Middle Earth - China’s cultural industry podcast

Send us Fan Mail 18 months ago, we released our episode #99 examining how AI was being used in films, documentaries, and advertising. At the time, most of the more compelling AI-driven work was confined to short-form content. But Chinese content creator and storyteller are doing leapfrog on that area. As AI tools advance rapidly, they are increasingly taking on more complex roles in filmmaking, in...

Send us Fan Mail China's building boom can now be declared over. Yet what awaits for the 940 million city dwellers living in Chinese cities?   Featuring - Éric LE KHANH : architect  - LIU Jue (LJ) : managing editor at TWOC - Jingqiu ZHANG: IARA - Co-founder & Architect To go further - Middle Earth episode #108 - The Memorabilia Economy: Why Some Can’t Stop Dreaming of the 90s - Middle Ear...

Send us Fan Mail As the Cannes festival ends, we interviewed some key player regarding how the biggest film festival in the world impacts Chinese cinema. Featuring - Cao Liuying  : Parallax Films - Sales Agent - Clément Magar : Fortissimo Films - General Manager - Qu Zhizheng : Director & Cinematographer To go further - Middle Earth episode #44 Does China still make indie films? Middle Earth i...

Send us Fan Mail Nostalgia isn’t just a feeling—it’s also a powerful selling tool. Right as China's GDP growth slows and the future feels uncertain, consumers are increasingly drawn to products and stories that evoke the past. Whether it’s retro snacks or hit TV shows reviving bygone eras, some are tapping into a deep emotional connection. Featuring - Chu Dandan: TWOC - former editor-in-chief...

Send us Fan Mail In recent months, China’s box office has faced significant challenges, making a recent development all the more remarkable. Recently the animated film Ne Zha 2 has skyrocketed into the global box office top 10 in just one month. With currently over 1.9 billion in revenue, the film has achieved two groundbreaking milestones: - It’s the first non-English film to break into this elit...

Send us Fan Mail It has been a crazy week following the non-TikTok ban and witnessing real 'positive energy' on both sides of the Pacific. How did over 1 million Americans flock to RedNote/小红书? What hurdles lie ahead for us, and are there any potential business opportunities for international content creators? Featuring - Jim Fields: Relay Video - CEO (小红书: Jim技术咨询) - Lucy Lv:...

Send us Fan Mail When the Middle Earth Podcast started years ago, it was hard to find any feminist mainstream cultural products. But recently, movies like HER STORY (好东西) and LIKE A ROLLING STONE (出走的决心), along with female stand-up comedians and influencers, have been making their way into the mainstream. How did these success stories come to be? Featuring - Xiaotong Jiang: Kudos Comedy -...

Send us Fan Mail Hello everyone, the Middle Earth Podcast will continue as we enter 2025, but I call on all of you dear listeners as I’m great need of freelance work (or a full time position, let’s dream !). In case you are in needs of a: - corpo video creator - podcast expert - researcher - film editor - freelance producer - or PR expert Here is my company presentation ( Link ) and we can also co...

Send us Fan Mail Episode gracefully passed over by Jiang Jiang (JJ) from the Inside the China Room   podcast show in order to have a second window of distribution ;) Enjoy ! To go further - Middle Earth episode #72 Film Distribution: How to Succeed at China’s Box Office - Middle Earth episode #44 Does China still make indie films? Original message This week on Inside the China Room , Jiang Jiang (...

Send us Fan Mail Despite China's reputation for having difficulty selling cultural products due to local regulations and the audience's taste, some do manage to bridge the Chinese audience with international content. Where do such opportunities lie, and how has the Chinese audience evolved over the years? Featuring - Marion Bertagna: MB Projects - Founder & Director - Sun Wenxin (aka...

Send us Fan Mail China's first AAA game Black Myth: Wukong certainly caught the world's attention for its production value, commercial success, and controversies. How did the creative team pull that off, and why was this game considered the "perfect package"? Featuring - Daniel Ahmad: Niko Partners - Director of Research & Insights - Lundy Lan: Video Game Technical Artist -...

Send us Fan Mail Leaving Chinese Tier 1 cities that are often the heartbeat of cultural creation and where artists can find patreons, we met two creatives that leave in remote artists communities. Leveraging cheap rent and the artistic community around them, they offer a testimony to creatives' never ending resourcefulness. Featuring - Guo Xiadong : Film Producer (in Songzhuang - near Beijing...

Send us Fan Mail As any taxi driver in China would tell you, the country is safe on every level. But that must make "true crime" storytellers' lives difficult. Therefore, how can those entertainers of the dark world propose to Chinese audiences? Featuring - A Yi (阿乙) : Writer - Eric Changan : Content Creator - Wapi : Content Creator & Writer To go further - Middle Earth episod...

