Cinephiles complain about smartphone-only viewing for online film festival in China
Some critically acclaimed movies at the Beijing International Film Festival, including Marriage Story, could only be watched in the iQiyi smartphone app, no screen mirroring allowed
For nearly three months now, cinephiles in China haven’t been able to see any new blockbusters as the film industry ground to a halt because of the Covid-19 pandemic. So some cinephiles were excited to learn that this year’s Beijing International Film Festival would let them stream new award-winning films from the comfort of their own homes.
When it came time to watch, though, many viewers found the experience underwhelming. And some big hits like Marriage Story could only be streamed from smartphones, annoying users who were already unable to see the film in theatres.
The film festival took place on the Baidu-owned streaming site iQiyi during the Labour Day holiday from May 1 to 5. Most of the 32 movies curated by the Beijing International Film Festival were available to iQiyi subscribers at no extra cost, with six or seven films available each day. But three critically acclaimed films required paid virtual tickets to watch live streams on phones.
Subscribers at least got a discount on the tickets. The 3,000 tickets available for Marriage Story each cost 6 yuan (US$0.85) for iQiyi members, but non-members had to pay twice as much. Viewers also had to show up to watch at film’s scheduled time at 7pm last Friday. And just like watching the film at a theatre, if you miss any part of the movie, there’s no way to rewind to see it again.
The other two movies requiring tickets were Spring Tide and Wonder in the Temple, which had 10,000 tickets each. It’s not clear how many were sold, but iQiyi’s website shows that all 3,000 tickets for Marriage Story were sold out.
The reason for smartphone-only viewing, according to iQiyi, was to prevent piracy by keeping people from recording the screens. The app restricted people from mirroring to other screens, which can be used for capturing encrypted video streams. People weren’t even allowed to watch on iQiyi’s iPad or desktop apps.
The viewing experience for the other 29 films wasn’t so restrictive. Other movies included this year’s Oscar winners like Judy (best actress) and Bombshell (best makeup and hairstyling), some older Hollywood hits like La La Land and Bohemian Rhapsody, and Chinese arthouse films that include Kaili Blues. Since those films appear to have already been available on iQiyi, they can still be streamed however people want, at any time and on any screen.
While the viewing restrictions were the biggest headache for audiences, some people also complained on social media that iQiyi was sending out push messages during the films.
When asked about the complaints, iQiyi told us that the messages could be turned off. It also said they’re designed to “satisfy users’ multiple demands when watching a film” and were limited to three or four per screening.
Other film festivals are also moving online now that Covid-19 is a pandemic and theatres are closed in many places around the world.
