Apart from the big screen, the Shanghai International Film Festival is also paying tribute to the smaller screens. Shen Li reports from a sub-forum where short videos are the hot topic.

SHEN LI SHANGHAI "China's short video market saw explosive growth in the past two years, with entertainment and social interaction behind the main functions. And here actors, producers, and industry professionals have gathered to discuss the many possibilities of short films and how quality content keeps the market developing."

Among the guests are Hong Kong actress and director Sandra Ng, and actor Chen Bolin from Taiwan. They're representatives of short video dot-com platforms like Douyin, known internationally as TikTok, and Migu.

Director Mai Zi revealed that short videos are like a short poem or prose, and you can really let your creative energy run free.

MAI ZI DIRECTOR "Short videos are a nice platform for directors to test the waters and get audiences' feedback. For a full-length feature, there's a lot of restrictions, both in terms of funding and in terms of the creative environment. How do you know if a certain creative theme works? The easiest way is to test it with a short video. Also, short films are not quite the same as short videos: they require a relatively complete plot, a beginning and an end, more like a short story."

Guest speakers also noted that new technologies, including 5G, will fuel the short video sector in China, which is a key part of the country's audio and video market.

The total number of short video users in the country surpassed 600 million last year, accounting for just over 78 percent of the country's overall online population. SL, CGTN, SH.