Ang Lee shares his opinions on the booming Chinese film market at the Shanghai International Film Festival. (Photo provided to China Daily)
It's no surprise: Ang Lee has become the biggest sensation of the ongoing 19th Shanghai International Film Festival.
As the first and only Chinese to claim an Oscar for best director, Lee is widely hailed as an unrivaled master bridging the East and West.
Despite that acclaim, he hasn't appeared on the Chinese mainland for a couple of years, and the low-profile director turned down all interview requests during the festival.
So it's easy to understand how a two-hour forum on Monday, featuring Lee as a presenter, turned into something of a pilgrimage for movie enthusiasts.
An hour before the event, hundreds of people were lining up outside the door. Many were left outside, standing or sitting on the ground, to watch the live television broadcast once the room was full.
Lee didn't disappoint the crowd.
His candid words captivated those with a love of the big screen, but interestingly conflict with most of today's conventional wisdom.
Noting that Hollywood has a globally dominating influence thanks to its century-old movie industry, Lee says that Chinese filmmakers should not hurry to "overtake" them.
"It's now a golden era for Chinese filmmakers. But filmmaking is a matter of culture. You have to be patient and give it time," the 61-year-old says.
China's movie market has seen an unprecedented boom over the past few years. Last year, the world's second-largest movie market's box-office tally hit a record 44.1 billion yuan ($6.68 billion), rising 48 percent from the previous year.
Meanwhile, Zeng Maojun, president of the country's largest cinema chain, Wanda Cinema Line, says China will overtake the United States in the total number of screens next year.
The latest figures show that China boasts around 32,000 screens－adding an average of 21 screens a day last year.
Industry sources say the astounding figures indicate China will replace the US at the top of the world's movie industry next year.
But Lee doesn't believe Chinese filmmakers should set such a goal.
