Film and Television Market focusing on co-productions
By admin on 2014-12-30

Some of the world's top film and television makers are convening in Hong Kong for one of the industry's largest trade events, Hong Kong International Film and Television Market (FILMART) that began Monday and will wrap up today.

Apart from the glitz and glamour of stars on the red carpet and a comprehensive lineup of screenings, a series of forums featuring high-profile panelists have been an important part of this year's event, with international co-productions high on the agenda.

"China represents one of the most vibrant and fastest growing film markets in the world," commented Zhou Tiedong, president of China Film Promotion International (CFPI), at the forum.

According to statistics provided by CFPI, the total number of films produced in China last year exceeded 600, including 456 feature films. Six hundred new screens were added to cinemas with over 80 percent in digital format and 49 Chinese films were sold to international markets, 38 of them co-productions.

"With co-productions involving China, most of the box-office is taken from the local market and Asian markets," Zhou added.

The potential of the Chinese market can best be exemplified by the success of Avatar, Zhou explained. "Avatar's performance in China is fantastic. It grossed a record-breaking 1.3 billion yuan ($190 million), which makes China the biggest international market for that movie. It means if the Chinese market is fully explored, it could be that size."

In terms of television, one of the most successful collaborations to date is the European/Chinese co-production Dreams Behind a Crystal Veil, (Yi Lian You Meng) a joint effort by China's Hunan Television and France's BAYOO. A romantic television drama adapted from a Chinese love story of the same name, the production was partly shot on location in France and topped television ratings across China in 2007.

The Biggest Chinese Restaurant in the World (2008) was filmed in central China's Changsha city. A co-production by the UK, Netherlands and Denmark, it features West Lake Restaurant in Changsha, the huge quantity of food it produces, its large number of staff and the maze of rooms in the restaurant full of people celebrating.

"It is a film that is very funny and tells, in my mind, a great deal about contemporary China," said veteran BBC producer Nicholas Fraser, one of the panelists at FILMART. "This film got extremely good ratings in Britain. It was shown all over Europe and it was in America. The New York Times ran a very long piece about this film."

According to CFPI president Zhou Tiedong, there are several categories of co-productions that can be developed, for example government agreements as with Australia and Canada and unions between independent production houses on a personal and creative level.

As commissioning editor of Storyville, BBC Four's flagship international documentary strand, Fraser said that although international interest in cross-cultural films is mounting, many European producers find it difficult to work with Asian broadcasters as operations are very different and funding is often difficult in Asia.

"It is not really practical to work with Asian broadcasters because the system is very difficult," he said. "There is not enough money and many Asian broadcasters have a lot to do with the government, which restricts the kind of shows we can do."

"There are a group of mainly European broadcasters, we try to raise enough cash to do films about all over the world," Fraser explained. "Once we get the money, we get directly involved with individual producers and directors and we often get them together with European directors and producers."

"For example, The Biggest Restaurant in China was shot in China, edited in Manhattan and London by Chinese-speaking editors and the executive producer was a Canadian living in London."

Today FILMART's program includes a forum about the economic contribution of Hong Kong's film and TV industry and a symposium titled Beyond Co-production.