Shanghai TV festival to celebrate 60 years of onscreen drama in China

The 24th Shanghai TV Festival, to be held from June 11 to 15, will offer a variety of programs, including an international TV showcase, the Magnolia Awards for international television productions, the Magnolia TV Forum, an international TV market and NAB Show Shanghai.

This year marks the 60th anniversary of Chinese TV drama, so the festival will invite veteran producers, directors, actors, and TV critics to a themed workshop and a grand gala. Industry professionals from all over the country will look back on the development and achievements of domestic TV dramas over the past six decades.

The Magnolia Awards ceremony will be held on the evening of June 15, where outstanding TV productions, actors, directors, scriptwriters and directors of photography will be honored.

Chinese mainland scriptwriter Liu Heping, known for "All Quiet in Peking" and "Yongzheng Dynasty," has been appointed the jury president of the TV series category.

British TV producer and director Nick Fraser, known for his well-received documentary "Storyville," will chair the jury panel in the documentary category.

British animation producer Kay Benbow, who has over 25 years of experience in children's programming, primarily at the BBC, was named jury president in the animation category.

Among the nominated Chinese TV series are the hit war epic series "The Advisors' Alliance," spy thriller "Peace Hotel," urban drama "The First Half of My Life" and period drama "Beijing People in Beijing."

Entries vying for the Best Foreign Series award include Tom Tykwer's period crime series "Babylon Berlin," David Lynch's mystery horror drama "Twin Peaks," and David Shore's medical drama "The Good Doctor."

Nominated documentary series include BBC's nature documentary "Blue Planet II" and domestic production "This Is Life." Animated series competing for the Best Animation award include Japanese series "Orange" and American series "The Powerpuff Girls."

Excellent variety shows will also be honored. Among the candidates are dubbing show "The Sound," cultural program "National Treasure," and "Letters Alive," which invites both celebrities and ordinary people to read personal letters and share the stories behind them.

This year's festival continues to exhibit a wide range of recent TV films, series, documentaries and cartoons from all over the world on local channels.

Local channels such as Drama Channel, Documentary Channel, Art Channel and Toonmax TV are airing a variety of TV films, animations and documentaries. Some of the TV productions are also exhibited at Songjiang University Town and such public venues as China Art Museum and Mercedes-Benz Arena in order to reach a wider audience.

Local TV fans are offered recent TV productions from all over the world, including Japanese suspense drama "Miss Sherlock," American series "Young Sheldon," BBC documentary series "Civilisation 2" and French animated series "Tib & Tumtum."

Ever since its foundation in 1986, the Shanghai TV Festival has made a big influence in propelling and developing China's TV industry.