Description
The Chinese film industry is a complex and dynamic landscape that has undergonesignificant transformations in recent years, with the emergence of commercial cinema playing a crucial role in shaping its development. As China continues to navigate its post-socialist vision, it is essential to consider the socio-historical and industrial contexts that the rise of Beijing Culture film company provides a compelling case study to explore the Chinese film production. The transition of Beijing Culture to a film company in 2013 can be regarded as a strategic move that allowed the company to capitalize on emerging opportunities amidst a rupturing transition in the film industry. Since then, the company has produced and invested a portfolio of films that have achieved commercial and critical acclaim, establishing itself as a key player in the contemporary Chinese film industry.
Thus, this study employs Beijing Culture as a representative case study to indicate the
changing commercial filmmaking in China. Of my particular interest are the ways in which film producers face and respond to a challenging dilemma of commercial pressures, alongside political and artistic considerations in their efforts to create successful commercial films. In this regard, studying Beijing Culture's film projects offers an in-depth knowledge of the negotiation and decision-making processes of creative professionals engaged in contemporary Chinese commercial film productions.
The study begins by examining film history and production in socio-historical and industrial contexts since 2013, highlighting the key developments in the contemporary Chinese film industry. In the year 2013, the film market achieved significant growth driven by industry- wide commercial transformation, foreign investments, corporate transformations, and the promotion of online marketing strategies, laying a solid foundation for its continuous expansion. The importance of commercial cinema is underscored as a crucial element in shaping the industry's growth, providing a lens through which to view the connections between the government, business, text, and filmmaker in China's post-socialist setting.
This dissertation is centered around the role of the film producer in the decision-making structure between filmmakers and institutional forces such as investors and state authority in China's post-socialist setting. To explore this, the research takes an ethnographic approach, with a focus on four distinctive films produced or invested by Beijing Culture, including Breakup Buddies (2014), Youth (2017), Wolf Warrior 2 (2017), and My People, My Homeland (2020) and their production processes. The embedded case studies investigate the crucial role of the producer in the making of these films and the decision-making structure that shapes the film outputs. The aim is to understand what determines the production of commercial films and how producers deal with the constraints and intersections between art, commerce, and government agencies in the production process. The study outlines the possibilities and limitations of developing film production in
contemporary commercial cinema.
In addition to its empirical contribution, this study aims to contribute to theoretical debates on the production culture of the post-socialist Chinese film industry. The study intends to use the case of Beijing Culture as an exemplar to conceptualize the production culture of the post-socialist Chinese film industry, highlighting the interplay between art, politics, and business in the production of commercial cinema. In essence, this study offers a comprehensive insight into the world of contemporary Chinese film production, particularly focusing on the "audience-making" framework and its relationship with the negotiated production culture. Through an examination of these factors, the research enhances our understanding of the evolving dynamics of filmmaking in China. The findings also have practical implications for industry stakeholders, including producers, directors, and policymakers, pointing to ways they can adjust to shifting market conditions and rethink their strategies in response to changing industry dynamics.
| Period | 26 Feb 2025 → 3 Dec 2025 |
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| Examinee | Zhang |
| Examination held at |
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| Degree of Recognition | International |