In Los Angeles, original IP, artificial intelligence and a centennial tribute to screen legend Lisa Lu come together around a timeless question: What makes a human story worth telling?
LOS ANGELES. As artificial intelligence reshapes how stories are conceived, produced and distributed, filmmakers are confronting a question that technology alone cannot answer: not simply what AI can create, but what remains uniquely human in the stories people choose to tell.
That question runs through the 4th International Chinese Original IP Film Festival, taking place October 30–31 at UCLA. The two-day program brings writers, filmmakers, producers and educators together for original IP pitches, professional jury feedback, bilingual masterclasses and a Writers’ Forum exploring literary adaptation, global audiences and the changing relationship between human creativity and artificial intelligence.
Sisi Hollywood, the nationally syndicated television show and global media platform founded and hosted by international television host and media personality Sisi Cao, will spotlight selected voices and conversations from this year’s festival as part of its continuing focus on meaningful storytelling and cultural dialogue between East and West. Cao also serves as a Board Member of the International Chinese Original IP Film Festival.
For chief planner Sunny Zhang, however, the festival has never been simply about competition or awards.
“The most fundamental goal is to build a platform for learning and exchange,” Zhang said.
Behind that idea is a belief that strong writing and strong screen IP are not always the same thing. A compelling literary work may require transformation before reaching the screen, while an unexpected idea can sometimes reveal cinematic potential through professional feedback, collaboration and development.
That philosophy shapes this year’s program.
Peggy Chiao, the influential producer, educator and longtime champion of Chinese-language cinema, serves as Jury Chair, bringing decades of experience identifying filmmakers and helping Chinese-language cinema reach international audiences.
She is joined by an international group of film and academic voices including Hollywood director and cinematographer Michael Goi, screenwriter and producer Donald Martin, filmmaker Anna Shaoai Chi, and UCLA scholar Michael Berry. Together, their perspectives place original Chinese IP within a broader conversation about adaptation, filmmaking and global storytelling.
The festival itself is also the product of years of collective effort. Zhang, filmmaker and producer Mary Cao, Anna Shaoai Chi, May May Miller, and members of the 2026 executive team have contributed across programming, industry outreach, fundraising, production and community building.
Their work reflects a larger ambition: creating a recurring place where people who write stories can meet those who understand how to bring them to the screen.
Perhaps the most revealing aspect of this year’s festival is its span across generations.
Among the submissions Zhang highlighted is My American Story, an illustrated work by a 14-year-old writer whose perspective and emotional honesty caught the organizers’ attention. At the other end of that generational arc stands legendary actress Lisa Lu, whose remarkable career has connected Chinese and international cinema across decades.
On October 31, the festival will conclude at UCLA’s James Bridges Theater with its awards ceremony, a Centennial Tribute to Lisa Lu, and a special screening of Leaving a Trace.
The juxtaposition is fitting: a young storyteller discovering a voice at one end, and an artist representing nearly a century of life, cinema and cultural memory at the other.
For Sisi Cao, it is precisely this intersection of generations and cultures that gives the festival meaning beyond a single event.
“Technology can transform how we make stories, but it cannot replace why stories matter,” Cao said. “The most meaningful conversations happen when different experiences, cultures and new voices are given the opportunity to meet.”
Through Sisi Hollywood, Cao plans to continue highlighting selected filmmakers and conversations surrounding the festival, extending those stories to audiences beyond the room.
The result is something broader than a traditional film competition. The International Chinese Original IP Film Festival creates a meeting point between literature and cinema, emerging creators and established filmmakers, Chinese-language storytelling and Hollywood, and, increasingly, between human imagination and artificial intelligence.
In an era when images can be generated in seconds, its underlying proposition feels increasingly relevant: Finding a story worth telling, understanding why it matters, and helping it reach another human being remains a deeply human act.
Event Details
The 4th International Chinese Original IP Film Festival takes place October 30–31, 2026 at UCLA. Daytime industry programs and masterclasses are scheduled at Royce Hall, with the October 31 awards ceremony and Centennial Tribute to Lisa Lu at James Bridges Theater.
