China’s film industry sees rise in co-productions
BEIJING: China, the world’s second-largest film market after the United States, has seen a rise in collaboration with the industry in other countries.
Six countries - the highest record for one year since 2012 - signed film-co-production treaties with China from January to September. That makes for 20 foreign countries currently.
Newcomers include Russia, Brazil, Luxembourg, Kazakhstan, Denmark and Greece.
“The model of co-producing films is developing very well,” says Tong Gang, vice-minister of the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television.
“Chinese filmmakers have established close relations with Hollywood’s major studios. A number of Sino-US film projects are underway.”
Miao Xiaotian, general manager of China Film CoProduction Corp, echoes Tong’s views.
The company, founded in 1979, is the sole agency authorised by China’s top movie regulator to approve co-production titles.
“The United States is the first and the most active player to explore an effective formula to win Chinese audiences,” said Miao.
He said 12 movies, or 16 per cent of the 73 approved coproductions last year, are Sino-US projects.
Co-productions, which are treated like domestic titles and can be released outside of the foreign film’s quota policy, have also become a channel for foreign filmmakers to make forays into the Chinese market.
Before 2015, some 40 coproductions were approved every year. “But 2015 saw a rise to more than 50. That number became 73 in 2016,” says Miao.
Such cases include Zhang Yimou’s fantasy epic ‘The Great Wall’ (2016), French director Jean-Jacques Annaud’s ‘Wolf Totem’ (2015), DreamWorks’ animated feature ‘Kung Fu Panda 3’ (2016) and Lu Chuan’s nature film ‘Born in China’ (2016).
For some Chinese filmmakers, co-producing isn’t just about business but also serves cultural exchange.
‘Where Has Time Gone’, the first coproduction by BRICS countries that will be released in China on Oct 19 exemplifies such an effort.
As an anthology of five independent short stories examining the titular theme, the movie is created by five well-known film directors from China, Russia, Brazil, India and South Africa.
Jia Zhangke has participated in film projects along with filmmakers from South Korea and Switzerland. The BRICS co-production’s executive producer says he feels proud to lead the project.
“It gives the Chinese audience an opportunity to discover the cinematic charms of the countries that they have limited knowledge about,” says Jia, who believes Chinese theatres should not only be dominated by Hollywood blockbusters or domestic commercial cinema.
With a number of cashrich Chinese investors and the expanding population of moviegoers, China has transformed from an “assistant’s role” to become an equal collaborator or even leader in international coproductions.
Jonathan Shen, founder of the Beijing-based studio Shinework Pictures, is among the latest filmmakers to sense the transformation. Shooting for his company’s new movie, ‘The Composer’, has just moved from Almaty, the largest city in Kazakhstan, to Yan’an in Shaanxi province, to film more scenes on Tuesday. The biopic based on the true story of Chinese musician Xian Xinghai is the first SinoKazakh film production that includes Kazakhfilm JSC, the country’s largest studio, as the partner producer.
Shen says the Kazakh side was very excited upon hearing about the project. The movie brought top Chinese talent and advanced filming machines to Kazakhstan.
The model of co-producing films is developing very well. Chinese filmmakers have established close relations with Hollywood’s major studios. A number of Sino-US film projects are underway. – Tong Gang, vice-minister of the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television