范志忠，于汐：The Regional Rootedness of China’s Film Industry

About the Author

范志忠 Zhizhong Fan

Zhizhong Fan is professor, doctoral supervisor and vice dean of the College of Media and International Culture at Zhejiang University and has long been engaged in the research of film studies, radio and television art, communication science, and film and television creation and criticism. He is the author of World Cinematic Thoughts, Contemporary Cinematic Thoughts, and Historical Images of 100 Years of Chinese Film and Television. He was the scriptwriter and artistic director of the TV series Patriotic Knights (2005), the co-ordinator of Destiny of Nations (2012), and the chief writer and chief producer of the documentary film Qiantang River (2016).范志忠是浙江大学传媒与国际文化学院教授、博士生导师、副院长，长期从事电影学、广播电视艺术、传播学、影视创作与评论的研究。著有《世界电影思潮》、《当代电影思潮》、《百年中国影视的历史影像》等。他是电视剧《侠骨丹心》（2005）的编剧和艺术总监，《国家命运》（2012）的文学统筹，以及纪录片《钱塘江》（2016）的总撰稿和总制片人。

于汐 Xi Yu

Xi Yu is a PhD candidate in the College of Media and International Culture at Zhejiang University.于汐是浙江大学传媒与国际文化学院的博士生。

To Cite This Article

Fan, Zhizhong and Yu, Xi. "The Regional Rootedness of China’s Film Industry: Cluster Development and Attempts at Cross-Location Integration" Journal of Chinese Film Studies, vol. 1, no. 2, 2021, pp. 463-486. https://doi.org/10.1515/jcfs-2021-0027

The Regional Rootedness of China’s Film Industry: Cluster Development and Attempts at Cross-Location Integration

中国电影产业集群化发展的区域根植与跨地融合

Abstract and Keywords

摘要：中国电影产业的集群化发展，根植于中国北部、东部、西部和南部四大电影产业板块，并由于其历史传承、文化资源而各具区域特色。新中国成立后行政区域的划分以及电影企业的属地管理政策，在促进中国电影产业区域发展的同时，又加剧了其集群化发展的复杂性和矛盾性。20世纪50年代，四大国营电影制片厂的建立以及电影由国家统购包销的计划经济管理模式，奠定了以北京、上海和长春为中心的电影生产格局。20世纪90年代以来，中国电影深化机制改革，电影的发行与放映逐步走向市场，民营企业开始积极参与电影的制作发行与基地建设，中国电影开始积极探索产业集群，并注意跨越不同区域的产业板块边界而尝试电影的联合制作与企业的跨区经营，在构建影视基地联盟的基础上，力图实现各地优势资源的互补，促进区域性的产业板块以开放、包容的姿态融入电影产业发展之中，为中国电影跃居全球重要的电影市场奠定了基础。

关键词：中国电影，产业集群，区域根植，跨地融合

Abstract：China’s film industry has its historical roots across the four geographical divisions of northern, eastern, western, and southern China. Each of these four film-producing regions have their own characteristics with divergent historical heritages and cultural resources. After the founding of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) the division of administrative regions included a territorially divided management policy of film enterprises. Such policies promoted the regional development of China’s film industry while simultaneously exacerbated the complex contradictions between and among the clusters produced. In the 1950s, four major state-owned film studios were established in Beijing, Shanghai and Changchun. Under the planned economy model, films were purchased and sold exclusively by the state through these studios. Since the 1990s, China’s film industry has undergone deep institutional reform, with film distribution and exhibition gradually moving towards the market and private enterprises beginning to actively participate in film production and distribution. The film industry has since begun to actively explore the generative potential of the existing industrial clusters, experimenting with film co-production and cross-regional business operations across the regions. With the goal of constructing a film and television alliance, the film industry has sought to maximize the advantages of different regions to promote the integration of these historically and regionally distinct sectors in an open and tolerant manner, laying the foundation for Chinese films to leapfrog into the global film market.

Keywords: Chinese film, industry clusters, regional rootedness, cross-location integration

A Glimpse of the Article

The Geographical Aggregation of China’s Film Industry

中国电影产业的地理聚集

In both the number of film enterprises found and films produced, a trend can be seen where more film production activity is found in the eastern coastal regions than in the central and western regions. Changes in the regional layout since the 1980s feature the following: first, the advantages of Beijing and Shanghai as traditional film production centers remains strong, which is certainly linked to the national status of the two cities. Second, the southeastern coastal provinces such as Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Fujian, and Guangdong, which were not originally the centers of national film production in the planned economy era, and which did not even have production quota allocations for feature films, have since been able to develop as vibrant areas of film production and operation with the rise of the private economy. Third, some of the central and western regions have inherited the resources and production experience of the former state-owned studios, and although the number of film produced and film enterprises is not as high as that of the eastern regions, they remain unique because of the distinctive regional culture that they exhibit and serve. Lastly, Changchun was once one of the three major film production centers in the planned economy era, and Changchun Film Studio was once the state-owned studio with the largest number of production quota allocations for feature films, but under the impact of marketization, its output has declined significantly. In view of the above situation, this article divides China’s film industry into four major sectors.无论是电影企业数量，还是电影产量，基本呈现出东部沿海地区较多而中西部地区较少的态势，其在区域布局上的变化有以下特点：其一，北京、上海作为传统电影生产重镇的优势依然强劲，这固然与两座城市在全国的地位密不可分；其二，浙江、江苏、福建、广东等东南沿海诸省，原本在计划经济时代并非全国电影生产的中心，甚至没有故事片的生产指标，却能伴随着民营经济的崛起，一跃成为电影生产与经营的活跃地带；其三，部分中西部地区继承了原国营制片厂的资源与生产经验，电影产量与企业数量虽不及东部地区，但因其鲜明的地域文化而独树一帜；其四，长春曾在计划经济时代位列三大电影生产中心之一，且长春电影制片厂曾是拥有故事片生产指标最多的国营制片厂，然而却在市场机制的冲击下由盛转衰，产量大不如前。鉴于上述状况，本文将中国电影产业划分成四大板块。

