Striking a balance

From theater to cinema, the festival was filled with joy. The question of how to make the audience laugh — and how to strike the right balance of humor in a cross-cultural context — was among the key topics of discussion.

Khan, whose wrestling-themed film Dangal was a hit in the Chinese mainland in 2017, emphasizes that timing is crucial to good comedy. He received the Mr. Humor Award, one of the festival's most prestigious honors.

"Comedy does require something special. Half a second earlier or late, and the punch line is not as effective," he says, adding that whether in situational comedy or slapstick, timing is essential — both in delivering dialogue and executing physical humor.

Khan says he's always believed that to go global, creators must first be local because the more rooted a film is in its culture, the more universally it can resonate.

When asked about improvisation, which sometimes adds unexpected comedy, Khan said he doesn't like to improvise without asking the writers in advance.

"Whenever I've improvised — even if an idea comes to me when neither the director nor the writer is present — I always reach out to tell them what I'm thinking. I want to know how they feel. I believe in the importance of writing because that's where everything about cinema starts," he says.

For Shen, one of China's most popular comedic actors, comedy is like an entertaining shell wrapped around serious social issues in a lighthearted and audience-friendly package.

Taking his film Successor as an example, he explains that comedy can avoid being preachy while encouraging viewers to focus on social issues and contemplate deep questions.

An in-depth exploration of "helicopter parenting" — a typical phenomenon in many parts of the world — Successor is the story of a wealthy businessman and his wife who pretend to be poor to encourage their youngest son to study hard and secure a promising future. The film earned over 3.3 billion yuan at the box office, becoming one of the highest-grossing blockbusters last year.

Takeshi Kitano, whose best-known comedy is the 1999 road film Kikujiro, says that his early artistic experience in small theaters prepared him well for film, and that the idea of making a film of his own also first came from the stage.

Revealing his fondness for Asian comedies — exemplified by his voice role for the Japanese dub of Hong Kong's The Private Eyes, which was released as Mr. Boo! in Japan — Kitano says that he is passionate about Chinese comedies.

He also says that he plans to collaborate with Bai Ke on his upcoming film, with the script scheduled for completion by autumn, and shooting set to begin by the end of this year.

For most festival participants, the event was a bridge for cultural exchange and creative inspiration.

Peter Chiarelli, the American screenwriter behind Crazy Rich Asians — one of Hollywood's most successful Asian-led comedies — says his visit to China will allow him to learn from others, take inspiration back home, and create even better work.

"Language barriers can be tricky with comedy — if you're structuring a joke and the phrasing doesn't translate, that's a challenge. But you do find crossover in certain universal themes," he adds.