A new century of Chinese film and Chinese film scholarship

What are the future directions of Chinese film? How will film change, adapt, and evolve due to future internal and external forces or be inspired by earlier aesthetics, movements, genres, and media in the new century? What will be the possible future of Chinese film scholarship? Starting from these questions, the chapters in this collection examine Chinese film in the 21st century. They were initially developed from selected presentations delivered at the “100 Years of Chinese Film and Screen: Past, Present, and Futures” conference held at the University of Nottingham Ningbo China (UNNC) from 14–15 May 2021, created to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the first Chinese-made long feature film—Yan Ruisheng, directed by Ren Pengnian (阎瑞生, 1921)—and to consider the current state of Chinese film and Chinese film scholarship within China and around the world. To honour this milestone, the conference brought together scholars and practitioners to examine the development of Chinese film studies and screen studies over the past century, assess the current landscape of Chinese film studies, and chart the possible future of Chinese cinemas.