Berliner Boersenzeitung - Revolutionizing storytelling in Chinese stories: XIXI Pictures' emphasis on historical romance and realist tales

Yang Xiaopei, the founder and CEO of XIXI Pictures, along with her team and their works, attended several prestigious events this year, including the Shanghai-London Screen Industry Forum in London, MIPCOM 2023 in Cannes, France, and the Chinese American Television Festival. This year, XIXI Pictures' productions, including the period drama The Youth Memories and the women's inspirational drama Alliance, have won several awards. The upcoming historical fantasy drama The Last Immortal and the contemporary women's drama Her Islands are eagerly anticipated for their engaging trailers featuring twists and turns.

During these international exchanges, Yang Xiaopei engaged in thorough discussions with her global counterparts about the current forefront of the industry. There have been many successful collaborations between China and the UK in documentary filmmaking, and both sides hope to deepen their creative storytelling efforts.

Yang Xiaopei shared her perspective on romanticism in films, citing the spiritual quality common in excellent British works like Wuthering Heights and Downton Abbey. At Cannes, she delivered a speech on interpreting romance and reality and showcased exquisite costumes from The Last Immortal. In the U.S., she discussed the impact of technology on the industry with veteran Hollywood producers and directors, emphasizing "the human-centered approach and respect for content creation, with AI serving mainly as a supportive tool."

At various forums, Yang Xiaopei expressed her desire to collaborate with global film practitioners to break cultural barriers and continue to innovate in content creation, focusing on historical dramas and exploring more realistic themes with universal values.

Women's stories are becoming an indispensable part of global film culture, an area where XIXI Pictures excels. As a female leader, Yang Xiaopei was named one of the "35 Most Powerful Women in International Television" at Cannes. The female staff proportion at XIXI Pictures is also well over 50%. She aims to produce more diversified contemporary Chinese women's stories.

XIXI Pictures is known for its mature industrial production process and compact, exquisite storytelling. At the 19th Chinese American Film Festival, Yang Xiaopei was honored as Producer of the Year, with Alliance winning the Golden Angel Award for television drama. Huang Xiaoming, the lead actor in Alliance, won the Best Actor in a Leading Role, and Xiao Zhan, the lead in The Youth Memories, took home awards for Outstanding Actor.

Upcoming from XIXI Pictures are The Last Immortal, a novel fusion of historical fantasy drama and road movie structure, and Her Islands, a contemporary women's drama exploring hot topics in modern China. Her Islands tells the story of daughters trying to help their mother through a marital crisis while finding their own paths, reflecting the evolving mother-daughter relationship. The drama draws inspiration from ancient Chinese poetry, using the metaphor of "oceans and islands" to depict the relationship of contemporary women with family and society.

(T.Renner--BBZ)