Middle-aged actresses decry lack of better roles in TV, movie industry

In China, some successful middle-aged actresses, who are unsatisfied with the unfair representation of women on screen, have risen up to change the status quo by taking executive roles in film productions.

For example, 40-year-old actress Yao Chen, who rooted for Hai Qing's speech, has produced a new film, Send Me to the Clouds, in which she also starred. Xu Jinglei, a famed actress, has also directed several films where she starred as the lead actresses.

Efforts on the part of these actresses are uplifting, but to make real headway in lifting middle-aged female performers out of the dire straits they have long been caught in, joint efforts from producers, screenwriters and directors are all needed to give middle-aged female actors more meaty parts in which they can play real and complicated women, said director Dayyan Eng.

Meanwhile, experts commented that we have to be patient to wait for our audiences to grow and become mature. As they get older, they will demand to see their stories reflected in TV dramas and films.

In addition, the market has the ability to self-regulate and self-correct. When people have had enough of young and beautiful faces, they can realize how beautiful those wrinkled faces are, said screenwriter He Jiping.