AI emerges as key focus at int'l film festival in Hainan

China

AI emerges as key focus at int'l film festival in Hainan

2025-12-07 16:45 Last Updated At：12-08 01:07

Artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged as a key focus at the Gold Coconut Main Forum in south China's Hainan Province on Thursday, with insiders discussing the transformative power the technology will have on filmmaking and movie marketing.

The forum is taking place as part of the ongoing 7th Hainan Island International Film Festival (HIIFF) in the island's Sanya City. For the first time, the festival has held a special AI film section, including the showcasing of AI-generated films.

Speakers at the forum agreed that professionals across the film industry must prepare to adapt as AI rapidly becomes a new driving force in the movie business.

"Filmmakers must learn to use AI to push creative boundaries, enhance efficiency, and improve visual expression. AI doesn't just reshape production -- it also streamlines many repetitive and time-consuming tasks in traditional workflows," said Sun Zhonghuai, vice president of Tencent, and Chairman of Tencent Online Video.

"AI makes creativity more accessible, and I think it's important we realize that. It allows not only professionals but also ordinary people to produce what they want to express. Given the pace of technological change, we could see industrial-level AI-generated feature films within three years. For creators, the question isn't whether to embrace AI, but how quickly we act," said film director and screenwriter Dong Runnian.

As AI tools become more integrated into production, the distribution side is also preparing for major change.

"AI will inevitably reshape the entire film industry. Cinemas and every other link in the distribution chain must adapt. By strengthening the cinema's social and emotional value -- something home entertainment can't replace, we can continue attracting younger audiences," said Huang Qunfei, deputy general manager of Huaxia Film Distribution.

The HIIFF, the year's final major film festival, runs in Sanya from December 3 to 9, featuring a series of forums, awards ceremonies, film screenings, and the Chinese premiere of "Avatar: Fire and Ash."

Protesters gather in Berlin against U.S. intervention in Venezuela

More than 1,000 people gathered in Berlin over the weekend to protest against U.S. threats of military intervention in Venezuela and voice support for the Venezuelan government.

The demonstrations, held on Saturday and Sunday in the German capital, drew participants who condemned the U.S. sanctions on Venezuela and the naval deployments in the Caribbean.

Protesters said that the United States, under the pretext of counter-narcotics, deployed several warships in the Caribbean near Venezuela, and such a military threat was aimed at interfering in Venezuela's internal affairs.

"The military threat brings a great danger. The United States and Western countries, including Europe, are targeting at Latin American countries that refuse to yield to U.S. pressure and stick to pursue independent policies. They are trying to interfere in Latin American politics and install governments that are obedient to them," said Diedrich Franck, organizer of the protest.

Some protesters said the United States' open threat of ground operations to topple the Maduro government was aimed at seizing Venezuela's oil resources.

"The United States has long been treating Latin America as its backyard to exploit its raw materials and also the Latin American people. Venezuela is the country with the largest oil reserves in the world. There are very obvious interests for the United States to seize its resources and at the same time control the entire Latin American continent. Therefore any leftist, anti-imperialist government in Latin America is seen as a problem by the United States," said Max, a German scholar of modern history.

Washington has deployed around a dozen warships and 15,000 troops to the Caribbean Sea, which shares a significant amount of coastline with Venezuela. U.S. forces have carried out at least 21 known strikes since Sept. 2 on boats suspected of carrying drugs in the Caribbean and East Pacific, killing at least 83 people.