Forum highlights need for better women's films in China

Only Leap, one of the 10 highest-grossing blockbusters last year, features women as the leads, signaling China -- now the world's largest movie market -- has yet to produce enough quality works to shed light on women's status quo, according to a recent forum organized by Sina Weibo in Shanghai.

With an attempt to explore solutions for shaking off stereotypes and promoting gender equality, the event gathered four veteran female insiders, respectively director Li Shaohong, actresses Wu Yufang and Huang Lu, and producer Dong Wenjie.

Dong, founder of Meridian Entertainment, said few of the big-budget Chinese film projects have recruited female directors, urging the industry to give female filmmakers and actresses more opportunities to be "seen" on a bigger stage.

Li, also president of China Film Directors' Guild, echoed that the majority of blockbusters' major creators were men, despite the fact that women comprise around 70 percent of the audience for movie and TV dramas.

She said she believes female directors examine social issues with a different perspective from their male counterparts, wishing for women's stories to able to be told more from women's points of view.