Send us Fan Mail After 224 guests, 4,439 minutes of content and 1 pandemic we are shamelessly celebrating Midde Earth – China’s cultural industry Podcast 100th episode! In order to make it big I have summoned all my supportive friends living in Beijing and we are today at Chill Bar for a live event to have quick introspection about the show, and so much more. Featuring - Aladin Farré : Content Pro...

Send us Fan Mail As AI is creeping into our lives and our work, no industries are left out of it and certainly not China's cultural industry. But do using AI tools to create content is an easy path and what are the ethical issues attached to such practices? Featuring - Fan : AI Startup - CTO - Erik Luo : Technical AI artist - Liang Chouwa : Documentary Director To go further - Middle Earth ep...

Send us Fan Mail Before Covid, WWE and UFC were key to push the envelope of MMA in China, now, independent promotion companies like Middle Kingdom Wrestling are left to pick up the momentum.   Featuring - Adrian Gomez: Middle Kingdom Wrestling - Founder To go further - Middle Earth episode  #65 China’s winter sports market : How to get 300 million snow enthusiasts? - Middle Earth episode #51 Pop M...

Send us Fan Mail With a forecast revenue of 370 billion USD in 2024 market size, roughly three times the size of the US market and Europe, China's apparel market  is home to up and coming fashion brands as well as big brands buying up international competitors. What can insiders share from that industry?   Featuring - Li Boyan: Fashion Photographer - Lucrezia Seu: Plush Consulting - Founder -...

Send us Fan Mail Potentially succeeding where Quibi failed, several Chinese apps (DramaBox, Reelshort) alongside others (Pocket FM, Good Novel) are pushing for 1-minute episodes of micro-series. Often depicted as being of trashy quality, they do seem to attract some eyeballs. Yet, what are the creative conditions to produce such Fifty Shades-esque stories, and is the market where we think it is? F...

Send us Fan Mail Started as a grassroots movement in the early Chinese internet, web novels slowly became a powerhouse of China’s cultural industry by producing powerful IPs. How did this industry came to be? Featuring - Tage : Author  - Wei Xiaoma : IP Licensing Manager - Yang Zeyi : Technology Reporter  To go further - Middle Earth episode #92 How writers, bookstore owners, and printers survive...

Send us Fan Mail With a 800 billion yuan market size and 1/5 of the doctor’s workforce, TCM is a force to be reckoned with in China. How did the field keeps reinventing itself and why does Chinese youth gets more attracted by it? Featuring - Martin Eriksson : TCM doctor  - ShaoYefan (邵叶凡) : TWOC - freelancer - Wu Yanmin : Ori-Bio - Co-founder To go further - Middle Earth episode #82 Understandi...

Send us Fan Mail New documentary Invisible Summit 《看不见的顶峰》tells the epic story of how Zhang Hong became the first blind Asian person to climb the world’s tallest mountain. On this podcast, director Fan Lixin (LAST TRAIN HOME) discusses how he filmed Zhang’s extraordinary journey and what he learned during the making of the movie.   Featuring - Fan Lixin (范立欣): Documentary Director - Liu...

Send us Fan Mail China’s book market is the second largest in the world, with people reading around 6 billion books a year. But how easy is it for small publishers, bookstores, and writers to get a piece of this pie? And how are digital alternatives to physical books impacting writers and small businesses and writers?   Featuring - Chen Qiufan (陈楸帆): Writer & Futurist - Liu Jue: TWOC – Mana...

Send us Fan Mail Not sure if you could stand my broken Chinese, but I started a new show regarding China's latest box office called 票房指南 as a part of an ongoing effort to become a true 网红... The Middle Earth Podcast will return next week. Links Subscribe to 票房指南 on podcast app 小宇宙 : Link Subscribe to 票房指南 on social media Bilibili : Link 原本担心这会是一部古装特效烂片，看过后...

Send us Fan Mail It's not every day that a magazine publishes its 100th issue—but Middle Earth's distributor, The World of Chinese, has reached this important milestone after 17 years of publication. We want to look at how an English-language magazine based in Beijing sustains itself and evolves into a multimedia platform (including podcasts) for human-centered stories from China. Featur...

Send us Fan Mail Women perform up to 50 percent of the jobs in China's cultural industries, but are they getting equal opportunities and compensation as men? In this episode, guests from the world of film, TV, visual arts, and journalism discuss the barriers female leaders and employees still face in their industries, and the benefits of more gender diversity in the workplace. Featuring - Li...