Poster for Where the Sava Flows Photo: Courtesy of Tencent

Cheng Wu Photo: Courtesy of Tencent

Group photo for movie 1921 Photo: Courtesy of Tencent

Although the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has hit the global film and TV industry hard, in China, it has helped spur the development of quality content that meets the increasingly higher standards held by Chinese audiences.

In recent years, realist film and TV productions have become a hit on the small and big screens in China, which has become the world's largest film market with hits like The Eight Hundred and Hi, Mom. 

It seems this trend is going to continue as three of China's studio giants - Tencent Pictures, New Classics Media and Yuewen Media - on Sunday announced their upcoming slate of film and TV works, which includes several such productions. Among the announcements are 1921, which depicts the historic moments leading to the founding of the Communist Party of China; Renshijian (A Lifelong Journey), an adaptation of writer Liang Xiaosheng's novel that shows the transformation of Chinese society over five decades from the viewpoint of an ordinary man; and Life is A Long Quiet River, which focuses on the important role residential communities play in urban centers such as Shanghai.  

According to Cheng Wu, vice president of the Tencent Group, a good story reflects the realities of life, so topics that depict social realities will always be a rich mine for creative stories. 

Another important creative font for TV and film productions has been online novels, which have given rise to hit drama series such as the popular 2021 hit My Heroic Husband, the second season of which was announced. 

A new trailer for Where the Sava Flows, the first coproduction between China and Serbia, was also released during the event. 

Although no release date has been announced, anticipation for the film is high as iron-clad China-Serbia relations have grown stronger amidst the fight against COVID-19.