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The 31st Shanghai Television Festival "Magnolia Awards" Ceremony took place on June 26, 2026, at the Lingang Center in Shanghai. As one of the most prestigious and authoritative television honors in Asia, the Magnolia Awards celebrate exceptional achievements in TV broadcasting, acting, directing, and screenwriting.The 2026 edition evaluated outstanding Chinese dramas, variety shows, and international programs. The jury panel was highly globalized, featuring 15 industry professionals from seven countries, including Ireland, Germany, France, Malaysia, Singapore, Italy, and China.

In 1985, Wham! were the first Western pop group to perform in communist China. George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley’s two concerts in Beijing and Guangzhou introduced live Western pop to Chinese audiences and marked a turning point for the band. For Wham!, the tour was more than music; it was a bold move to capture American attention and launch them into global superstardom, and it worked.

How to craft "Xu Ke's Cottage" and "Hu-style Aesthetics"? How to create highlight moments that strike both laughter and tears? Let’s walk into the inspirational haven beyond the camera with the behind-the-scenes creators !

Three attempts at reconnecting with often traumatic pasts, all leading to flights from home and the need for personal reinvention. A documentary triptych of many layers and emotions, whose parts connect with each other in unexpected ways.

As the Year of Gengzi arrives, drastic changes unfold one after another...Within the legacy of the Manchu banners, sheltered by their ancestors, they indulge day after day in bygone glories, helpless and resigned.At the foot of the imperial city, swept along in the torrent of history, they follow hesitantly, struggling to make choices that shape their lives.They embody the blood and tears of a nation’s past; they are the common folk immortalized in the writings of later generations.

Qin, Sonya and Muna are in love with an AI. Their conversations with chatbots allow them to assert themselves and gain confidence in a Chinese society where social pressure on marriage and success is still omnipresent.

Adapted from the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name by Herman Wouk, The Caine Mutiny was brought to the stage of the Beijing People's Art Theatre in 1988, translated by Ying Ruocheng and directed by Charlton Heston. A play sustained entirely by dialogue, it is hailed as a model of "drama defined by speech". Powerful actors including Feng Yuanzheng, Wu Gang, Wang Gang and Wang Lei portray the heated verbal battles of the court-martial aboard the USS Caine. The film adaptation leverages the shift from stage space to cinematic perspective to present an intense confrontation waged with language as its weapon. Amid the trial, the complexity of human nature and the limits of truth are gradually laid bare, with a distinctive dramatic tension bursting forth beyond the stage.

A group of young people born in or after 1995 from Hangzhou set out on a quest for a cherished item they lost in their childhood, a journey that unexpectedly changed their lives in the process.

Movie recap version of the 2024 documentary series on panda.

Zhang Juzheng, a play written by Xiong Zhaozheng, winner of the Mao Dun Literature Prize, and co-directed by Feng Yuanzheng and Yan Rui, adopts an alternating dual narrative of reality and unreality to depict the inner journey of Zhang Juzheng, grand secretary of the Ming Dynasty, during his reforms. From the mortal world to the wider realm, from the rivers and lakes to the imperial court, dramatic conflict runs throughout the work, which, amid echoes of history, inquires into the fate and aspirations of the reformer.On stage, three dragon thrones of different sizes and eight red pillars form a freehand stage design. The cinematic theatre production uses distinctive narrative shots to capture the cast’s delicate and precise performances, fully amplifying the stage audio-visual effects and creating a beauty of oriental artistic conception.

Through the six major categories of Chinese tea, the film traces the historical origins of famous tea-producing regions and explores the lives of generations who have lived with and for tea. It celebrates craftsmanship, explores lesser-known tea-making techniques, and honors the wisdom, dedication, and philosophy of Chinese tea artisans — revealing a deep respect for nature and an unwavering commitment to cultural heritage.

A Hi8 video recording of a journey through Mongolia and China as part of the author’s own photographic project, “What Remains”.

