Hainanese Cinema: From Making a Splash to Making Waves

The 5th Hainan Island International Film Festival (HIIFF) was held in Sanya from the 16th to the 22nd of December. This year's film festival saw the screening of a handful of Hainan-produced films, including 椰林深处 (Women’s Tales) and 南方之南 (The South Of The South). However, this was not the first time that Hainan’s homegrown cinema graced the international stage.

A history of international exposure

In 1964, the Chinese film The Red Detachment of Women won 3rd place in the Bandung Prize at the 3rd Afro-Asian Film Festival (AAFF) and was later translated into other languages for the international community. In recent years, Hainan has continued to capitalize on free trade port policies to attract a large number of film enterprises, leading to even more international exposure for Hainanese cinema as it is elevated from “being seen” to “being recognized.” Hainanese films that have won accolades include

椰林深处(Women’s Tales) won the Grand Prize for International Communication of Chinese Culture at the 19th Chinese American Film Festival;

南方之南 (The South Of The South) won the Bronze Award at the 8th Handle Climate Change Film Festival;

阿霞书记 (A Better World) won the Best Asian Actress Award at the 10th La Femme Independent Film Festival in 2023, and the Best Screenwriter Award at the Golden Orchid Award of the 3rd Asian International Youth Film Festival;

雪豹和她的朋友们 (Snow Leopards and Friends) won the Best Documentary/Science Film at the 36th China Golden Rooster Awards. In addition to winning a number of domestic and international awards, these films have also been screened abroad.

Cultural confidence on full display

Recently, at the 28th Conference Of The Parties held in Dubai, UAE, the documentary film 南方之南(The South Of The South) was shown in the "China Corner" of the conference. The film centers on the legendary story of Zheng Wentai, an outstanding figure in the Chinese overseas Chinese community who helped restore Hainan's tropical rainforest.

The film not only showcases the beautiful scenery of Hainan but allows audiences to connect with entrepreneur Mr. Zheng Wentai's sense responsibility towards family and country and understand the actions and achievements of Hainan and even China as a whole in rainforest and biodiversity conservation.

With their meaningful cultural connotations and values, Hainanese cinema is breaking out beyond China, enabling overseas audiences to know and truly understand the real China through the audiovisual medium. "The film 阿霞书记 (A Better World), gave me a sense of the simplicity and progress of the Chinese people, as well as the effectiveness of China's rural revitalization strategy. The film presented Hainan in a very attractive light, and I’d love to visit the island someday," said Maung Maung Ohn, Myanmar’s Minister of Information, in an interview with the media.

Maintaining the momentum

Making a splash on the international stage is one thing, but how does Hainanese cinema make a lasting impact?

Zhang Huixin, director of the Hainan Film and Television Association, believes that we should first evaluate a particular film’s “roadworthiness.”

According to Zhang, a film should focus on universals and subject matter that resonates. Films with an overemphasis on specific regional or cultural backgrounds tend limit audience scope and are, therefore, not ideal candidates for global dissemination.

The part that film production and promotion play in the process should also not be underestimated. In the past two years, local film and television companies in Hainan have been dipping their toes in film funding and production, rather than simply provide ground services, resulting in steadily improving production standards. Building on this, more focus needs to be given to publicity and promotion strategies and the integration of cultural and tourism resources so that more people see Hainan’s films.

Beyond that, film makers should focus on the continuity and the serialization of their work to maintain brand-building momentum.