Pili puppet show can be traced back to the late Ming Dynasty and the early Qing Dynasty around the 17th century in Quanzhou or Zhangzhou in East China's Fujian Province. [Photo by Li Xiang/xinhua]

The 28th Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Film Festival, which was held in the coastal city of Xiamen, Fujian province, came to a close on Nov 23 but its legacy lives on, as many filmmakers from across the Taiwan Straits are now seeking opportunities in Xiamen.

Many films from Taiwan were screened during the five-day festival, earning praise from audiences. Pili puppet shows, a popular form of entertainment in Taiwan that makes uses state-of-the-art animation, are also seeing wider popularity on the Chinese mainland.

The Golden Rooster Awards has provided opportunities for cross-Straits cooperation in the film and television industry. Xiamen is taking advantage of the fact that it has been selected as the host city for the China Golden Rooster Film Festival for the next five years and is working to develop itself into a hotspot for cooperation among the Chinese mainland, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macao in the film industry. The city government also hopes to transform the city into a center for film shooting and production, film screenings, and talent cultivation, according to Li Xiaohong, vice president of the Fujian Film Association. 

In addition, Xiamen has implemented 60 preferential policies aimed at Taiwan filmmakers that involve the construction of film parks, the cultivation of film talent, and film and television post-production, and the city's Jimei Film Cultural and Creative Park is now home to 25 Taiwan film companies.