The shooting ceremony of the sci-fi theatrical film Leng Hu 37°, adapted from the 3rd Leng Hu Science Fiction Literature Award's award-winning work Closed Loop, took place during the recent "Qinghai Leng Hu Science Fiction Literature, Film and Television Development Conference (2023)". The film's shooting will kick off in September this year, with Hugo Award winner and well-known sci-fi writer Liu Cixin as its literary advisor.
In recent years, China's sci-fi industry has been thriving. The integration of sci-fi literature with film and television has accelerated, and sci-fi literature is becoming an important source of adapted film and television programs. According to the Report on China's Science Fiction Industry 2023 released this May, 21 such films released in theater in 2022 had grossed a combined 8.24 billion yuan at box office with their main source of contents based on IP adaptation. In this context, how to launch more quality Chinese sci-fi literature and film & television works with profound thoughts and exquisite artistic value has become a hot topic in the industry.
Reaching consensus on industry development
In recent years, domestic sci-fi films have performed noticeably well, and many popular works with good box office have been produced. According to the Report, in terms of sci-fi film and television, the total box office of ten domestic sci-fi films released in 2022 accounted for 67% of the total box office of all sci-fi films released in the whole year, showing China's stronger capacity to produce sci-fi films.
With the theme of "New Opportunities and New Missions for the Development of Science Fiction Literature and Film & Television Works", this conference discussed the creation, adaptation and interdisciplinary integration of sci-fi literary works and film & television works. At the conference, over 100 participants, including well-known sci-fi writers, screenwriters and directors, reached "Leng Hu Consensus". According to the Consensus, "science fiction" is a global topic, and sci-fi literature and film & television creation has been future-oriented with unlimited possibilities. The literary, film & television, and scientific research & popular science industries should carry out more interdisciplinary exchanges, foster cooperation and sharing, and promote integration, in order to promote the creation and production of stellar sci-fi literature and film & television works.
Regarding the integrated development of sci-fi literature and film & television, Zhang Pimin, Chairman of the China Film Foundation, said that starting with the excellent aerospace-themed film The Space Dream, many new types of sci-fi literature and film & television works have emerged. With new opportunities in the new era, new progress made in the field of sci-fi literature and film & television, to better achieve high-quality development and establish China as a cultural force, has become the society's common expectation and consensus.
Supporting creation of sci-fi works
As the creation of sci-fi literatureand film & television works flourishes, how to improve the quality of works becomes the focus in the industry.
Such works shall be created in diverse ways. Rao Shuguang, President of the China Film Critics Association, suggested that creators can create "soft sci-fi" works like Journey to the West. He said that the industry standard set by The Wandering Earth and its sequel is not the norm for current domestic sci-fi film production. Such leading sci-fi films starring A-listers are often difficult to produce thanks to huge investments and long production periods. In contrast, "soft sci-fi" works can be produced at relatively low costs to meet large market demand.
As a matter of fact, in order to create more stellar sci-fi literature and film & television works, China has introduced a slew of measures in recent years to support creation of such works. In the film industry, for example, the Opinions on Promoting the Development of Science Fiction Films jointly issued by the China Film Administration and the China Association for Science and Technology in 2020 stated the need to make them an important growth point and new driver for the high-quality development of the film industry, focus on the creation of high-quality films and promote China's progress from a large country to a powerhouse in terms of films, and put forward ten measures to increase support and guidance for the creation, production, distribution and screening of sci-fi films, and special effects techniques.
The industry in recent years provides strong support for the creation of such works. Yang Feng, Co-founder of the Leng Hu Science Fiction Literature Award and CEO of Chengdu Eight Light Minutes Culture, said that the Leng Hu Science Fiction Literature Award, which was established in 2018, has provided a platform for domestic sci-fi authors. In the past six years, they have trained over 50 sci-fi literary writers, published five collections of Leng Hu sci-fi literature works, and received over 3,350 sci-fi works with more than 62 million Chinese words.
