How to tell China stories to a global audience is a big question these days as foreign co-productions increase. Li Anlan and Xu Wei listen to the views of Chinese and foreign filmmakers.

When a famous Chinese director releases a new film, people often ask: Will it be an international success? Hopes and expectations are high and for many in China's movie industry, winning the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film is the highest accolade.

The first and only time that happened was 2000 for Taiwan-born, Los Angeles-based director Ang Lee's film "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon."

But there are other questions: How can Chinese directors effectively tell a Chinese story to a world audience and will they understand? Some ask whether they should even be aiming for a world audience.

Last year, Zhang Yimou's "The Flowers of War" was not nominated for an Oscar - a big blow since it was China's official submission. The film is set in 1937 during the "Rape of Nanjing" during China's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1937-1945). It focused on high-class prostitutes and moralistic convent girls sheltering together in a convent school, their bitter relations and finally their reconciliation during a dark period of Chinese history. It starred Christian Bale as a drunken undertaker.

The film netted more than 600 million yuan (US$94 million) domestically and was considered a success. Domestic audiences gave it good ratings, though not all critics liked it. The Academy Awards committee didn't even nominate it as best foreign language film. Some critics said it was too "Hollywoodized" and called the focus on prostitutes and schoolgirls too narrow.

For Chinese people, the topic of the Nanjing Massacre has special meaning and many films have been made, including foreign productions in the past few years. Some say it's a good thing Zhang took the story to the big screen.

Sometimes, the barrier between cultures is impossible to cross. For films with strong national characteristics, even if foreign audiences understand the story, they wouldn't have the same feelings. For them, it's a moving story, but for Chinese, it's history.

In recent years, a number of big-budget productions have told Chinese stories from the past, both ancient and modern. Feng Xiaogang's 2010 film "Aftershock" depicted the 1976 Tangshan earthquake and aftermath. His current film "Remembering 1942" depicts the 1942 drought in Henan Province when many people were forced to flee their homes.

At a forum during the Shanghai International Film Festival this week, Feng repeated earlier statements that it's not so important to let the whole world hear a Chinese story, because the stories are told to and for a Chinese audience, which understands it.

"It's not whether we explain a story to the world, but whether the world is interested in listening to our story," Feng says.

For films with strong national roots, the meaning is more than just great stories for the Chinese audience. Feng explained what Chinese people will get from "Remembering 1942."

"I think this film will let us know where we come from," Feng says. "Looking back, our people have suffered from many disasters. When we know where we come from, we will know the path before us."

Writer and screenwriter Liu Zhenyun of "Remembering 1942" says that American directors think first about telling stories to an American audience, and then other people listen.

For Liu, knowledge and experience matter more than just finding the story. "If someone is very knowledgeable, he can find a story that suits him," Liu says. "After the story is found, the knowledge will influence in which direction the story will develop, and its depth definitely is linked to his knowledge."

Liu also says that one's attitude to life, to friends and to every detail reflects a person's knowledge and experience.

Director Feng observed that China and its people are full of forgeries: fake powdered milk, fake football, fake box office, and so on.

Many Chinese screenwriters now take other temporary jobs, so their stories are blended and not rich. He says it's hard to tell stories, good scripts are not written, and they take a long time to accumulate and develop.

People around the world watch Hollywood productions, since the stories are easy to understand. Romantic comedies and science fiction have fewer national characteristics and appeal to a broader audience, with interesting plots and unique characters. People around the world can understand.

American director and screenwriter Nicholas Meyer says that Hollywood has always been good at telling the stories of ordinary people, but now their stories are for the whole world to consume, just candies.

In the eyes of Ren Zhonglun, president of the Shanghai Film Group Corp, it is not easy to tell an original Chinese story to a global audience.

"We find it quite necessary to collaborate with Western film producers who have rich expertise and experience in film production and marketing," Ren says.

"The Cursed Piano" to be released next year is a joint effort of the film group and Hollywood's Phoenix Pictures. The film, based on Bei La's novel, tells a love story set in Shanghai during the Japanese occupation, at a time when Shanghai offered shelter to thousands of European refugees of Nazi persecution. China required no visas.

The story's universal themes of love, faith, peace and freedom attracted acclaimed coproducer Mike Medavoy, who was born in Shanghai in 1941.

His many credits include "Silence of the Lambs" (1990) and "Black Swan" (2010). Shanghai Film Group Corp plans other films to attract a global audience, including a film about the 125-year-old Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, a witness of the war trauma, growth and prosperity.

It's a historical film telling little-known stories behind the establishment of diplomatic relations between the United States and China.

It's also about the lives of ordinary Shanghai families since China's reform and opening-up beginning in 1978.

Ren, head of Shanghai Film Group Corp, says the company will continue to present more realistic films addressing social problems in China.

These films may feature an international cast and will provide insight into issues such as China's still-developing legal system and conflicts between doctors and patients.