This film selects intangible cultural heritage items such as porcelain carving, colored glaze (glass art), and Lu-style interior painting (inside-bottle painting), telling the stories of their origins, development, inheritance, and innovation, as well as the heartwarming stories behind the inheritors.

A major documentary paying tribute to the centenary of Chinese animation, the film presents, for the first time on the big screen, a panoramic view of the tumultuous and remarkable development of Chinese animation over the past century, through detailed historical materials, vivid narratives, and profound reflections. It takes audiences on a journey through time, reliving the childhood memories of several generations, and witnessing the extraordinary path of Chinese animation from its inception to its rise, from exploration to its glory.

Stage art film Dancing to the Pinnacle is an important milestone in the history of Beijing Dance Academy and the development of dance education in China. Consisting of eleven chapters — Seedlings, The Earth, Highlights, Elegance & Talent, Perspectives, Blooming, Focus, Champions, Fulcrums, Mother, and Toward Greatness — it brings together first‑rate creative and performing talents from various dance genres and academic disciplines across the country.In an innovative way, it presents the spirit and brilliant performances of diverse dance styles including classical Chinese dance, Chinese folk dance, ballet, contemporary dance, ballroom dance, and musical theatre, showcasing the excellence of this prestigious dance institution and the charm of the art of dance.

Taking Beijing Subway's "Time Train" as the main narrative thread, and centering on subway enthusiasts, designers, constructors and operators, the story recounts the construction of China's first subway line, the harmonious coexistence between Beijing Subway and cultural relics, as well as the various changes in subway tickets, carriages and construction brought by the passing of time as trains travel back and forth.

The coral in the mediterranean form unique underwater habitats, usually between 30–150m deep. These ecosystems support more than 1,800 species but have been decimated by destructive bottom trawling fishing, which can flatten centuries-old coral structures in minutes. RAZOR’s Russell Beard meets Anastasia Miliou and her team of scientists at the Archipelagos Institute of Marine Conservation. They have been mapping coral to provide the hard scientific evidence needed to secure their long-term protection. Their work has led to the recent creation of a protected no-trawl zone around the Fourni Islands. Over the years the organization has developed into one of the Mediterranean's most respected marine research and conservation institutes, attracting a new generation of scientists tooling up for a future of fighting the colossal challenges facing our seas. Over 26 years, they have hosted over 27,000 young people from 43 countries.

Produced and broadcast by China Media Group, the series invites French director Jacques Malaterre to film at a boarding school in Nyingchi City in Xizang. It authentically depicts how the boarding school positively impacts students’ development. Through a foreign director’s perspective, it reflects local parents’ recognition of the boarding school model and demonstrates the necessity of such education in Xizang, achieving wide influence.

Returning home, a queer filmmaker finds their mother awakened to a new understanding beyond patriarchy, as the two reconcile amidst a past shaped by unspoken pain.

Where Comes Mulan follows artist and filmmaker Tianyi Zheng as she returns to her ancestral village in Huangpi, Wuhan, where the legendary figure of Mulan is said to have originated. Beginning with intimate conversations with relatives and local residents, the film traces how Mulan has been remembered or forgotten in everyday life, only to collide with how local authorities have transformed her image into a powerful tourism brand. Through walks across tourist sites and abandoned ruins, Zheng questions the gap between lived memory and official narrative.

Each year, over 10 million students enter Chinese universities. Their first lesson is two weeks of mandatory military training, from combat drills to patriotic education. With youthful zeal, under state direction, they begin learning to become warriors, marking their first political baptism into adulthood.

This short documentary flim was shooted in January 2026. It showcases the latest experiences in Xizang, China, of nine youth from six countries across four continents: Nepal, the United States, Russia, Italy, Morocco, and Cambodia. The film highlights the nine young people's visits to cultural heritage preservation sites like the Potala Palace and Jokhang Temple, the development of photovoltaic power stations and green new energy, modern residential architecture and agriculture, ecological conservation efforts for snow-capped mountains, glaciers, and plateau lakes, high-speed rail and expressways, the transmission of intangible cultural heritage, and the ordinary yet fulfilling modern lives of everyday people.

