Revealing the Investors of Hainan Film Academy： Under the background of integration of production and education, is it a trend for enterprises to participate in film academy？
Economic Observer reporter Li Huaqing For Zhang Yijing, the head of the Propaganda Department of Hainan Film Academy, it is very likely that he will have to work overtime this weekend, because the eighth four-day expert seminar of the Academy has not yet come to an end, and Zhang Yijing has to receive participants from afar. On the morning of October 29th, when our reporter called Zhang Yijing, she was accompanying the expert group to visit the college.
In late August this year, Hainan Film Academy just held the seventh expert seminar. Experts and scholars in the film, television and media industries discussed the progress and plan of the preparatory work of Hainan Film Academy with representatives from the Development Planning Department of Hainan Provincial Education Department and Danzhou Municipal Government of Hainan, and discussed the professional setting, the construction of teaching staff and the training scheme for young teachers.
Hainan Film Academy is a private undergraduate art college under construction. It is located in Danzhou City, Hainan Province, with a planned investment of 2.4 billion yuan. It is one of the key local construction projects and is highly valued by the local government. Since this year, many leaders of Hainan Province have visited the college for investigation.
Although the construction of Hainan Film Academy occasionally appeared in Hainan news reports, Zhang Yijing told this reporter that due to the COVID-19 epidemic, the construction progress of the Academy was delayed compared with the original plan. official website of Hainan Film Academy announced that it is expected to start art examination enrollment in March 2021. At present, it seems that all the building construction will not be completed until the end of 2021, and the education department will pass the acceptance and approval before enrolling students.
Hainan Huiyou Film and Television Art Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Huiyou Film and Television Art"), the organizer of Hainan Film Academy, announced that the image progress of Hainan Film Academy project has been completed by about 30%, and the investment has reached 521 million yuan. Zhang Yijing told this reporter that the planned investment of 2.4 billion yuan announced to the outside world was all borne by Hainan Huiyou Film and Television Art Co., Ltd. The recruitment notice posted by official website of the Academy also said that the Hainan Film Academy was developed by "the founder invested 2.4 billion yuan with his own funds".
Official website of Hainan Film Academy introduced that Huiyou Film and Television Art was established in 2018 with a registered capital of 50 million yuan. The company mainly engaged in radio and television program production, film production and distribution, TV drama production and distribution, virtual vision technology research and development, film and television cultural tourism project planning and development, etc. In 2019, the accumulated output value was 170 million yuan, and the tax paid was 4.6 million yuan.
How does a startup with an annual output value of less than 200 million yuan incite an investment project of 2.4 billion yuan?
Hainan Film Academy Capital Bureau
Similar to many websites, official website of Hainan Film Academy put a friendship link below, which links to Beiying, Chinese Opera and Hebei Media College, both film and television media colleges, but it also links to official website, a Chinese public education institution.
Zhonggong Education (002607.SZ) completed its backdoor listing in 2019, and its current market value exceeds 240 billion yuan. It is a well-known vocational education and training institution in China, mainly engaged in the recruitment and training of non-academic civil servants, institutions and teachers, and also provided training services for employment-related examinations such as law exams, certified public accountants and human resources division. On the surface, it seems that it is "out of touch" with the Hainan Film Academy under construction.
However, if we sort out the equity investment relationship behind Huiyou film and television art, the founder of Hainan Film Academy, we can find obvious traces related to Chinese public education.
According to Qixinbao Information, at present, Huiyou Film and Television Art is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hainan Huiyou Film and Television Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Huiyou Film and Television Technology"), and Huiyou Film and Television Technology has three shareholders, namely Beijing Huiyou Zhiyuan Investment Center (limited partnership), Oriental Dream Culture Industry Investment Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Oriental Dream") and Ma Xiaogang. Among them, Beijing Huiyou Zhiyuan Investment Center (limited partnership) is opposite to Huiyou Film and Television.
Kai Xinbao also showed that Huiyou Film and Television Art was registered in April 2018, and the first change record was in July 2018. The shareholders were changed from the original Beijing Huiyou Zhiyuan Investment Center to 60% and Ma Xiaogang to 40%. Huiyou Film and Television Technology is 100% owned.
The national enterprise credit information publicity system shows that Ma Xiaogang is the chairman and general manager of Huiyou Film and Television Technology, and also the executive director and general manager of Huiyou Film and Television Art. According to public information, Ma Xiaogang is the former artistic director of Hainan Radio and Television General Station and a national first-class director.
The background of Beijing Huiyou Zhiyuan Investment Center (Limited Partnership) is relatively mysterious. Qixinbao shows that the shareholders of Beijing Huiyou Zhiyuan Investment Center (Limited Partnership) are two natural persons, namely Cai Haibo (80% of the capital contribution) and Qin Xiaohang (20% of the capital contribution), and Cai Haibo is also the executive partner of the partnership.
