Film Industry in China

Only one in ten films made in China last year attracted an audience, indicating major problems in the domestic cinema market, says an official in charge of film administration. Zhang Hongsen, deputy director of the film bureau under the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, told the on-going 13th Beijing Student Film Festival that only 90 of a record 260 films had been screened in China's cinemas last year. He blamed the inadequate supply of cinemas and screens, citing SARFT figures that show at the end of last year, China had just 1243, cinema complexes with 2668 screens owned by 36 cinema companies. The bureau was formulating policies to allow more domestic and foreign capital to invest in the building and renovation of cinemas, he said."The bureau was boosting the number of mobile cinemas in rural areas, campuses, factories and mining areas and seeking more film broadcast media, such as the Internet, television and audiovisual products by helping strengthen film makers copyright awareness and fight against piracy."