Opinion: How can Chinese movies and TV dramas go abroad?

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The 15th China International Film and TV Program Exhibition is being held in Beijing from May 17 to 19. With the theme “New Era, New Accomplishments, New Chapter,” this year’s expo has attracted over 300 international exhibitors from more than 50 countries and regions, through which, it also demonstrates that China’s cultural confidence is having more and more influence in the world.

With the dramatic increase in the number and quality of Chinese films and television dramas, a large number of Chinese films and television dramas with distinctive themes, prominent features, and excellent production have attracted worldwide attention, and have become the most intuitive and convenient window for audiences at home and abroad to understand contemporary China.

The China Media Group exhibition booth at the 15th China International Film and TV Program Exhibition. /CCTV Photo.

In 2011, a Chinese TV drama “A Beautiful Daughter-in-Law Era” landed on the silver screen in Tanzania, an East African country, and quickly became a hot topic of conversation. Subsequently, this TV series, translated by China Radio International's Swahili-speaking staff, swept across East Africa and was repeatedly replayed. The name of the heroine, Doudou (played by famous Chinese actress Hai Qing), who spoke Swahili in the translated version, was even used by locals to refer to Chinese women that they were not familiar with.

Two years later, the drama’s popularity had not diminished. In 2013, when Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Tanzania and delivered a speech, he referred to the play, and those present immediately interacted with hearty laughter and warm applause.

A poster of the TV drama “A Beautiful Daughter-in-Law Era” in Africa. /VCG Photo.

How did this achieve success abroad and attract the African people?

For one thing, it is translated into the local language.

Before the drama was broadcast in Africa, it had been translated into Swahili, and the producers had invited local actors to perform the dubbing process, thus ensuring that ordinary East African audiences would enjoy the show. When clips from the drama were broadcast on the 50th anniversary of the launch of the Swahili Broadcasting of CRI, the then Tanzanian ambassador to China, Philip Sang'ka Marmo, cried with happiness.

Doudou (played by Hai Qing), the leading female protagonist in "A Beautiful Daughter-in-Law Era," and her husband Yu Wei in the popular family comedy. /VCG Photo.‍

On the other hand, the show tells the story of ordinary people, and all the characters in the story are very down-to-earth. The theme of this TV series reflects current urban life in China and tells the daily stories of layfolks.

There is a proverb in China that says "even an upright official finds it is hard to settle a family quarrel". African people share close family views with the Chinese, and the relationship between the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law. Therefore, the African people can easily find resonance when watching how the Chinese deal with the “millennium problem”.

The China-Africa media cooperation also contributed to the success of Chinese dramas in the country. CRI cooperated with local television stations in East Africa to ensure that this TV series had been broadcast in Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda and other television stations in East Africa. According to statistics from Tanzania National Television, more than 6 million people in Tanzania watched the drama.

The premiere ceremony for the Swahili version of Chinese TV dramas "Father's Wishes" and "Mother's Glorious Days" is held in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, on October 16, 2013. /China Africa Photo.

The success of “A Beautiful Daughter-in-Law Era” in Africa is only a microcosm of the Chinese film and television dramas continuing to move toward the world stage in recent years. From its success, it is not hard to see that the road to success for Chinese films and television dramas abroad is understanding and respecting the laws of cross-cultural communication and the needs of local audiences.

(Han Mei is the deputy director of the West Asian and African Center of CRI and director of the Swahili Department. The article reflects the author’s opinion, and not necessarily the views of CGTN.)