Grand Ceremony Opens Festival Showcase for China\'s TV Industry Talent

The curtain will open tonight on the 18th Shanghai Television Festival with a grand ceremony at Shanghai Culture Square featuring performances by China\'s Got Talent winners and famous singer Fei Yu-ching.

This year\'s TV festival, which runs until Friday, will include the Magnolia Awards for international television productions, the international film and TV market, Asian Animation Pitch and Catch and the Magnolia TV forum.

This year\'s Magnolia Awards for the first time will include a special Artistic Contribution award for creative domestic TV drama. The British period drama Downton Abbey will  be awarded the golden prize for an overseas TV series.

The international film and TV market has attracted more than 300 major TV production companies from over 30 countries and regions, such as China Central Television, Warner Bros. Television and Disney Channel.

More than 200 original animation entries will vie for the most creative project award at the Asian Animation Pitch and Catch. The winners will be displayed and promoted at the MIP Junior, an international showcase for children\'s and youth programs at Cannes, to find possible buyers and investors.

Industry insiders and TV experts will be invited to the Magnolia Forum to discuss the evolution of transmission in the omnimedia age against the background of new developments in TV series and the Olympics.

They will explore the possibilities in cross-border integration of the content industry and new strategies for traditional media to improve core competitiveness.

The festival will host special activities such as the "Chinese-language TV Series Screenplay Promoting Conference" and  the "Global International Advertising Show."

Each night during the festival, local TV fans will be able to feast on acclaimed TV films, documentaries and animations to be featured on local TV channels. The productions to be aired include British TV series Sherlock, Japanese TV film Father of the Bride and the BBC\'s nature documentary series Frozen Planet.