On June 28, the 29th Shanghai TV Festival "Magnolia Award" ceremony was held at Lingang Performing Arts Center, bringing the festival to a successful conclusion. The TV series "Flowers" became the biggest winner of the event, winning five awards including the Best Chinese TV Series Award, Best Actor Award, Best Art Award, Best Photography Award, and Best Screenwriter Award (Adaptation).

Hu Ge. Photo by The Paper reporter Li Sijie

The Best Actor award went to Hu Ge from "Fang Hua". This was Hu Ge's fifth nomination for the Magnolia Award (one for Best Supporting Actor, four for Best Actor), and his second win (Fang Hua, Nirvana in Fire).

Cao Kefan took out a scarf at the scene, which brought back memories for Hu Ge. It turned out that before the filming of "Flower City", the whole society was collected for old objects with stories to use as props. Hu Ge also presented some very precious objects to him, such as the sewing machine and woolen yarn used by his mother when she was alive. The crew wove some of the woolen yarn into scarves, which was exactly the scarf that Xuezhi wore when she appeared in the play. "I want to use this method to leave memories related to my mother in the film." After winning the award, Hu Ge also thanked You Benchang, "Without Uncle, there would be no Bao Zong."

After winning the award, Hu Ge mentioned that before leaving, he asked his daughter, "Can Dad win an award?" His daughter said, "No." Now he wants to go home and tell his daughter, "Dad did it!"

Stills from "Flowering"

After years of hard work, "Flowers" presented excellent light and shadow, and won the Best Art Award and Best Photography Award. The art director of the play, Tu Nan, felt very honored that "Flowers" brought a tourist check-in boom to Shanghai. And the director of photography, Bao Dexi, laughed and talked about the "aftereffects", "When filming "Flowers", Director Wang and all departments had to repeatedly ponder every aspect of each scene. When I went to other crews, I couldn't help but feel that this was not detailed enough, and that there could be better", thus leaving behind the "Flowers aftereffects", which shows his nostalgia for the meticulous creation process of this play.

The Best Screenplay Award (Original) was won by the screenwriters of "Imperfect Victims" Ren Baoru and Gao Xuan. The two talked about how they always empathized with each character in the play from a female perspective during their creation, hoping to bring realistic thinking to the audience rather than just emotional catharsis, so that the audience could understand the plight of this imperfect victim. When the play was broadcast, it caused widespread discussion in society, with both praise and criticism. The two said frankly, "The audience can understand the work in their own way. If a work wants to express the complexity and depth of human nature, it determines that it cannot be understood by everyone." "The controversy caused by the topic of gender at the time was within our expectations. I especially hope that one day, such a character and such a story will be without controversy, which means that our society's gender awareness and average cognition have reached a very high level."

Qin Wen. Photo by Li Sijie, reporter of The Paper

The Best Screenplay Award (Adaptation) went to Qin Wen, the screenwriter of "Flowers". Qin Wen said that as a screenwriter, the biggest change after "Flowers" was "learning to understand my own script from the perspective of every type of work that 'uses' my script." She said with a smile that working with Wong Kar-wai was like "serving and catching the ball". Wong Kar-wai's requirements were like balls thrown at her. Sometimes there were more than a dozen "balls" thrown at her at once, which made her confused and she didn't know how to deal with it. After more than a year, she finally adapted and began her work routine of "changing the script every day".

Ning Li. Photo by Li Sijie, reporter of The Paper

Ning Li, who won the Best Supporting Actor Award, admitted that he did not expect to win the award. He recalled his feelings when he first read the script of "Under the Prosperous City" and was shocked by the character "Song Chen": "After a person has experienced all kinds of hardships, he hides his kindness and softness and does not want to be hurt again. But when the world needs him, he will still stand up, even at the cost of his life." The director of the play, Wang Zheng, wrote and directed a long play for the first time. Ning Li praised Wang Zheng's directing as "very smooth." Ning Li said that he has cooperated with young directors many times in recent years. "They have free imagination and dare to subvert traditions. I have learned a lot from them. Although they are immature, they are also their strengths." Ning Li said that he looks forward to working with more young directors.

Jiang Yan. Photo by The Paper reporter Li Sijie

The Best Supporting Actress award went to Jiang Yan from "South to North". She played Yao Yuling, one of the most outstanding characters in the play. After receiving the award, Jiang Yan shed tears on the stage. Recalling this character, she admitted her shortcomings, but still liked her "bravery" and thanked this character for everything she brought to her. Thinking of the last shot of Yao Yuling in the play, she said emotionally, "The fireworks she picked up at the end were full of hope."