According to media reports, Beijing Huiyou Zhiyuan Investment Center (Limited Partnership) is actually a partnership controlled by the top management of Zhonggong Education, and Cai Haibo is the vice president of Zhonggong Education Group. Our reporter searched online information, and also saw that the website named Peking University Alumni Network published a message in March 2019, titled "Zhonggong Public Welfare Fund donated 50 million yuan to support the development of Peking University School of Government Administration". According to the news, Li Yongxin, Chairman of Zhonggong Education Group, and Cai Haibo, Vice President, witnessed the signing ceremony, and Cai Haibo’s title was "Vice President of Zhonggong Education Group".
On October 27th, our reporter verified the relationship between the company and Hainan Film Academy, the relationship between the company’s senior management and Beijing Huiyou Zhiyuan Investment Center (limited partnership) and the relationship between Cai Haibo and Zhonggong Education, but as of press time, there was no reply.
In addition, judging from the announcement issued by Zhonggong Education, the company’s top management may also have contact with Beijing Huiyou Zhiyuan Investment Center (limited partnership). On April 18, 2020, Zhonggong Education announced that the company had received a notice from Ms. Lu Zhongfang, the controlling shareholder and actual controller, that Lu Zhongfang had pledged 50 million shares of the company he held to Minsheng Bank Beijing Branch for providing pledge guarantee for the financing of Beijing Huiyou Zhiyuan Investment Center (Limited Partnership). Lu Zhongfang has another identity-the mother of Li Yongxin, the founder and chairman of Zhonggong Education.
The ownership structure of Oriental Dream is relatively simple and clear. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the listed company Hengxin Oriental (300081.SZ). Hengxin Oriental has a market value of nearly 4.5 billion yuan, mainly engaged in the production of ComputerGraphics (CG) and VirtualReality (VR) content, the development and operation of children’s industrial chain, LBE (LBE(LocationBasedEntertainment) urban new entertainment, and Internet video application products and services.
On October 27th, our reporter interviewed Hengxin Oriental and asked if we could provide help or support in the preparation, enrollment and personnel training of Hainan Film Academy. Indirect participation in the establishment of Hainan Film Academy will have an impact on the company. The staff of Hengxin Oriental replied that the company is in the window of disclosing the third quarterly report and may not be able to reply to the interview outline in time. As of press time, there is no reply.
If it is connected with the equity of the organizer of Hainan Film Academy, it will be a talent reserve channel for Hengxin Oriental. Official website of Hainan Film Academy introduced that an animation academy will be set up.
Hengxin Oriental is also actively establishing cooperative relations with institutions with outstanding talents in the industry. Hengxin Oriental’s semi-annual report in 2020 introduced that the company has formed strategic cooperative relations with many well-known enterprises in the fields of film and television creation, visual effects and virtual reality, such as Vita Studio, Purple Waterbird Image and TheVirtualRealityCompany(VRC).
The founders of Vita Studio are The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit director Peter Jackson, Sir richard taylor, winner of the 5th Academy Awards, his wife and editor Jamie Selcock. The founder of Purple Waterbird Image is Sir richard taylor and a well-known children’s picture book writer and illustrator Martin Baynton; Robert Sterlon Berg, the co-founder of VRC’s main creative and technical team, has won two consecutive Oscars for Best production designer for Avatar and Alice in Wonderland.
Of course, on the other hand, if the relationship between Hainan Film Academy and Hengxin Oriental is "iron" enough, Hengxin Oriental can also provide internship or practical opportunities for college students.
Huiyou film and television art seems to be a start-up, but through it, Hainan Film Academy is linked with Ma Xiaogang, Hengxin Oriental and even Zhonggong Education. Ma Xiaogang has worked in Hainan for many years and has experience in film and television. Hengxin Oriental has accumulated the ability to produce VR, CG and other content, while Zhonggong Education is good at training. The three parties integrated together to invest in establishing a film academy, and the foundation stone was laid in 2019. It was originally planned to start enrolling students in 2021.
In addition, Hainan is quite supportive of the film industry. The Guiding Opinions of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council on Supporting Hainan to Deepen Reform and Opening-up in an All-round Way clearly proposes to support Hainan to hold an international film festival, and the first Hainan Island International Film Festival will be held in December 2018. In this context, Hainan welcomes film and television talents and film academies to settle down. On October 28, 2020, Hainan Daily also published an article by the dean and research assistant of the "Belt and Road" Research Institute of Hainan University, saying that it is necessary to develop a characteristic film and television industry to help build a free trade port.
The Enterprise Power Behind the New Film Academy
In addition to the Hainan Film Academy mentioned above, there are many film academies under construction in China.
