Projecting China to the world: Cinity, high frame rate cinema and the future of Chinese screening technology

Accompanying the increasing immersiveness of cinema in the past two decades, represented by the wide application of 3D technologies, large format screens and experiments with high frame rates, China has developed its own domestic projection technology called Cinity since the late 2010s. This article examines the development of Cinity within the context of China’s global technological film aspirations and its desire to project Chinese films, and Chinese screening technology, to the world. While the uptake of Cinity internationally has been limited, the technology marks one of China’s latest efforts to upgrade its film industry as well as the ongoing nexus of China’s collaboration and competition with Hollywood. The article provides case studies of Ang Lee’s Gemini Man (2019) and Frant Gwo’s The Wandering Earth 2 (2023) to examine the changing trajectories of this technology’s projection before and after the COVID-19 pandemic.