The 28th Shanghai International Film Festival, which opened on June 12, has taken a step that would have been unthinkable at the same event two years ago, according to Variety: it launched a dedicated Technology Creation and Fabrication Unit and signed formal cooperation agreements with AI and data firms including KPS, the Institute of Language Sciences of Shanghai International Studies University, AltStory, and Kuaizi. The agreements focus on datasets, corpus building, and AI agent research, committing the festival’s institutional weight to the development of AI-native film production infrastructure.
The launch was accompanied by a parallel press conference at Shanghai High-Tech Films and Televisions City in the Songjiang district. Fang Shizhong, executive vice minister of the Publicity Department of the CPC Shanghai Municipal Committee and director of the Shanghai Film Bureau, outlined three priorities: building a stronger industrial ecosystem using AI and ultra-high-definition tools; nurturing new forms of cinematic aesthetics through technology; and applying AI responsibly rather than letting it override artistic and creative judgment.
Cao Jun, a member of the Party Leadership Group and deputy secretary-general of the China Film Association, pointed to the upcoming 15th Five-Year Plan period as a critical window. He called on practitioners to use new tools to upgrade creative workflows, expand the industrial ecosystem through what he described as the “film plus” model, and strengthen copyright protection as AI-generated content becomes more prevalent.
Five New Service Platforms
The festival debuted five new service platforms. The Shanghai International Short Drama Copyright Exchange Center addresses the growing short drama market, which has emerged as one of the fastest-growing segments of China’s entertainment industry. The AI Interactive Short Drama Creation Public Service Platform provides production infrastructure for AI-assisted short drama development. The Senyu SPACE MCN AI Full-chain Empowerment Platform targets the multi-channel network sector. The AIGC All-in-One Integrated Creative Platform offers a consolidated toolset for AI-generated content production. The fifth platform, the Huace Yangtze River Delta International Film and TV Center AIGC All-scenario Cultural Tourism and Film Empowerment Platform, focuses on the intersection of cultural tourism and film content.
SFC Haopu Smart Industrial Community also launched an AI+ Digital Content Industry Innovation Platform at the event, and the festival debuted a lineup of AIGC short dramas alongside the first investments under the Haowen Film Technology Fund. SFC Haopu and Bund FTC formalized an industrial tie-up covering digital content production, AIGC technology application, and online content creation. Shanghai and Film Paradise Co. signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Anhui Film Group for the joint 4K restoration of classic films and the innovative exploitation of film and television intellectual properties.
From Anxiety to Infrastructure
The shift in tone is visible in how festival organizers are framing the AI question. Rather than positioning AI as a threat to human creativity, the festival’s messaging emphasizes what Cao Jun called the “film plus” model, productions in which AI is embedded throughout the creative and technical workflow rather than applied as a post-production tool. The implication is that AI is additive, enhancing the range of what filmmakers can produce rather than replacing the people who produce it.
This framing aligns with a broader pattern in China’s approach to AI adoption across creative industries. EastFrontier has previously covered how China’s film industry is hollowing out as AI displaces extras, editors, and mid-tier actors, and how iQiyi has enrolled over 100 stars in its AI actor database despite significant resistance from talent. The Shanghai festival’s new unit does not resolve these tensions, but it represents an attempt by the industry’s most prestigious institutional venue to set the terms of the conversation rather than react to external disruption.
International Dimensions
The festival’s AI push also has an international dimension. Shanghai has long positioned itself as China’s gateway to global film culture, and the new Technology Creation and Fabrication Unit is explicitly designed to attract international co-productions that want access to Chinese AI tools and talent. Several European and South Korean production companies have expressed interest in the cooperation framework, according to festival organizers.
Whether that interest translates into actual co-productions will depend partly on how China’s AI content regulations evolve. The country’s generative AI service regulations, finalized in 2024, require that AI-generated content be labeled and that providers maintain records of generated material. Applying those requirements to theatrical co-productions with international partners introduces compliance complexities that the festival’s new unit will need to navigate.
What the Film Plus Model Requires
The “film plus” framing deserves scrutiny. The concept implies that AI is additive, enhancing rather than replacing human creative work. In practice, the distinction is harder to maintain. When AI tools handle visual effects, background generation, voice synthesis, and script analysis, the question of where AI assistance ends and human creativity begins becomes genuinely difficult to answer.
The commercial logic is clearer. China’s film industry produced approximately 900 domestic features in 2025, but only a fraction achieved theatrical release or meaningful streaming audiences. The cost of high-quality production remains a significant barrier for smaller studios. If AI tools can reduce the cost of visual effects substantially, a claim that several Chinese AI companies have made in their marketing materials, the economics of mid-budget Chinese filmmaking change in meaningful ways.
The Shanghai festival’s bet is that China can build a Film Plus ecosystem that is competitive internationally, not just domestically. The cooperation agreements signed this week are a starting point. But the fact that China’s most prestigious film institution is now treating AI infrastructure as a strategic priority, and doing so through a dedicated organizational unit rather than a one-off panel discussion, suggests that the industry has decided on the direction it is heading.