Uncharmed: why Chinese film fans are shunning Hollywood

Even the worldwide smash Encanto failed to satisfy millions of cinemagoers who now demand homemade fare

Matt William Knowles, a 36-year-old Hollywood actor, has been packing for a forthcoming trip to China in the past week. He's looking forward to his first China visit since the pandemic. The last time I was in China was late 2019 when I served as the honorary mayor for a village in southern China."

While his career in Hollywood continues to blossom, finding work in China hasn't been easy these past few years for Knowles. The pandemic changed the film industry, and the deteriorating diplomatic relations between America and China sandwiched individuals like him who straddle both nations. For a period of time in 2019, amid a souring trade war between the two countries, Chinese studios put an informal ban on American actors.