With the movie industry booming, Chinese cinema is losing its originality and diversity. Several influential directors urged filmmakers to keep their unique styles at a forum held June 17.

"It is a great pity to see fewer and fewer movies with personal marks in the Chinese movie market. Usually people just follow suit," said John Woo, an accomplished Hong Kong director.

Some directors change their style every time they get someone new to foot the bill for their movie projects, director He Ping said. They have to make enormous comprises and do as the sponsors say.

Some movies nowadays have so many product placements that they are more like motion advertisement collections. Hong Kong director Pang Ho-Cheung dismissed this kind of sponsorship as "shameless."

Woo said that lack of diversity makes the Chinese movie industry unsustainable. "For it is easy to saturate the market, only to ultimately lose the whole market," he said.

To turn the situation around, Woo urged Chinese directors to keep following their own ways, not to do what everybody else does. He said they should not abandon their styles at another's request. Different people should make different movies.

Meanwhile, sponsors should learn how to respect filmmakers, understand their values, and make their investment in the movie industry on the basis of long-term considerations, he said.

"Chinese movie festivals and awards should encourage cinematic diversity," Woo said. They should enlarge their selection ranges, giving winning chances to assorted types of movies. They should send a message that only those works with personal stamps can stand out. In this way, they can encourage and guide young filmmakers, he said.

Director Wang Xiaoshuai said the general public should broaden the general perspective and learn to respect and tolerate movies of different styles.

Taiwanese director Doze Niu said that filmmakers can do market research for their projects before launching. In this way, they come to get an idea of their budget and target audience.

However, "directors should not keep money on their minds while making movies," Pang said. "They should consider how to make good movies which can surely attract an audience and make money."

In addition, Niu suggested that the Chinese movie industry not make technological competitions with Hollywood. Chinese filmmakers should tell their own stories with the human touch.