On 15 July, Huawei’s first Kung Fu & Dance mobile phone film, ‘Transformation’, was released online. Directed by the renowned Zhao Xiaoding, the entire production was shot using the Huawei Pura 70 series. It artfully combines traditional Chinese Kung Fu and modern dance, using the metaphor of a bamboo forest surrounded by mist to represent confusion. Kung Fu dance is used to break through this confusion, depicting an individual’s journey from ‘entry’ (入境) to ‘realisation’ (化境). Concurrently, Huawei’s 5th Huawei Image Golden Rooster Mobile Phone Film Project is about to begin its final countdown for accepting movie submissions.
Huawei’s mobile phone films have garnered widespread attention on Weibo, with the topic #Huawei Mobile Phone Film ‘Transformation’# achieving 91.55 million views, and another topic, #Huawei Image Golden Rooster Mobile Phone Film Project#, reaching 1.32 billion views.
The film highlights the Kung Fu dance of seven actors in a misty bamboo forest and was captured using XMAGE images from Huawei’s Pura70 series. The phone’s capabilities in capturing light and shadow, the details of the characters’ faces with the Super Spotlight Macro Telephoto, Super AIS anti-shake technology, and ultra-high-speed Windchill Flash ensured stable and impactful captures, earning good reviews from tech influencers and netizens.
Huawei also released behind-the-scenes footage, where Xiaoding praised Huawei Cloud as a valuable partner for images. By uploading all photos and video footage to the Cloud, users can avoid the loss of precious assets. Additionally, the content can be synced across multiple devices, enabling easy viewing on tablets and computers which are logged into the same Huawei account, simplifying the post-editing process.
As China’s oldest, most influential, and authoritative film festival, China Golden Rooster & Hundred Flowers Film Festival has collaborated with Huawei since 2019 to co-sponsor the Huawei Image-Golden Rooster Mobile Phone Film Project. The 5th Mobile Phone Film Project began accepting entries in March this year and will conclude at the end of July. Zhao Xiaoding is also one of the judges for this year’s film programme. According to official guidelines, film works must be shot with mobile phones, and only those shot with Huawei mobile phones can be awarded the ‘Huawei Image Honour’.
Huawei XMAGE is the exclusive brand of Huawei Mobile Image. Beyond filmmaking, the Huawei Image Competition has been held for five years. In May this year, the Huawei Image 12 Years Exhibition opened at Alserkal Avenue in Dubai, UAE, marking the largest exhibition of Huawei’s imaging works in the company’s history.
Comparatively, Apple has invited a famous director to create a microfilm using the latest iPhone to tell a story about the Chinese Spring Festival every year since 2018. While mobile phone films have not yet become mainstream in cinemas, the efforts of brands like Huawei and Apple have led to their acceptance at numerous film festivals.