After studying abroad in Cape Town, a young filmmaker returns to Chongqing, navigating the complexity of modern life in China and fragile family ties, where grief, memory, and longing surface amid distance, silence, and change.

In Comedy Family Style, stand-up comic Helen brings her son to Beijing to connect with their roots. He wants Wi-Fi and boba—she wants gratitude. Between culture clashes and punchlines, they confront the gap between love and perception, asking: How do we know we matter to the people we love.

Notes Unheard follows a young Chinese violist studying in the UK while remaining closely connected to his father in China. Through calls, rehearsals, visits, and repeated conversations, subtle shifts gradually emerge within their relationship.

Produced and broadcast by China Media Group, this series adopts an international perspective to showcase the dramatic changes in the lives of ordinary Tibetan families across education, economy, healthcare, and cultural heritage. It vividly presents the transformations of Xizang Autonomous Region over 60 years, particularly since the 18th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, countering external false narratives. The series has received awards from the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union.

Fragmented coastal scenes scattered across the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area: a security guard on duty at a Shenzhen beach, a woman posing for bridal photos along the West Kowloon Waterfront Promenade, children playing in the shallows beneath a bridge, the transparent glass interior of the M+ Museum, the rooftop of Sky100, the upper reaches of the Pearl River, and the waterfront of Victoria Harbour in Hong Kong, among others. Most of these filming locations were chosen from lists of photogenic sites popular on Xiaohongshu (RedNotes), i.e. places that have become “internet-famous” through a single viral post, attracting waves of photographers and tourists. Yet the artist deliberately diverges from these original images, turning away from the sharply defined details and edges of these celebrated sites. Instead, the camera retreats into marginalized zones at the limits of visibility, areas suffused with blinding halos of light.

Echoes Between Seeing is an ongoing audiovisual experiment which combines 16mm travel footage shot in Spain and China with AI image-to-image processes, creating landscapes where analogue film grain meets fluid, generated forms. The original footage is continuously reprocessed, generating imagery that exists between documentation and hallucination.

The result of years of fieldwork and research, "The Daoxian Incident" examines the causes of armed struggle and mass killings in Dao County, Hunan, at the height of the Cultural Revolution. Between August 13 and October 17, 1967, 7,696 people were killed and 1,397 were forced to commit suicide. An additional 2,146 were permanently injured or disabled. Most of the victims were labeled “class enemies” and belonged to the so-called “Five Black Categories,” while at least 14,000 people participated in the killings. Through interviews with survivors, participants, and family members, this documentary reconstructs the complex sequence of political campaigns that culminated in one of the bloodiest episodes in the PRC's history.

The film explores an imposing building on the outskirts of Shenzhen, China. A pioneering architectural vision of its time that continues to resonate decades later.

After marrying her wife in Switzerland, Chinese filmmaker Yue returns home to confront the quiet fractures between her and her mother. Across generations, two women begin to speak—about marriage, gender, and everything they’ve kept silent.

After failing to find her place in the city, Jialing returns to her borderland hometown and takes up work again in a rundown nightclub. As she tries to rebuild her life, her estranged father reappears, hoping to reconnect before the holidays.

A young Chinese photographer and her partner VT live through the wildest year of their lives, moving between the shadows of the pandemic and trancelike underground parties, chasing a form of freedom that feels almost out of reach. But idealism soon collides with reality. Under a cascade of violence, her former life collapses completely. To escape a world where justice is unattainable, the two make a difficult and desperate decision. Their route stretches from Asia to South America and then northward—through Thailand, Dubai, Ecuador, and Colombia, and across the Darién Gap. In Mexico, they ride 8,500 kilometers on motorcycles, confronting endless checkpoints, corrupt police, and armed groups. On May 5, 2024, they finally cross the border—an arduously won moment of “temporary success,” followed immediately by forced return. Everything resets to zero.