A scene from film  Twenty Two. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Lu Shaoyang, a media professor at Peking University, also wants to "put people at the center" of films.

"We often consider the word 'people' as something collective. But each individual is composed of flesh and blood. Every person has inner struggles. Filmmaking needs to better address people's inner worlds."

And, as the Communist Party of China's 19th National Congress in October said that the contradiction between unbalanced and inadequate development and the people's ever growing needs for a better life is now a major factor faced by China in the new era, says Rao Shuguang, head of the China Film Critics Association. "This is something that the film industry should address," he says.

"There's a gap between people's demands for better domestic films and our productions," says Rao.

"And the Chinese film market cannot only rely on the Chinese population anymore for growth.

"A bigger market can be created only by higher quality. More creativity is called for."