China Is Film Superpower

For big ticket sales, filmmakers aim for the world’s biggest markets. With China slated to become the world’s top movie market by 2020, more filmmakers will be targeting Chinese audiences, which currently show show a preference for special effects and strong characterization, reports Malcolm Moore for the Telegraph. In China, censors get a first look at films, foreign and domestic. Those with sexual themes, stereotyped evil Chinese characters or sensitive political topics like Taiwan are banned – and directors sometimes make edits for Chinese audiences. Films with historical and science-fiction themes are often deemed as safe from censorship. “So far the market is being driven by foreign films,” Moore writes. “Last year, the Chinese government increased the number of imported movies permitted in Chinese cinemas from 20 a year to 34.” Such strict limits can add to censors’ challenges by transforming foreign-film screenings into major cultural events, attended and analyzed by China’s millions of moviegoers. – YaleGlobal