Regional Rootedness of the Four Industry Sectors

四大产业板块的区域根植

The regional rootedness of the film industry involves both the comprehensive application and organic integration of the elements, and the more sufficient and comprehensive the elements, the better the effect of regional rootedness. In general, regional rootedness in the film industries of the northern and eastern sectors is relatively strong and developed, while regional rootedness in the central and western regions is mainly derived from history, culture, policies, and institutions. Regional rootedness of the film industry in the southern sector is not yet stable. However, even those sectors exhibiting strong regional rootedness have yet to form a film industrial cluster. For example, in some regions, a few state-owned enterprises or relatively large enterprises play a dominant role in the film industry in the entire region, while there is a lack of small and medium-sized private enterprises that can form an equal dialogue with them. In some regions, competition between enterprises is more common than cooperation. At present, it is impossible for any region to contain all the desired elements required by the film industry. If industry clusters take the region as a platform for interaction and cooperation between enterprises, then interaction and cooperation can also be achieved between different regions.电影产业的区域根植性是对诸多要素的综合应用与有机整合，要素越充分、越综合，则区域根植性的效果越好。总体来说，北部、东部板块电影产业的区域根植性效果相对较强，中西部板块的区域根植主要源于历史文化和政策制度，而南部板块电影产业的区域根植目前还不够稳定。但是，即便是区域根植性较强的板块，也并没有真正形成电影产业集群。比如，部分区域内少数国有企业或相对较大的企业对整个区域的电影产业起到了支配作用，而缺乏能够与之形成平等对话的中小型企业或民营企业；还有部分区域内企业彼此之间竞争大于合作等。除此之外，任何一个区域都不可能包含电影产业所需的全部要素，如果说产业集群是以区域为平台而形成的企业之间的互动与合作，那么不同的区域之间同样也可以实现互动与合作。

Regional “Locking-in” and the Need for Cross-Location Integration

区域锁定与跨地融合的需求

Although regional rootedness plays a positive role in the early stages of the development of an industry cluster, when the cluster reaches a certain level of development, especially when the number of enterprises in the region tends to be stable, the negative aspects of regional rootedness gradually emerge, resulting in “regional locking-in,” leading to stagnation or even recession. Therefore, the cluster development of Chinese films should not only achieve regional rootedness, but also explore cross-location integration.尽管在产业集群化发展的早期，区域根植性发挥着积极作用，但是，当集群化发展到一定程度，尤其是区域内的企业数量趋向稳定的时候，区域根植性的消极性便逐渐浮现，进而造成“区域锁定”，导致停步不前甚至走向衰退。因此，中国电影的集群化发展不仅要实现区域根植，也要探索跨地融合。It can be seen that cross-location integration achieves the distribution and utilization of resources in a wider space. Instead of eliminating the regional roots of the industrial clusters, such cross-pollination attempts will fortify regional strengths and expertise in a win-win cooperation between regions, allowing for the promotion and upgrade of regionally rooted facilities. However, at present, the Chinese film industry is only experimenting with cooperation across regions, and substantial cross-regional integration has not been achieved. Moreover, even when attempts are made, they are mainly based on the spontaneous behavior of enterprises, rather than at the level of overall regional planning.跨地融合在更广阔的空间内实现资源的分配与利用，非但不会消除产业的区域根植，反而会在区域间的合作共赢中强化区域的优势与专长，促进区域根植的升级。不过，目前中国的电影产业在跨区域的合作共赢上也仅仅是尝试，实质性的跨地融合并没有实现。况且，即便是尝试，也是以企业的自发行为为主，而没有上升到区域的整体规划。

Conclusion

结论

In conclusion, the formation of clusters from the geographical aggregation of film industries involves, on the one hand, a strengthening of the regional rootedness of film industries and, on the other hand, the coordination of regional advantages in cross-location integration. However, China’s film industry is still in its infancy in terms of both regional rootedness and cross-location integration, although it is clearly characterized by geographical aggregation. In this sense, only by further strengthening regional roots, especially by giving enterprises freer and more convenient conditions for their organic interaction with the region; by focusing on the division of labor into specialized fields; by reducing unnecessary internal conflicts; and by promoting the integration of the whole film industry in a more open and tolerant manner, will China’s film industry clusters expand into new spaces and prospects for development.总体来说，从电影产业的地理聚集到集群的形成，一方面是电影产业的区域根植性的强化，另一方面则是区域根植与跨地融合的协调。然而，中国电影产业正式起步的时间较晚，虽然在地理聚集上特征明显，但无论是区域根植还是跨地融合，均还处于初级阶段。在这个意义上，中国电影唯有进一步强化区域根植，尤其是给予企业更加自由、便利的条件以实现其同区域的有机互动，注重专业领域的分工，减少不必要的内耗，促进整个区域以更加开放、宽容的姿态融入电影产业发展之中，中国电影的产业集群必将拓展出新的发展空间与前景。

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Journal of Chinese Film Studies

《中国电影研究》

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来源：中国电影研究

编辑：李智妍

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The Regional Rootedness of China’s Film Industry: Cluster Development and Attempts at Cross-Location Integration

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