On the morning of October 14, the 2019 (15th) Sichuan TV Festival & the 1st "Gold Panda" International Communication Awards held a press conference in Chengdu. Inaugurated in 1991, the Sichuan TV Festival has been successfully held for 14 times. It has now developed into an international event for exchange in film&TV culture, followed closely by film&TV institutions all over the world, as well as an important trading platform for international and domestic film and TV programs and equipment. According to the press conference, the 15th Sichuan TV Festival will be held from October 30 to November 1 at the International Convention & Exhibition Center Century City in Chengdu.
Li Zhuo, Deputy Director of the Publicity Department of the CPC Sichuan Provincial Committee, Director of the Sichuan Radio and Television Bureau and Vice Chairman and Secretary-General of the Organizing Committee of the Sichuan TV Festival, introduced what preparations had been made for the 15th Sichuan TV Festival and the first "Gold Panda" International Communication Awards at the beginning of the press conference. Wu Baoan, Director and Spokesman of the General Office of the National Radio and Television Administration and Vice Chairman of the Organizing Committee of the Sichuan TV Festival, Liu Quansheng, Deputy Secretary-General of the People's Government of Sichuan Province and Vice Chairman of the Organizing Committee of the Sichuan TV Festival, and Liu Cheng'an, President of the Sichuan Radio and Television and Vice Chairman and Deputy Secretary-General of the Organizing Committee of the Sichuan TV Festival, took questions from reporters.
Liu Cheng'an said that like others, he was also looking forward to the "Gold Panda" International Communication Awards. According to him, besides being the real highlight of the 15th Sichuan TV Festival and a milestone event in the history of the festival, the awards would review and announce a bunch of excellent film and television works and showcase the latest achievements made under the "China Story International Communication" initiative. The "Gold Panda" International Communication Awards is the only international award for film and television works set up by the central government after the 18th CPC National Congress. With "China Story International Communication" as the theme, they come in four categories — documentary, movie, TV drama and new media — and include the special jury award, covering film and television works as well as new media works concerning China, produced by Chinese and overseas media organizations since the 18th CPC National Congress, that have promoted China’s image globally after being screened overseas. From this year on, the "Gold Panda" International Communication Awards will be held synchronically with the Sichuan TV Festival. This indicates that the central government fully recognizes the significance of the Sichuan TV Festival as a “prestigious name”.
The awards were approved by the central government for the following main reasons. First, they can strengthen the cultural base for building a community of shared future for mankind, provide a broad platform to show and spread the beauty of traditional Chinese culture and promote the communication and dialogue as well as harmonious consistence between different cultures. Second, they can advance the capacity building of international communication and promote more film and television works that reveal the social and economic development of China and carry forward the traditional Chinese culture globally, tell China stories, make the Chinese voice heard and show the image of China. Third, they can fill in the gap in international communication awards in China. Present national film and television awards approved by the central government lack awards for international communication. The "Gold Panda" International Communication Awards will fill in this gap.
The international awards are named "Gold Panda" mainly because of two factors. First of all, the giant panda is highly famous, reputable and recognizable in the international community. It is not only a name card of Sichuan, but also the symbol of China. It is an important vehicle for China's great power diplomacy. Second, international film and television awards usually contain the word "gold" in their titles, such as Oscar's Golden Statuettes, the Golden Palm of Cannes Film Festival and the Golden Bear of Berlin International Film Festival. Therefore, they are titled "Gold Panda" International Communication Awards to encompass the image of the giant panda and conform to international awards. They have three distinction features. First, authoritativeness. They are countersigned and approved by relevant national ministry and relevant commissions, and guided by the National Radio and Television Administration and China Media Group. Second, comprehensiveness. They cover the four major categories of documentary, movie, TV drama and new media, including all types of films and TV programs. Third, uniqueness. Entries must have Chinese themes and have been broadcast or screened overseas. They must have the distinct attribute of “for international communication”.
There are three important reasons why the "Gold Panda" International Communication Awards are inaugurated in Sichuan. First, as the hometown of giant pandas, Sichuan plays an irreplaceable role in communicating panda culture to the world and can integrate the promotion of Chinese traditional culture with giant pandas as the vehicle. Second, the CPC Sichuan Provincial Committee and the provincial government work hard and attach great importance, with decisions and deployments from Secretary Peng Qinghua and Governor Yin Li and substantial contribution from Standing Committee member Gan Lin and Vice Governor Yang Xingping. Third, we make innovations in international communication and foreign publicity and meticulously design and formulate the selection plan so that we are approved in a situation where the central government strictly controls awards.
Liu Cheng'an provided the following details when answering reporters' questions about other activities and highlights of the TV Festival.
There are four major characters, which can be summarized as follows: professional forums, convergence of new technologies, large-scale exhibition, and high-standard ceremonies.
First, professional forums will be held intensively with participation of big names, will keep up with the trend of trans-formative and integrative development, and will lead the progress of the film and television industry. This year’s TV Festival includes one main forum and four professional forums. As the main forum, the Summit Forum on “Convergence for Big Picture ? Integration for the Future” fully considers the current hot topics of integrative development of the media, invites relevant leaders and influencers in the industry to deliver keynote speeches, and explores in depth the solutions to promoting the integrative and trans-formative development of traditional media. In addition, under the guidance of relevant departments of the National Radio and Television Administration, we develop the four major professional forums respectively on documentaries, TV dramas, new technologies and overseas communication, giving effective support to the main forum.
Second, technologies drive the transformation of the radio and television industry while innovative high technologies bring the audience the most fashionable and impressive experience. During the TV Festival, we will exhibit 4KUHD video "Tianfu Sichuan", 8K UHD documentary "Overlooking the Sky Lake in Minshan", VR3D documentary "Stories Between Giant Pandas and Me", 5G-based remote video-audio production system, and highly intelligent studio robots, to let the audience intimately experience world-leading new audio and visual technologies.
Third, large-scale exhibition and screening activities benefit the people and meet their cultural needs. Seizing the opportunity of the "Gold Panda" International Communication Awards, the TV Festival will broadcast the nominated works through platforms including cinemas, universities, libraries, exhibition halls, TV channels and new media, so as to provide an excellent cultural feast for the people. We plan to launch the exhibition and screening activities at a ceremony to be held in Sichuan University on October 21. We invite journalists and reporters to attend and cover the event.
Fourth, a grand award ceremony goes with glorious moments. The awarding ceremony of the "Gold Panda" International Communication Awards attracts much attention and is worth expecting. We will have a grand gala and a red-carpet ceremony in Chengdu City Music Hall. Famous performing artist Chen Baoguo, renowned singer Liao Changyong and many other stars will come to Chengdu. Well-known actor Liu Jing and CCTV anchor Li Sisi will host the gala, which is of great significance to improving the influence, popularity and reputation of Sichuan, especially Chengdu.
Liu Cheng'an finally stressed that the TV Festival will adhere to the principle of "focusing on innovation" and follow the philosophy of "openness, professionalism, interactivity, industry, internationalism and timeliness" to provide a wonderful cultural feast for professionals and the general public.