In November 2018, the Pearl River Film Academy of Jinan University was announced to be established, which will be jointly established by Jinan University, China Film Association, Guangzhou Municipal Government Information Office, Pearl River Film Group Co., Ltd. and Bona Film Group Co., Ltd.
In May 2020, Nanchong Film Industry Vocational College, known as the first film technology university in China, was put on record by the Ministry of Education, and was organized by Beijing Guoying Shengshi Culture Media Co., Ltd.
In August 2020, Xi ‘an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, Light Media and Yangzhou Jiangdu District Government held a signing ceremony for strategic cooperation. The three parties will jointly build Xi ‘an Jiaotong-Light Film Academy, which will land in Yangzhou. It is planned to start campus construction in 2021 and the overall project will be completed in 2023.
In October 2020, Northwest University, Shaanxi Wentou Group and Xiying Group signed a cooperation agreement, and the three parties will jointly build the Xi ‘an Film Academy of Northwest University, which is known as the first film academy in northwest China.
The Shanxi Film Academy, which is under construction in Shanxi Province, is expected to be listed before New Year’s Day in 2021, with director Jia Zhangke as its president.
Among the above film academies under construction, except Shanxi Film Academy, the founders of the other four colleges all have film and television media enterprises. More than the above enterprises are interested in setting up a film academy.
In November 2019, the leaders of Jilin Province met with Wang Jianlin, chairman of Wanda Group, who came to Jilin Province to discuss the cooperation of film and television industry chain projects, and said that Jilin Province would strongly support the construction of Wanda Group’s film and television industry chain projects in Jilin, focusing on the preparation of film academies and international film festivals, accelerating the implementation of projects and promoting the high-quality development of the film and television industry.
The establishment of film academy by enterprises in the industry has its inherent advantages and is expected to profit from it. The establishment of a school requires upfront investment, enterprises have sources of funds, and enterprises can also provide students with exercise opportunities. The film industry is an industry that focuses on experience and practicality. As the founder, the enterprise is expected to occupy the convenience that competitors do not have in hiring graduates from this school.
The State Council General Office is also promoting the integration of production and education. In December 2017, the General Office of the State Council issued "Several Opinions on Deepening the Integration of Industry and Education" (hereinafter referred to as "Opinions"). The Opinions pointed out that due to various factors such as institutional mechanisms, the supply side of talent training and the demand side of industry cannot fully adapt to the structure, quality and level, and the problem of "two skins" still exists. Deepening the integration of production and education, and promoting the organic connection between education chain, talent chain and industrial chain, and innovation chain are urgent requirements for promoting the structural reform of the supply side of human resources at present, which is of great significance for comprehensively improving the quality of education, expanding employment and entrepreneurship, promoting economic transformation and upgrading, and cultivating new kinetic energy for economic development under the new situation. The Opinions make it clear that the main goal of the integration of industry and education is to gradually improve the participation of industry enterprises in running schools, improve the diversified school-running system, and comprehensively promote the collaborative education between schools and enterprises. In about 10 years, the development pattern of overall integration and benign interaction between education and industry has been formed, the demand-oriented talent training model has been improved, the major structural contradiction between talent education supply and industrial demand has been basically solved, and the contribution of vocational education and higher education to economic development and industrial upgrading has been significantly enhanced. The "Opinions" emphasize the need to strengthen the important role of enterprises, broaden the ways for enterprises to participate, deepen the reform of "introducing enterprises into education", carry out production line internship training, and give play to the leading role of key enterprises.
The phenomenon and discussion of running schools with mixed ownership have increased in recent years. In October 2017, Huace Film Academy of Zhejiang Media College was unveiled, claiming to be the first pilot unit of mixed ownership undergraduate education reform in China. The college was jointly established by Zhejiang Media College, Zhejiang Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television Administration, Zhejiang Tongxiang Municipal Government and Huace Film and Television Group.
On September 8, 2020, 14 departments including Shandong Provincial Department of Education jointly issued "Guiding Opinions on Promoting Mixed Ownership in Vocational Colleges (Trial)", which is said to be the first policy document on mixed ownership in vocational colleges in China.
Different from the art colleges jointly established by the local government and national ministries, such as Beiying, Chinese Opera and Shangxi, the film academy with enterprises behind it may have a brand-new talent training model and method. With the rise of short videos, self-media and video websites, as well as the popularity of smart phones and high-speed networks, the threshold for shooting and video creation has been lowered, and the ability requirements have also changed, which may adversely affect the talent training mode of colleges and universities.
From the overall environment, enterprises are encouraged to participate in running schools, especially those specialized in running schools with strong combination of participation and production. The film industry is in the ascendant in Hainan Free Trade Port, and Hainan Film Academy has set sail at this time, catching up with the good times. What kind of journey can it take? It remains to be handed over by the helmsman.
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