I am a historical film director in the entertainment industry.

Some excellent directors and actors have also injected new vitality into youth romance films.

The film that truly defined this genre was "So Young," directed by Zhao in 2013, which grossed 7 million yuan at the box office.

'Youth romance films' have become an increasingly popular sub-genre in the film market.

In the following years, youth-themed films exploded, with more than 40 youth films being released in the market within seven years.

It's clear that once a genre becomes popular, a whole host of copycat movies will appear.

However, the critical reception of these youth films is hard to describe. The highest-rated film on Douban is "So Young," directed by a certain Zhao, with a score of 6.6.

The rest of the youth romance films received poor reviews.

As a hot new genre of film, youth films are easy to make big profits with small investments, which has led many companies to participate in their production, hoping to get a share of the market.

Based on the main production types of film and television companies, Wanda Film, Enlight Pictures, and New Classics Media are all major producers of youth films.

The originality of youth films is actually not high, and most of them are adapted in various forms. Among them, the number of novel adaptations is the largest, reaching 50%. However, correspondingly, novels have the strongest box office conversion ability because the book fans and the audience have a high degree of compatibility. These 50% of films can generate 63.9% of the box office.

There are quite a few youth films adapted from true stories, such as "American Dreams in China", "Angels Wear White" and "Dog Thirteen", but most of these films are plot-driven and have a limited audience. In addition, they have a certain threshold for viewers, so this type of film has a low box office revenue.

However, most online youth novels tend to fall into melodramatic plots, so when adapted into movies, they inevitably face criticism from audiences. On average, youth films adapted from novels fail to pass the mark, while youth films adapted from true events generally receive better reviews.

Cancer, abortion, and car accidents are known as the "three treasures" of Korean dramas, and many viewers' low impressions of youth dramas stem from these elements.

The 18 films that included themes such as "abortion, car accidents, and cancer" garnered 52.7% of the box office, but overall, the average word-of-mouth score was only 5.3.

Youth is not synonymous with melodramatic plots like "fighting," and the development of youth films has also gone through a process of exploration and maturation.

In 2013, five out of six youth films that grossed over 10 million yuan contained elements such as abortion, car accidents, and cancer, including "So Young," which sparked a wave of youth films and featured car accidents and abortion scenes.

But after 2015, the situation began to improve, and creators and audiences gradually realized the importance of exploring and expressing youth films in a diverse way.

The word-of-mouth of a film has become a decisive factor in its subsequent box office performance, as evidenced by the success of "Ne Zha" and "Better Days".

"Youth films are a genre of films that take the growth experience of teenagers as their core narrative content, often focusing on themes such as adolescent emotions, school life, and self-awareness..."

Cheng Sheng directly instilled the concept of youthfulness into the people present.

Those present fell into deep thought upon hearing this.

Yang Ting and Sun Fei's eyes grew brighter and brighter.

"Boss, can we direct this movie?" Yang Ting and Sun Fei asked at the same time.

Seeing the eager expressions on their faces, Cheng Sheng smiled and nodded, saying, "Okay, this movie will be co-directed by the two of you."

Among all the directors in the company, Sun Fei and Yang Ting are the most suitable to direct this youth film.

Female directors tend to be more sensitive, making this type of film more suitable for them.

Nearly one-fifth of domestic films and television dramas related to youth and love are directed by women.

Unlike the Hollywood phenomenon where male directors dominate romance films, in China, it seems natural for female directors to make youth and romance films.

Since the beginning of the new millennium, more and more films have been directed by female directors born in the 70s and 80s, and they have become a new force in the Chinese film director community.

After 2000, among the 17 emerging female directors in China, 12 of them made their first or representative work a romance film.

Of the 43 youth romance films that grossed over 8 million yuan at the box office, 12 were directed by women.

Nearly one-fifth of romance films are directed by them, which shows that romance films have almost become the domain of female directors. What are the reasons for this phenomenon?

On some film and television forums, you can often see discussions such as "Are there any female directors in China who don't make romance movies or TV series?"

Zhao's "So Young" once topped the domestic romance film box office with 7.1 million yuan. Subsequently, a number of romance films, known in the industry as "light" films, emerged in the mainland film industry, such as the "Tiny Times" series, "My Old Classmate", "Fleet of Time" and "The Left Ear".

Many of these "light" films are adapted from popular IPs, often using youth romance as a narrative symbol. They are very popular with fans, but are also criticized for their so-called "light" content.

In 2015, two youth romance films directed by Xu Jinglei and Li Yu, "Somewhere Only We Know" and "Ever Since We Love," grossed 2.8 million and 1.4 million yuan respectively, making them relatively high-grossing and critically acclaimed "light" films.

In contrast to Xu Jinglei's main selling point of "multiple love cycles in youth", Li Yu's "Ever Since We Love" breaks away from the usual practice of female directors showing emotions from a female perspective in youth romance films. Instead, it tells a hormone-fueled story from a male perspective and has been hailed as "the most raw youth romance film".

Li Yu said that "Ever Since We Love" tells the story of a boy's three "spring dreams": "The first dream is his first love, which is the purest and most beautiful; the second is his current girlfriend, which is the most realistic, the most suitable, and the safest, but not necessarily the one he loves the most; and the third is Liu Qing (played by Fan Bingbing), who is independent, mature, and sexy, and is what boys yearn for most during their adolescence."

In 2014, Yao Ting stopped filming the web series "Back in Time", which received good reviews and sparked a wave of youthful nostalgia online, resonating with many viewers.

It was because of this drama that the production company found director Yao Tingting to adapt Liu Tong's novel "Who's Youth Isn't Confused".

In the story, Yao Tingting incorporated some of her own youthful experiences and life insights. She admitted that the female protagonist, Lin Tianjiao, is very similar to herself in high school, facing many choices.

"We raised the question of whether people should follow their own hearts or the opinions of others. A major reason for this confusion is the struggle between the self and the environment. Ultimately, we offered the audience a choice, sharing a growth experience with them." (End of Chapter)