Keys to female success

The five-day festival, which consisted of multiple events such as new movie screenings and forums, opened a window on the keys to making successful comedies, as well as the challenges upcoming artists face.

Ma, who launched the festival along with Shen, shared her early experience of having to overcome difficulties to pursue her artistic dreams.

After graduating from the Central Academy of Drama and finishing an advanced program at Peking University, Ma joined the popular comedy troupe Mahua FunAge in 2005, and has performed in over 100 plays since. She gained wider recognition after debuting alongside Shen during the 2013 China Central Television Spring Festival Gala — one of the country's longest-running television programs, which is watched by millions on Chinese New Year Eve.

At the start of her career, Ma would wake up early to catch buses to auditions for movies and TV series, seeking out even the smallest acting opportunities. The auditions were not always pleasant.

"One director once told me, 'you should either be uglier or more beautiful. You're stuck in the middle — an actress like you has no future. And your personality is too introverted.' He even suggested I change careers," Ma said during a forum on career challenges faced by female comedians.

Her self-confidence shaken, she decided that from that point on, she would stop auditioning for film and TV roles, and focus instead on steady work in the theater.

"Often, fate works this way — when you stop craving and demanding, opportunities come to you," she says.

Through powerful stage performances, she attracted film industry attention, earning her the lead role in Goodbye Mr. Loser, the biggest dark horse hit of 2015. It catapulted Ma to stardom, lifting her to A-list status and leading her to star in more comedy blockbusters like Never Say Die (2017) and Moon Man (2022).

Understanding the unfair treatment faced by female comedians who are not yet established, Ma says that she feels a strong sense of care for female characters in a script.

"When you're just starting out, it is often hard to get your opinion about female characters accepted. At the time, all I could do was grit my teeth, because there was the pressure of making a living to support my family. But now, I can choose stories that truly move and inspire me," she says.

She has taken on another highly anticipated role in the upcoming film The Dumpling Queen, which is inspired by the famous story of Zang Jianhe, a single mother who went from street vendor to business mogul as founder of one of Hong Kong's biggest food companies.

Lau, who is from Hong Kong and whose most famous previous films include All for the Winner, says that despite the relatively low budget, he was drawn to the project and volunteered to direct because the female protagonist reminded him of his mother, who encouraged his childhood passion for art.