China's biggest film festival is in full swing in the island province of Hainan, culminating in tonight's award ceremony.

The four-day Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Film Festival not only celebrates achievements in the past year, but commemorates 100 years of "electric shadow," as "film" is known in Chinese.

2005 is the 100th anniversary of Chinese cinema, and organizers of the event have found many creative ways to tell you this: The red carpet extends 100 metres outside the hall where the ceremony is being held; there is a newly-erected 100-metre wall with movie star posters plastered all across it; a giant birthday cake has "100" on it.

On top of this, the festival has selected 100 movie stars from the past 100 years and honoured them many have passed away with gold medals. Even the luminaries who are expected to show up are nothing short of glittering: a who's-who of marquee names from around the nation, such as Zhang Yimou, Jackie Chan and Andy Lau.

Changes in the making

The festival consists of two awards: the Golden Rooster, selected by a panel of jury members which this year comprises 23 professionals and the Hundred Flowers, determined by a poll conducted by the Popular Cinema magazine.

This year, it was announced that the awards would no longer be given annually, but once every two years.

But this has not dampened the enthusiasm of the film community, because the two awards will alternate from year to year. However, the festival will remain an annual feature, retaining both award names.

Hence, this year marks the 25th Golden Rooster Awards, but the 14th Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Film Festival. But the Hundred Flowers Awards will not be given until next year.

To make the awards resemble a true competition, organizers have sworn off doling out trophies to multiple recipients in one category, a practice that has been reviled by the public as "laying double-yolk eggs" and responsible for taking all the excitement out of the contest.

To add an international flair, 21 foreign films are on exhibition, out of which the audience will nominate their favourites.

There is also the nomination of a film made by a foreign citizen in China, and that is considered a breakthrough. Dayyan Eng, director of "Waiting Alone," is a Chinese-American who has been making movies in the mainland.

Pomp and circumstance

Unless you watch films on disks, movie-going in China has been "elevated" from a form of mass entertainment a decade or two ago to a real luxury as ticket prices measured against average income are now among the highest in the world.

Although viewership has been dwindling, this has not deterred organizers of the festival from putting on a great show.

The hosts in Hainan have zeroed in on the Cannes Film Festival as their model for emulation. They have sent out invitations to international heavyweights like Stephen Spielberg, Nicole Kidman and Arnold Schwarzenegger, and the California governor was rumoured to have given the nod. (By the time the paper goes into print, there is still no confirmation of Schwarzenegger's visit.)

The hosts have also tightened up the dress code: No celebrity in T-shirt or casual wear will be allowed, even though everyone is scheduled to descend on a beach.

Another notable change is the inclusion of Hong Kong and Taiwan filmmakers in the Golden Rooster categories, if the films they appear in are co-productions with mainland companies and have no foreign investment.

To further substantiate this approach, this year's Golden Rooster has nominated Hong Kong action superstar Jackie Chan for best actor. If he wins, it'll be seen as an inclusion of the Hong Kong film community by the awards which were once held as academic and prestigious but in recent years have been seen as rigid and out of touch with reality.

Since the Golden Rooster rarely pays attention to commercial hits, organizers have taken it upon themselves to make the event a marketing success.

The extravaganza will feature 120 Miss World contestants, walking alongside movie stars on the red carpet. One of the Super Girls, the hottest commodity in China's entertainment industry this year, is also scheduled to perform.

There are also gimmicks like writing a message of blessings, sealing it in a bottle and setting it afloat in the ocean. Hopefully, 100 years later, someone will find it and be wonderstruck that it could have prophesied another golden era for Chinese cinema.

Fortunately, the ultra-kitschy song and dance gala for the opening ceremony, which has become a staple for this kind of event, was eliminated. In its place was a cocktail party another step towards "international norms" according to a deputy mayor of Sanya, the city where the festival is being held this time round.

Where's the beef?

Buried beneath the glamour and glitter are the films, which, according to the few who have seen them all, are "not really bad."

The problem with the Golden Rooster, and to a lesser degree, the Hundred Flowers Awards, is that many of the nominated films are little known even to ardent cineastes.

There are six nominees for Best Picture, including Jackie Chan's "New Police Story."

Media pundits are predicting a win by either "Zhang Side" or "Taihang Mountains." Both films are government-backed productions that take a moral high ground. The former chronicles the life and death of a young soldier in Yan'an, immortalized by Chairman Mao in an article that is in the elementary school textbook; and the latter depicts events in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, led by Marshall Zhu De.

"Kekexili: Mountain Patrol" is said to have a chance as it has won dozens of international awards and is the best known of the bunch.

Lu Chuan, the director, is now considered a "pioneer" for the sixth generation of China's filmmakers and a favourite among analysts.

Yin Li, who helmed "Zhang Side," is praised for his portrayal of a hero "as someone people can relate to, rather than someone with a halo around his head." Lu and Yin shared the Huabiao best director award recently.

For best actor, Wu Jun, who plays the title role in "Zhang Side," has won kudos for being natural and unpretentious. But Jackie Chan may ultimately win, according to many, who say that the Golden Rooster wants to make the right statement by crowning the first Hong Kong actor in its history. Chan, considered a living legend who has done much for Chinese cinema and is respected by everyone in the industry, is seen as the perfect choice

"Besides, he showed some real acting other than just kicking ass," said one media analyst.

For best actress, there are no clues. There is an 84-year-old, Jin Yaqin, who has just won the same category in the Tokyo Film Festival. Her acting has elicited wows from Zhang Yimou.

Li Bingbing in "Waiting Alone" and Mei Ting in "Aspirin," both in their prime, cannot be ruled out. At the other end of the age spectrum is Zhang Jingchu, who burst on the scene this year with two memorable roles.

Will the public regard the results as fair? Will new changes restore the lustre of the Golden Rooster, making it an international film award, at least a pan-China award? Only time will tell. But the glitz of the award ceremony, if successfully executed, can at least take television viewers on an evening of star-studded reverie -- similar to the experience a good film gives one.

(China Daily November 12, 2005)