Film producer Becky Neiman-Cobb (left) and director Domee Shi pose with their Best Animated Short Film Oscars for Bao In Los Angeles on Sunday. Photo: IC

Monday's 91st Oscar Awards Ceremony has made a splash on Chinese social media as netizens were thrilled to see that three films with Chinese elements were nominated and one of them won the award for Best Animated Short Film.

Insiders said it symbolizes the rising of China's status around the globe and will boost the country's film industry. 

The film Bao, directed by the China-born Canadian director, Domee Shi, won the Best Animated Short Film Award. The film depicted how Chinese parents express their love to their children by actions instead of words. For example, Chinese parents would cook delicious food for their children rather than saying "I love you" directly.  

Bao conveyed the cultural difference that Chinese families hope to bring up sons to support parents in their old age while American families pursue their independence, Shi Wenxue, a Beijing-based film critic, told the Global Times on Monday.

"The last scene in the film when the foreign daughter-in-law learned to cook Chinese food shows Chinese family culture is gaining more acceptance by the West," said Shi.

Another nominated film One Small Step, directed by Chinese American Shaofu Zhang, describes how a Chinese father tries to protect and support the dream of his daughter to be an astronaut. 

Chinese netizens believed that the reason why films featuring Chinese elements flourished in this year's Oscar Awards might be related to the fact that Taiwan-born American director Ang Lee once protested against the 88th Oscar Ceremony's discrimination towards Asian filmmakers in 2016.

"It seems that Ang Lee's protest action worked since so many Chinese elements films were nominated this time," one netizen commented.

Not only at the Oscars, more films with Chinese elements were seen winning awards in many international film festivals. It shows China's rising status and increasing influence of film industry in the international context, Shi noted. 

The actors of the film So Long, My Son won Silver Bears for best actor and actress at the 69th Berlin International Film Festival this month. The films Aquaman and Bumblebee jointly produced by Tencent Pictures made big waves in North American theatres and box office records.

Another film, Green Book, that inspired Chinese netizens in this year's Oscar Awards was jointly produced by domestic company Alibaba Pictures Group and was picked up for Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay.

Alibaba Pictures Group became the first Chinese company to receive the highest Oscar award.

"It is already a norm for China-US co-production and China to invest in the foreign film and television industry," Shi said.