China Focus: China's would-be movie stars face English exam hurdle

For thousands of aspiring actors applying to the prestigious Beijing Film Academy, an English test might be what stands between them and their silver screen dreams.

More than 7,600 applicants competed for 45 spots in acting classes during a three-day examination that ended on Wednesday, meaning only one out of 170 will be selected, said Sun Lijun, vice president of the academy.

According to Sun, 30,000 students applied to the academy, up 23.4 percent year on year. The school announced it would reduce enrollment in 2016 to 430 from nearly 500 last year. Other arts colleges, such as the Central Academy of Drama and Communication University of China, which also held enrollment exams this week, saw record numbers of applicants for film-related majors as well.

Luo Yi from Hua Luogeng Middle School in the southern province of Guangdong headed to Beijing soon after the Chinese Lunar New Year to pursue her acting dreams.

"Being an actress would let me experience all walks of life. That's my dream," she said.

Total box office revenues in China have rocketed from 10 billion yuan (1.5 billion U.S. dollars) to 44 billion yuan over the past five years. The industry boom and hopes of stardom and fortune have lured many young actors to chase their dreams.

However, students specializing in film and other arts majors often load up on creative classes while skipping traditional subjects such as English.

A circular issued by the Ministry of Education in late December required art colleges to establish a minimum standard for traditional academic scores, which shall not be lower than 65 percent of the minimum recruitment scores for a mid-tier university.

At the Beijing Film Academy, drama applicants endured three rounds of tests or interviews during the exam, including tests for academic knowledge and English.

"The English test included vocabulary, grammar, reading comprehension and writing. It seemed like [China's university English test for non-majors], which was very hard for me," one applicant said after the test.

In recent years, Hollywood has targeted China, one of the world's biggest film markets, by including Chinese superstars in movies. Chinese faces appeared in blockbusters such as "Resident Evil," "Transformers" and the "X-Men" series.

Domestic and foreign companies are also working together to produce films.

China Media Capital and Warner Brothers Entertainment are forming a joint venture for film production and international distribution headquartered in Hong Kong. The company's first production is expected to hit screens this year.

In January, Chinese conglomerate Dalian Wanda Group announced its acquisition of leading Hollywood film producer Legendary Entertainment for 3.5 billion U.S. dollars, the largest overseas "cultural acquisition" by a Chinese company to date.

Film festivals in Beijing and Shanghai have also served as platforms for international cooperation with government support. China has signed contracts with the governments of eleven countries, including France, Great Britain, Italy, Republic of Korea, and Spain, to make films together.

Hou Guangming, Party head of the academy, said the English test was to remind students of the importance of foreign language competence, in addition to their professional talents in the arts, as China's film industry goes global.

Technical majors were also popular this year, which has been attributed to the recent popularity of sci-fi blockbusters. The number of cinema technology applicants surged by 57 percent year on year for an admission rate of 1 out of 60.

Other popular majors include design and directing.

Chen Kaige, a renowned film director who graduated from the academy 30 years ago, said that unlike in the past, when students could only choose from five majors (directing, acting, cinematography, fine arts and sound recording), students today have diverse choices.

"With an abundant choice of majors, students may absorb more specialized knowledge and enrich themselves on their dream campus," Chen said. Endi