On March 23 this year, with the release of Pacific Rim 2: Uprising, the box office of the first week broke 400 million and took the crown; in 2016, the Great Wall directed by Zhang Yimou obtained a box office of 1.1 billion, while Kung Fu Panda 3 obtained a box office of 1 billion.
All these films becoming box office myth have one common feature - they are all co-productions.
It is because the Chinese investment that the Pacific Rim 2 put aside for a long time could start again, while the Great Wall is the result of the cultural collision between Foreign countries and China, while Kung Fu Panda 3 is a work combining Chinese story with advanced animation technology in USA.
The Sino-foreign cooperation in the film industry, could not only establish the platform for cultural exchange, but promote technical cooperation, which has become an important way for future development.
Beijing International Film Festival has always paid great attention to international exchange and cooperation. In one of the four major forums "Sino-foreign Film Cooperation Forum" of this year, numerous filmmakers with international influence both at home and abroad have been invited here, to discuss how to make co-productions give consideration to the market and cross-cultural joint production.
The "Sino-foreign Film Cooperation Forum" of the Eighth Beijing International Film Festival will be held in the International Hall of Beijing International Hotel (Floor 2) on April 16, 2018. The forum is divided into two sessions, with subjects of "How co-productions give consideration to larger markets" and "Cross-cultural joint creation" respectively.
Filmmakers participating in the forum are all international masters.
The guests of the first session of the forum "How co-productions give consideration to larger markets", include Stephen Odell, the authoritative source with rich experience in international release field.
Stephen Odell once worked for Universal, Paramount, MGM, DreamWorks in Europe and Latin America etc. Since 2011, he has started to be responsible for the international release business for Sony Pictures. Odell has released more than 500 films, among which there're blockbusters familiar to us, such as the Spider-Man, 007, Man in Black and the Smurfs etc.
These also include Johannes Rixon, Vice Chairman of the European Filmmakers Club.
Johannes Rixon is the member of European Film Academy, German Film Academy, and the Vice Chairman of the European Filmmakers Club, and he has been engaged in the filmmaking work at the European level over the years. He once worked as the producer for Lamb, Qissa, and the executive producer for Antichrist.The person discussing the co-production market with these two, is Wang Zhonglei, the Co-founder, Deputy Chairman and CEO of Huayi Brothers Media Corporation.
Mr. Wang Zhonglei has started his control on film & television business of Huayi Brothers since 1998. Under his leadership, Huayi Brothers has successively launched more than 150 excellent film works loved by the audience, with the total box office exceeding 20 billion Yuan, and obtained book office No. 1 of Chinese films for multiple times, becoming the first brand of Chinese films. Mr. Wang Zhonglei has also become the "Golden Producer" of Chinese films recognized by the industry.
Guests in the second session of the forum "Cross-cultural joint creation", include the famous Fyodor Bondarchuk from Russia.
Fyodor is the founder of Art Pictures Studio, and the Chairman of the Board of Leningrad Film Studio, who has obtained Russian Gold Eagle Award for multiple times. Meanwhile, he is also an actor, who has starred in more than 60 films, and has directed and shot films such as Attraction and The Inhabited Island etc.
The person who will discuss "Cross-cultural joint creation" with Fyodor Bondarchuk, is the famous director and producer Renny Harlin from Hollywood.
Renny Harlin has a wide range of involvement, from Hollywood action movies to independent films highly acclaimed, while crossing multiple types, he has also achieved a total book office exceeding 1 million US dollars. The Skiptrace directed by him is a co-production between USA and China, which is costarred by Fan Bingbing, Jacky Chen and Johnny Knoxville, and released on July 21, 2016. This film has obtained a book office of 889 million.
The "Sino-foreign Film Cooperation Forum" focuses on both the market and cross-cultural joint creation, seeks for establish a platform for exchange and cooperation for Chinese and foreign filmmakers, and discuses the most important issues facing market and cultural co-productions. The participation of such big guests, will accelerate the exchange in technology and culture between foreign countries and China, and is certain to promote filmmakers both at home and abroad to create more co-productions with higher quality.