After four years of quiet development since they were first introduced to China's TV viewers, the neither-fish-nor-fowl made-for-TV movies, or simply TV movies - as the genre is commonly referred to here - are becoming increasingly prominent as a part of Chinese people's evening entertainment.
Last week, the movie channel of China Central Television (CCTV), the most steady promoter of the genre, issued 16 awards to 11 TV movies made in 2002.
Called the Baihe (Lily) Awards, the event was initiated two years ago and has become the most important award for Chinese TV movies.
A total of five productions, including Mao Zedong de Qingjia (Mao Zedong's Relative by Marriage) and Jiayou Jiaoche (Car), won the first prize, while another five won the second prize.
Veteran actor Li Ding, in his 70s, won the Best Actor Award for his excellent performance in Car, while the Best Actress Award went to Pu Chaoying, who played the leading role in Mao Zedong's Relative by Marriage.
The winners were selected from 110 TV movies produced last year.
The year 2002 witnessed the economic success of the new genre. "The most important thing is the quality of these productions," said Yan Xiaoming, chairperson of the judging committee.
According to Yan, as many as 70 percent of the 110 productions produced last year boasted a viewer rating of at least 2 percent when they premiered on the movie channel.
Most of the works were realistic, exploring the daily lives of ordinary Chinese people - a tradition which is not given that much attention by the country's regular movie industry.
Chinese television viewers seem to have accepted the new genre very quickly. People with the movie channel at first only treated the genre as a dispensable substitute.
Although TV movies have been is been around a long time in the West, it was introduced to China by the movie channel only four years ago.
The movie channel was established in 1996 and soon made a surprising increase in ratings. However, the channel soon ran out of movies that it could broadcast because of the waning of the Chinese movie industry. Often, it had to broadcast the same movie several times with short intervals between each screening.
Still that could not meet the demand of the channel's viewers, which eventually forced the channel to invest in their own productions.
The first made-for-TV movie, also the country's first ever, to air on the channel was Dongtian de Jiyi (Winter Memory) directed by Yang Yazhou.
Ever since its initial airing, made-for-TV movies have generated hot debates as to whether they should be categorized as television or as cinema. It seems there will never be an answer that satisfies both sides.
Today's Chinese TV professionals have given up trying to find an answer. They just concentrate on producing new shows.
Following the introduction of the genre, dozens of films have been scripted for the genre. Although budgets were quite low, the productions were meticulous, using state-of-the-art technology.
The market responses have been encouraging.
According to the channel, many productions ranked top 10 among all programs broadcast, in terms of viewer rating. More importantly, they have brought in handsome returns.
Usually, such movies cost about 400,000 yuan (US$48,300) to make, while the commercials bring in twice that amount.
Excited by the luring prospects, CCTV has decided to focus on the development of TV movies in the coming years.
According to Yan Xiaoming, the movie channel will stick to its plan of producing at least 100 TV movies every year.
Apart from movie-goers and TV viewers, that will also be good news for the country's struggling young directors. Due to the slump of the film industry, young directors have few chances to direct movies and many have to turn to shooting TV commercials.
(China Daily August 19, 2003)
