AI builds a bridge of light and shadow, China and Africa explore new paths for film and television cooperation

China News Service, Jinhua, October 24 (Liu Zilin) ​​How can a Chinese film and television work reach African audiences faster? Changes in language switching, content dissemination and production methods are opening up new space for China-Africa film and television cooperation.

On October 23, the 2026 China-Africa Film and Television Exchange and Cooperation Event was held in Hengdian, Dongyang, Jinhua, Zhejiang. How artificial intelligence (AI) can assist film and television production and lower the threshold of cross-cultural communication has become a topic of concern to the guests.

2026 marks the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Africa, and is also the year of people-to-people exchanges between China and Africa. As an important base for China's film and television industry, Hengdian is trying to transform the advantages of the film and television industry into a new driving force for cultural exchanges and industrial cooperation between China and Africa.

Technological progress has made it easier for film and television works to overcome language barriers. Zhang Huiyu, a researcher at the School of Journalism and Communication at Peking University and director of the Peking University Television Research Center, believes that AI translation and dubbing tools can shorten the time for producing Swahili, French, Arabic and other versions of film and television works, and lower the threshold for works to enter the African market. At the same time, the development of short video platforms and streaming media is also changing the way film and television content is disseminated, giving works the opportunity to reach audiences in different countries faster.

However, the speed of technology does not mean that cultural understanding can be omitted. "Technology can help us spread content faster, but it cannot replace the understanding of local culture." Zhang Huiyu said that in order for film and television works to be truly recognized by local audiences, they need to be localized in expressions based on the cultural backgrounds and aesthetic habits of different countries and regions.

How to transform technological advantages into deeper cooperation? Martin Handu, former chairman of the Zanzibar International Film Festival in Tanzania, believes that China-Africa film and television cooperation needs to further improve the market cooperation mechanism to create conditions for cross-border trade, talent flow, service exports and joint production.

In his view, AI provides new tools for cooperation between the two parties, but for cooperation to go further, it requires the participation of all parties in the industry to promote the exchange of ideas, talents and technology.

The China-Africa AI Film and Television Technology Innovation Exchange held in the afternoon further focused on the application of artificial intelligence in film and television production. A number of AI technology experts, representatives of domestic film and television companies and representatives of African students studying in China exchanged views on lightweight computing power, AIGC film and television creation, and AI film and television projects in Africa, and watched the AI ​​creative short film "Africans in Hengdian".

Gao Feng, deputy director of the Scientific and Technological Achievement Transformation Department of the China Institute of Film Science and Technology, said that China has accumulated certain experience in AI film and television applications and film and television industrialization construction. Africa has rich cultural resources. The two sides can deepen cooperation in film and television creation, talent training and industrial resource docking.