Since 2010, seven films co-produced by China and France have been approved by the Chinese authorities. French director Jean-Jacques Annaud's adaptation of Chinese writer Jiang Rong' novel Wolf Totem has also been submitted for approval, according to figures from the State General Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television.
Chinese director Wang Xiaoshuai's Eleven Flowers was the most recent successful case of a Sino-French film co-production.
China is being viewed as a source of investment for film production as financing is getting harder to secure in Western markets. Meanwhile, co-production is also seen as a method for foreign producers to make their way into the Chinese market and to avoid the country's quota for importing foreign movies, which has been upped from 20 to 34.
Noel Garino, a technical and artistic adviser to the Chinese Film Festival in France, says that a subject and a script with universal values, whether it's a romantic comedy or a drama, that could appeal to both Chinese and French audiences is essential for co-production success and potential export.
"At present, most co-produced films by China and France are art movies and are not blockbuster or mainstream ones. We have to go forward and produce movies that appeal to a larger audience," Garino says.
"China is not short of money but talent and professionals," says Tess Liu, who runs a film producing company named Zora Media Co Ltd in Beijing. Liu is in Cannes looking for a French producer and director for her new script, a story that takes place in both China and France.
"What we need most from the French is their technical skills and professional experience in film production," she says.
Chinese applicants wish a new life on Mars
Feedback
RSS
