Chinese Independent Films In The New Century: Development And Status Quo (2000-2012)

As the Chinese government improves its regulation of the filmmakingindustry in the context of China’s continuous economic and policyreforms since2000, independent filmmaking in China has gradually becomemore visible and recognized, and has been developing very fast in thisincreasingly tolerant environment. With all those recent developments,independent filmmaking in China, which only started to emerge in the1990s, has quickly entered a new era.The first part of this paper discusses how in this specifichistorical background the development of Chinese independent filmsovercomes its endogenous barriers by exploring new topics and picking upnew narrative strategies. After that, the paper examines how the makersof independent films have adopted a new identity of “independentproducers”, and how they strive to broaden the living space ofindependent films by becoming more actively engaged with using variouscommunication platforms. Through analyzing the characteristics andcurrent shape of independent filmmaking by college students, the paperalso tries to investigate changes in the makeup of Chinese independentfilmmakers, especially the rise of college students. To sum it up, thepaper attempts to research the state of art of independent filmmaking inChina from three perspectives: the industry’s endogenous developmentbarriers, its external development space, and changes in the makers ofindependent films.Based on limited reflections on the development of independentfilmmaking in China, this paper recommends that, facing many developmentbarriers, independent films should not be obsessed with communicating negative emotions or telling stories from cynical perspectives. Thepaper also suggests that China’s independent filmmaking industry shouldimprove its system of distribution, circulation and evaluation bystudying successful foreign models. It is also imperative for theChinese government to build a modern film classification system.