2011 Golden Rooster Awards ceremony. Photo: CFP
Last week, the award for best screenwriter was reinstated at the Hundred Flowers Awards, after being removed for years. This change attracted almost no attention, though the Hundred Flowers Awards was once regarded as one of the three most prestigious film awards in the Chinese mainland.
The Hundred Flowers Awards are not the only domestic film awards ceremony fading into obscurity over the past few years.
The Golden Rooster Awards and Huabiao Awards are following suit. Once criticized by moviegoers as "unreasonable" awards, few care enough now to even offer criticism.
Founding of the triage
The Hundred Flowers, Golden Rooster and Huabiao all have histories spanning over 30 years. Established in 1957, Huabiao is the longest running one. The three awards shined in the 1980s, and were often compared to domestic versions of the Golden Globes or Oscars.
Romance on Lushan Mountain (1980) and At Middle Age (1982) were popular films then. Their success at the award ceremonies catapulted actresses Zhang Yu and Pan Hong to fame.
Final decisions for awards come from varied sources. Awards at the Hundred Flowers are based on movie viewers and selected by audience choices through paper votes. The largest participation once reached about a million votes.
Golden Rooster Awards are based on industry insiders and regarded as the most professional awards.
The Huabiao Awards are decided by the government, based on a film's cultural and artistic contribution.
"Since the 1990s, [the three awards] had a quick decline in their influence," said movie critic Fang Liuxiang. "Now as moviegoers get information [about the quality of films] from international awards they care less about [these three]."
Sketchy selections
The awards have also been criticized for their arbitrary selections.
According to reports from the Guangzhou-based Information Times newspaper, last year's Golden Rooster awarded unpopular actors, actresses, and films.
Wang Qianyuan, who won best actor at the 2010 Tokyo Film Festival, Aaron Kwok, who won best actor in two Golden Horse Awards, and Zhu Xu, a veteran actor who starred in popular films such as The Girl in Red (1984) were the most anticipated winners for last year's Golden Rooster. But none of them won.
Love on Gallery Bridge, a movie that racked only 5.3 points out of 10 on douban.com and 6.1 on mtime.com, beat Feng Xiaogang's Aftershock and Zhang Meng's The Piano in a Factory for best film. Love had not even screened in theaters at the time.
Two or more works often gain the best film title simultaneously, which many satirically people refer to as "shuanghuangdan," literally meaning an egg with two yolks. Shuanghuangdan describes most people's disbelief over the results.
"It's understandable that sometimes two films win the same title, but three is [unacceptable]," said Fang, taking the example of the 20th Golden Rooster Awards in 2011, when Final Decision, The Road Home and Soaring Across the Sky all took home an award for best film.
"Hundred Flowers used to have almost a million of voters participating, now the number hovers at 1 or 2 percent the original," he added.
"These awards have become a game for the holders themselves," said movie critic Li Zhong.
"Politics [plays] strongly in the deciding factor. The government regards movies as propaganda tools, unlike audiences."
Process and principles
As more doubts have been raised on the fairness and reliability of these awards, Yang Yazhou, director of Pretty Big Feet and thrice a judge on the selection panel in the Golden Rooster, explained to China Pictorial magazine that "Golden Rooster is not based on whether a film has been screened or not. Any film passed by The State Administration of Radio, Film and Television can participate."
He stressed that over the years, Golden Rooster kept its principles of awarding films that are reflective of contemporary society.
"It's difficult to keep [this principle]. I cannot imagine what Chinese films will be like if Golden Rooters goes beyond this," he added.
Li does not agree. "Some commercial films, like Piano in a Factory, reflect reality," he said.
An insider who has participated in the Huabiao and wishes to be identified as Sam told the Global Times that though few people have stated it openly, cheating is an open secret in the circle.
"Many times, we know in advance what films will win," he said. "Sometimes, an unfinished movie wins."
Sam said when guanxi, or personal connections are involved, the results speak for themselves.
"Being nominated or winning awards at Golden Rooter or Huabiao may result in a job promotion or a salary increase," explained Sam.
"[For Hundred Flowers], the electing process itself is unreliable," Sam continued. "Each participant is given a selection, but the [results] are easy to control back stage."
With rising criticism, many think the awards should just be discontinued. "But the government will not allow it," said Li.
Fang shares this opinion. "Over the years, interest has formed and it's difficult to cut them all at once."
But compared with the three domestic award ceremonies, some newcomers are promising. Shanghai International Film Festivals and Beijing International Films Festivals are now catching up.
When the old becomes outdated, it's a time to consider a transition, Li said.