On April 17th, the 16th Beijing International Film Festival's "China Virtual Reality Film Industry Development Forum," guided by the Film Bureau of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee and hosted by the Beijing International Film Festival Organizing Committee and organized by the China Film Archive, was held in Beijing. The "Borderless ∞ Immersive Unit" of this year's Beijing Film Festival also opened simultaneously.
Huang Zhi, Director of the Technology Department of the Film Bureau of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee; Gong Bo, Party Secretary and Director of the China Film Research Institute (Film Technology Quality Inspection Institute of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee); Lin Siwei, Deputy Director of the China Film Archive and Deputy Director of the China Film Art Research Center; and Hu Xiding, General Manager and Deputy Party Secretary of Jiangsu Film Group Co., Ltd., attended the event.
Group Photo of Forum Guests
At the forum, representatives from film authorities and various links in the virtual reality film industry chain gathered together. In the keynote speeches, guests shared their practical experiences in the exploration, content creation, technology development, and academic research of the virtual reality film industry. In two roundtable discussions, academic and industry guests discussed the cross-media narrative and the development of the entire industry chain of virtual reality films, offering suggestions for the high-quality development of virtual reality films.
Over 220 Virtual Reality Films Submitted for Filing
Four Dimensions to Boost Future Development
In March 2025, the National Film Administration issued the "Notice on Promoting the Orderly Development of Virtual Reality Films," empowering virtual reality technology with a mature film market system and industrial policies. In the year since the "Notice" was issued, under policy guidance and institutional guarantees, the number of films has increased significantly, technological achievements have emerged continuously, industry standards have been gradually improved, and virtual reality films have been implemented in various screening venues. As of April 17, over 220 virtual reality films nationwide have submitted for filing, 145 filing receipts have been issued, and 39 works have obtained the film's production license.
"Although we have already taken the lead in terms of industrial policies and market enthusiasm, we still have a long way to go in terms of creative methodologies and industrial standards," Huang Zhi said. He explained that in the future, efforts will be focused on four dimensions: strengthening policy guidance and improving the industry support and standardized management system; supporting the creation of high-quality works, exploring creative methods, and producing excellent works that are both profound in thought and technically sophisticated; accelerating the development of standards, improving the entire chain of technical standardization systems, and promoting independent control over key core technologies; and optimizing the market ecosystem, standardizing the operation and management of screening venues, and promoting the formation of a unified, open, competitive, and orderly market system. "This will allow virtual reality films to better reach the public, serve the masses, and truly become a new growth point and engine for the high-quality development of the film industry in the new era," he said.
In recent years, Henan Radio and Television has pioneered and successfully piloted virtual reality (VR) films. At the forum, Wang Gang, Director of the Media Convergence R&D Department of Henan Radio and Television and Chairman of Elephant Yuan Digital Technology Co., Ltd., suggested that VR films explore three aspects: concept, creation, and duration. Conceptually, it's crucial to recognize that VR films are essentially films, not just technical gimmicks, but also stories, characters, and emotions. Creatively, a new spatial narrative grammar needs to be constructed, shifting from linear to spatial narrative, using light and sound to naturally guide the audience. Regarding duration, limited by head-mounted displays, a reasonable length for VR films is between 20 and 40 minutes, requiring efficient spatial narrative techniques to convey emotions and tell the story within a short timeframe.
To date, the Yaozai XR Cinema platform has covered over 200 service locations and offered over 100 content options. Li Yuanyuan, co-founder and general manager of Yaozai Digital Technology (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., shared nearly four years of experience in the virtual reality field and introduced several upcoming industry support programs. These include the AI+ program, which spans production and distribution and boasts six core AI capabilities that can be scaled up; the "Stay-at-Home Enhancement" program, which significantly improves the audience experience; the XR Cinema Traffic Support Program, which focuses on increasing offline store traffic; and the XR Media Monetization Program, which explores the advertising value of XR films to achieve revenue generation. Li Yuanyuan stated that the prosperity of content drives the prosperity of the platform, and the prosperity of the platform drives the high-quality development of the industry. "We hope to work together with all our peers to promote the development of the XR film industry."
Zhang Yafen, a member of the Party Committee and Deputy General Manager of Henan Culture and Film Group, and General Manager of Oscar Cinema Development Center, shared the practical experience of Henan Film and Television Production Group in its "culture + technology" dual-drive approach, as well as its "five-in-one" approach integrating production, cinemas, distribution chains, systems, and ecosystem. She stated that in the future, she hopes to break down the isolated production model of individual companies by continuously expanding the "XR film industry ecosystem community," integrating resources across the virtual reality film chain to achieve collaborative efforts and mutual benefit.