From left: Chinese actor Liu Ye, Italian actress Maria Grazia Cucinotta and Chinese actress Yang Mi are among more than 400 celebrities attending the Shanghai festival.[Photo provided to China Daily]

This was reflected at the festival's forums, which serve as barometers for what is happening in China's rapidly evolving movie industry.

Feng Xiaogang says China has produced a lot of lousy flops. But he says it may be a blessing in disguise.

Wang Zhonglei, CEO of Huayi Brothers, says local theaters have been premiering at least eight domestic movies every week for the past several months, but most have failed.

"Almost every weekend, Hollywood blockbusters take the lead (in the box-office charts). The phenomenon shows that the Chinese are not cutting back on their visits to theaters, but we (the Chinese filmmakers) need to improve."

These views are echoed by Ren Zhonglun, president of the Shanghai Film Group, who says 70percent of China's box-office receipts from March to May were taken by imports.

"China is not short of good stories, as we have many excellent authors. Butwe lack professionals to transform the stories into appealing cinematic works," he says.

Wang Changtian, president of Enlight Media, admits that there is a slowdown but insists that the Chinese movie industry is "improving".