Xin Shuang

Xin Shuang, the director of The Long Season, won the Best Director Award. On stage, he recalled his most touching moment about the play, which was when Fan Wei shouted "Look forward and don't look back" in the play. He saw countless comments on the online platform also wrote this sentence, "At that moment, I felt that I met the audience, and the resonance was deafening."

The host Cao Kefan asked Xin Shuang to choose a song to review his creative journey. Xin Shuang was not afraid of the stage and sang "Looking Back" on the spot, and his voice broke as expected. Chen Minghao, who was nominated for the Best Supporting Actor Award, was not spared and was cueed to dance on the spot. The two's impromptu singing and dancing performance attracted applause from the audience. Therefore, "The Long Season" was not only the most stylishly dressed crew (the whole crew was rock style), but also the only "singing and dancing" crew at this Magnolia Awards Ceremony.

Zhou Xun. Photo by Li Sijie, reporter of The Paper

Zhou Xun won the Best Actress Award for her outstanding performance in "The Imperfect Victim". "I am very grateful to Director Yang Yang for his firm choice of me, and to the two screenwriters for creating this story, which allowed me to have such a work at this age." After finishing her acceptance speech, Zhou Xun remained straightforward. When asked about her feelings at the Magnolia Awards, she first seriously praised the Magnolia Awards' industry status, then broke down in a second and concluded, "I really want to win (the Magnolia Award), I still really want to win it." Zhou Xun was also asked if the glasses she wore today were designed for the lawyer Lin Kan in the play. She said frankly, "No, I am indeed old enough to wear glasses." The atmosphere at the scene was full of joy.

The TV series "Ask the Vastness" won the Grand Jury Award. The play focuses on Mao Zedong's youth and unfolds a magnificent picture of the great leader and revolutionary patriots who dedicated themselves to the country and pleaded for the people before the birth of New China. The excellent quality presented in terms of screenwriting, directing, performance, and art is one of the masterpieces of the main theme in recent years and deserves attention.

The crew of "Fang Hua". Photo by Li Sijie, a reporter from The Paper

"Flowers" won the Best TV Series Award. The drama tells the legendary story of Shanghai's ever-changing situation in the early days of reform and opening up. It is a masterpiece produced in Shanghai in recent years. "Flowers" won 5 awards this time. The organizing committee presented the same cake as in the drama to celebrate the crew, which really fulfilled the famous line in the drama: "Celebrate often and you will succeed." Finally, Hu Ge wished Chinese TV dramas "the spring breeze will not let down the travelers, and Chinese TV dramas will be sent off with flowers all the way in the future."

[List of winners of the 29th Shanghai TV Festival Magnolia Awards]

Best Chinese TV Series: "Fang Hua"

Grand Jury Award: "Asking the Vastness"

Best Director: Xin Shuang, The Long Season

Best Actor: Hu Ge, "Fang Hua"

Best Actress: Zhou Xun, The Imperfect Victim

Best Supporting Actor: Ning Li, Under the City

Best Supporting Actress: Jiang Yan, "From South to North"

Best Screenplay (Original): Gao Xuan and Ren Baoru, "Imperfect Victim"

Best Screenplay (Adaptation): Qin Wen, "Fang Hua"

Best Cinematography: Pau Tak-hei (Hong Kong, China), Chen Cheng, Jin Chenyu, "Flowers"

Best Art Direction: Tu Nan, "Flowers"

Best Overseas TV Series (Long Length): "Circle Drift" (South Africa)

Best Overseas TV Series (Short): "The Sambre" (France)

Best Variety Show: CCTV 2024 Spring Festival Gala, Flowers and Youth: Silk Road Season

Best Documentary: "Call Me Dancer"

Best Documentary Series: Why China

Best Animated Film: Quentin Blake's Treasure Chest

Best Animation Screenplay: "Youth in Motion"

Chinese TV program overseas promotion ambassadors: Liu Yifei, Chen Xiao

Special Award from the Organizing Committee: Documentary "Road to Prosperity", Variety Show "Chinese Wisdom in China"

International Communication Award: Animation "Chinese Tales", Documentary "Road to Zero Carbon", TV Series "The Three-Body Problem"