"Each generation of people have their mission and responsibility." As the "Leng Hu Consensus" states, the society should act and map out a better future for China's sci-fi literature and film & television industry.(by Hou Wei)
在近日举行的“青海冷湖（2023）科幻文学影视高质量发展大会”上，由第三届冷湖科幻文学奖获奖作品《闭环》改编的科幻院线电影《冷湖37°》举行了投拍发布仪式。该电影将由“雨果奖”得主、著名科幻文学作家刘慈欣担任文学顾问，于今年9月开拍。
近年来，中国科幻事业蓬勃发展，科幻文学与影视融合加速，科幻文学作品正成为影视改编的重要源头。根据今年5月发布的《2023中国科幻产业报告》（下称《报告》）显示，在科幻影视方面，2022年，国内上映的21部科幻影片总票房为82.4亿元，IP改编成为主要内容来源。在此背景下，如何推出更多思想精深、艺术精湛、制作精良的国产科幻文学、影视作品，成为业界热议的话题。
凝聚发展共识
近年来，中国国产科幻电影表现突出，涌现出多部叫好又叫座的作品。《报告》显示，在科幻影视方面，2022年上映的10部国产科幻电影总票房占全年科幻电影总票房的67%，国内科幻电影生产力进一步提升。
以“冷湖不冷 未来已来——科幻文学影视高质量发展的新机遇新使命”为主题，此次大会探讨科幻文学作品与影视的创作、改编与跨界融合。大会现场，包含知名科幻作家、编剧、导演等在内的100多位参会人员，共同达成一份“冷湖共识”。“冷湖共识”指出，“科幻”是全球性话题，科幻文学、影视创作始终面向未来，具有无限可能。文学界、影视界、科研科普界应该开展更多的跨界交流、加强合作共享、致力贯通融合，推动科幻文学、影视优秀作品创作、生产。
对于科幻文学与影视的融合发展，中国电影基金会理事长张丕民表示，从航天题材优秀电影《飞天》开始，一大批全新类型的科幻特色文学、影视作品相继问世。新时代新机遇下，科幻文学与影视继续攀登高原、不断铸就高峰，更好实现高质量发展，实现文化强国，成为全社会的共同期盼和普遍共识。
扶持科幻创作
科幻文学与影视作品创作繁荣的同时，如何提升作品质量，成为业界关注的焦点。
科幻文学与影视创作应具有多样性。中国电影评论学会会长饶曙光建议，创作者可以创作类似《宇宙探索编辑部》这样的“软科幻”作品。他认为，《流浪地球》系列电影所代表的工业化水准，并不是当前国产科幻电影制作的常态。这种主创阵容豪华的头部科幻电影往往投资成本巨大，制作周期长，因而难度较大。相较而言，“软科幻”作品成本较低，且市场需求也很大。
事实上，为打造更多科幻文学与影视精品，中国近年来出台了一系列措施扶持科幻创作。以电影为例，2020年，中国国家电影局、中国科学技术协会联合印发的《关于促进科幻电影发展的若干意见》提出，将科幻电影打造成为电影高质量发展的重要增长点和新动能，把创作优秀电影作为中心环节，推动中国由电影大国向电影强国迈进，并提出了对科幻电影创作生产、发行放映、特效技术等加强扶持引导的10条政策措施。
近年来，业界正在大力扶持科幻文学与影视创作。冷湖科幻文学奖联合创始人、成都八光分文化首席执行官杨枫表示，2018年设立的冷湖科幻文学奖，为国内科幻作品作者提供了平台。6年来，他们培养了50多位科幻文学作家，出版了5本冷湖科幻文学作品集，共收到3350多篇科幻作品，总字数超6200万字。
“一代人有一代人的使命，一代人有一代人的责任。”正如“冷湖共识”呼吁的那样，社会各界应积极行动起来，用扎实行动共同谱写中国科幻文学与影视事业更加美好的明天。（侯伟）
（文章来源：中国知识产权报 原标题：2022年中国上映的21部科幻影片总票房达82.4亿元——用版权打造中国科幻精品）
（编辑：邵京京 责任编辑：吕可珂 审校：崔静思）
