolia Blooms in June of Shanghai, Celebrating the Successful Closing of the Shanghai TV Festival

On the evening of June 12, the Awards Ceremony of the 21st Shanghai TV Festival was held at Shanghai Oriental Art Center. Weng Tiehui, deputy mayor of Shanghai attended the ceremony. All Quiet in Peking was honored the Best TV Series Award, the most focused award. Director Mao Weining won the Best Director Award with the directing of The Ordinary World and Liu Heping, screenwriter of All Quiet in Peking won the Best Screenplay Award. Chen Baoguo and Feng Yuanzheng, two actors in The Old Peasant, were respectively honored the Best Actor in a Leading Role and the Best Actor in a Supporting Role. Zhou Xun and Qin Hailu in Red Sorghum were respectively honored the Best Actress in a Leading Role and the Best Actress in a Supporting Role.

According to the jury led by Yan Jian’gang, vice chairman and secretary-general of the China Television Director Committee: All Quiet in Peking interprets a special period of history with a cold attitude, and creates a unique perseverance on aesthetics under the noisy present situation. Liu Heping, screenwriter of the series, has completed a unique expression of history with stubborn perseverance. When dealing with an extremely difficult subject, Mao Weining, director of The Ordinary World, presents the contemporary value of the original work with a plain and firm attitude. With the span of 60 years in the TV drama, Chen Baoguo has created an unforgettable Chinese old farmer in full tension, presenting difficult fate and vivacious characteristics. With consummate acting skills, Feng Yuanzheng brings the audiences into the complicate world of the character’s inner world. In Red Sorghum, Zhouxun rebuilds the classical figure on screen with her exquisite, accurate and fresh performance and shows her irreplaceable position in the series. Also in Red Sorghum, Qing Hailu well handles her role and figures a characteristic artistic image.

Modern Family of the US was honored the Best Foreign TV Series/Serial. The crew presented their acceptance speech via VCR. This series, from a unique angle of view, describes the daily life and emotional world of three typical American families and has won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series for 5 times continuously. Tannbach from Germany won the award for Best Foreign TV Film/Miniseries. The jury commends that the miniseries as a wonderful, advanced miniseries about the complicated aftermath of war. It is historical, but universal in its examination of the human condition. Well-written, well-directed, well-acted, it’s a deserving winner.

The Best Documentary Series was awarded to The Story in ER from China. This is an outstanding series - deeply moving, vivid and true to life. It explores our common humanity through daily human dramas and expresses the universal themes of love. We also see the professionalism of the hospital doctors and nurses from the patients’ perspective. This powerful and engaging series is a worthy winner. And the Best Documentary was award to Art and Craft from the US. This documentary brilliantly explores a remarkable character, the world’s most prolific art forger who suffers from schizophrenia. Through the man who obsessed with tracking the forger down, it formed a fascinating, life-affirming art detective story, full with great humor and insight. Sensitively filmed and cleverly edited, Art and Craft is an amazing documentary. 

Chinese animation Kung Fu Bunny won the Best Animation Award. It is a highly innovative, entertaining animation that stands out as an exceptional program. The combination of hand-drew animation and digital technique in the short story is very unique and original. And American animation Lost Treasure Hunt won the award for Best Storytelling. This series combine history with hi-tech, modern story-telling very effectively. The action scene is also very impressive.

Among all hot Variety Show competitors, I Am a Singer III fought its way out and got the award for Best Reality Show. And Dictation Assembly of Chinese Characters was honored the Best Variety Program.

The Outstanding Contribution Award went to two veteran artists, Li Xuejian and Ma Shaoye, who respectively present outstanding performance in Chinese series Hi! Old Man and Deng Xiaoping during China’s Historic Transformation. This award is both recognition of their performance and commendation for their outstanding contributions to Chinese TV series.    

With the theme of “The Blossom of the Magnolia”, this year’s award ceremony combines the red carpet with the indoor ceremony. On the red carpet, we saw crews of various TV series to be shown in the second half of the year as well as candidates of the Magnolia Awards. And at the indoor award ceremony, brilliant TV stars and unknown heroes behind the scene gathered, telling touching stories about them and TV and sharing their love and passion for TV with the audience, furthermore, they reviewed the rich fruits of the TV industry at home and abroad in the past year.  

The 21st Magnolia Award Ceremony has become a grand gathering of celebrities inside and outside of the TV industry. Jury members Yan Jian’gang, Richard Bradley, Tim Brooke-Hunt, Song Jia, Guo Jingyu, Lin Lisheng, Wang Wanping and Daniel Pyne took the lead. And besides manly stars including Wang Lei, Zhu Yawen, Peter Ho and Hu Ge, famous directors, including Kong Sheng and Li Xue of All Quiet in Peking and Mao Weining of The Ordinary World, also showed themselves on the red carpet. Representatives of variety shows like The Voice of China, Happy Camp, I Am a Singer and Super Brain also appeared on the red carpet, including the family of Zou Shiming, who will join Dad, Where Are We Going III. However, the most eye-catching scene would be the beautiful actresses, including Zhou Xun, Ma Yili, Yan Ni, Tong Liya, Miao Pu, Huo Siyan and Lou Yixiao, whose charm made the gorgeous red carpet even more dazzling.         

Crews of TV series to be shown in the second half of the year presented a lot of hype on the platform of the red carpet of the Shanghai TV Festival to attract the media and the audience. Megacities do not Believe in Tears, starring Ma Yili and Zhu Yawen, has already been a focus among TV viewers before showing. Good Time, starting Hu Ge, written by Wang Liping, is also highly anticipated for its focus on the love of the youth from a special prospective. As a sequel of The Second Uncle, a series that has achieved unbelievable audience rating, The Second Aunt, has drawn broad attention since the shooting started. Siqin Gaowa and Huang Man, the “mother and daughter on the screen”, will join hands for the third time as “the Chinese model mother and daughter in law” to show us a moving legend of ordinary Chinese women. Modern drama Farewell, My Honey, directed by Wang Xiaoming and starring Huo Siyan and Du Jiang, has also been very popular. Other most anticipated series include Don’t Lie to Love, adapted from a bestselling novel, starring Lou Yixiao and Yang Le, and action idol drama The Four Horsemen, which gathers “pretty young things” of Korea, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Gathering all such new series with shining stars, the festival is the best TV-viewing guide for the audience for the next half of the year.