Director Chen Kaige addresses a ceremony marking his appointment as the dean of the newly found movie college of Shanghai University, July 5, 2015. [Photo/Xinhua]

"He didn't accept the invitation at first, because he was afraid that he would not have enough time to do it well," said Luo, adding it took him half a year to convince Chen to become a "full-time dean of the academy."

Other than being responsible, Luo said Chen's good English communication skills also make him quite competent for the job.

"Shanghai is an international city, and we need people like Chen who can lead us all the way to the international arena," Luo said.

The founding of the academy has put an end to the fact that Shanghai, birthplace of China's film industry, does not have a competent film academy with a complete system of discipline.

Responding to some who say worries that China has trained more film talent than needed, Chen said that this is not true.

"China's prosperous culture industry will demand more professional talent, and we are determined to meet the demand," he said.