Storyline: Hainan Int'l Film Festival draws global interest [Voice_over] At this year’s Hainan Island International Film Festival, the spotlight is not only on new films and global guests — but also on how Hainan is shaping a new model for China’s film development. The island has been cultivating stories rooted in its own strengths — from ocean culture to aerospace exploration — giving creators fresh material and new visual worlds to build from. [Sound_bite] Marco Müller, Chair of Jury, 2025 Hainan Island International Film Festival: "I am definitely convinced that Hainan can play a very major role creating a hub for a new kind of interregional creativity exchange, but possibly also global. I'm really talking about, you know, the impact on the film business world and the impact and the potential impact on the global film market." [Sound_bite] Banjong Pisanthanakun, Thai director: "I think Hainan got a lot of potentials. I've been here for a week and been traveling around, and I like it a lot. I found a lot of good locations, like very suitable for shooting movies." [Voice_over] In fact, the island has been strengthening its production foundation. Facilities such as the Haifeng International Film Base in Lingshui, along with the “Filming in Hainan” mini-program that centralizes locations and services, are making the filmmaking process more efficient and more accessible for incoming crews. With the festival drawing global attention and the Free Trade Port opening new opportunities for collaboration, Hainan is positioning itself as a rising creative center — forging its own path within China’s high-quality film development. [Sound_bite] Ranee Itarat, Assistant Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Culture of Thailand: "I think Hainan is actually the home of many Thai people. Working here is more like working at home. Also the free port, that will make it much easier for us to work together." [Voice_over] Meanwhile, conversations unfolding in Hainan also center on the evolution of Chinese cinema itself — from its creative identity to how it connects with audiences at home and abroad. [Sound_bite] Marco Müller, Chair of Jury, 2025 Hainan Island International Film Festival: "China is still producing a lot of very unusual, very special, very personal genre films. The best Chinese films always took a wider audience into consideration. So even the films with a very high artistic quality, very often they have a core of commercial spirit. So they can reach out to a very wide audience, not not only in China, but also outside of the country." [Sound_bite] Melissa Mabesoone, Belgian filmmaker: "I think there are many things that we can learn from Chinese films, the pace of the films, the poetics. There are many things that we can learn the other way around." [Restrictions: No access Chinese mainland]