On the afternoon of April 18, 2026, the panel “Breaking Boundaries and Building Empathy—New Explorations in Film Genres amid the Wave of Sports for All,” part of the 22nd Beijing International Sports Film Week, was held at O-Box, Langyuan Station, Beijing. Shifting the perspective from competitive sports to people’s everyday life in the era of sports for all, the panel explored how recreational sports can become a new source of inspiration for film creation, how sports films can break down barriers and achieve broader emotional resonance, offering fresh insights into genre innovation and value expression in sports films. Five panelists engaged in in-depth exchanges from different perspectives, including Hu Yadan, a world champion diver; Song Fangjin, a renowned screenwriter; Yu Baimei, a famous director; Yan Qiang, a sports commentator; and Zhang Qing, Chairman of Key-Solution.
A photo taken at the event.
From competition to everyday life: sport for all contains the most genuine passion
Hu Yadan, a world champion diver who has transitioned from the professional arena to public life, has a dual understanding of sport. She believes that competitive sports embody the pursuit of “faster, higher, stronger,” driven by the quest for glory and sports results, while recreational sports have nothing to do with winning or losing, but are all about happiness, health, and a pure, heartfelt passion. Citing her own skiing experience, she noted that moments of companionship after a fall, growth through persistence, and warmth in mutual support are even more touching than any gold medal moment. As she sees it, sports films need not focus only on the podium; they should also step into real life, uncovering the perseverance, vulnerability, and emotional connections of both athletes and ordinary people, allowing audiences to feel the power of sport.
Hu Yadan, a world champion diver.
From narrative to breaking boundaries: bringing sports stories beyond the arena into people’s hearts
The panelists had in-depth discussions on storytelling and cross boundary communication in the dimension of film and TV productions.
Song Fangjin proposed that sports films should break free from the formulaic approach of inspiration, avoiding a simplistic “effort guarantees success” narrative. Truly excellent works should elevate sport into a vehicle for exploring life and destiny, like the profoundly moving family drama film Children of Heaven; they should dive deep into human nature and emotion through sport so as to resonate across boundaries.
Song Fangjin, a renowned screenwriter.
Yan Qiang noted that the popularity of community-level sporting events such as “super league” football games in villages and towns demonstrates that the appeal of sport lies in its power to foster community bonds and cultural identity; sport rooted in everyday people’s lives has the greatest potential to break boundaries.
Yan Qiang, a sports commentator.
Emphasizing the “3C” principle of competition, connection, and creation, Zhang Qing pointed out that sport inherently possesses dramatic tension and emotional bonds, and content rooted in authenticity and resonance can naturally achieve communication across boundaries.
Zhang Qing, Chairman of Key-Solution.
From tradition to new technology: AI reshapes the sports film production ecosystem
Traditional sports film production has long faced significant production challenges, high costs, and the difficulty in precisely recreating professional athletic action. Yu Baimei acknowledged that filming high difficulty sports and major events can be as expensive as producing effects-heavy blockbusters, and many great stories cannot be told due to these barriers. The emergence of AI technology is transforming this landscape. It not only enables recreation of competition scenes, characters, and high difficulty stunts at low cost, making it possible to turn previously “unfilmable” stories into films. Moreover, AI has fueled the rise of diverse formats such as short-form videos and creative clips, significantly lowering the barriers to production and distribution.
Yu Baimei, a famous director.
The panelists agreed that the fusion of sport and visual storytelling need not be confined to traditional cinematic releases; documentaries, short-form videos, and AI generated content can all serve as vehicles for conveying sportsmanship. By connecting with everyday life, moving beyond champion centric narratives, and embracing technological innovation, sports films can truly resonate with audiences, and therefore, inject sustained vitality into public fitness initiatives and the dissemination of sports culture.
A group photo of panelists.
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