For the sixth consecutive year, the Marché du film together with the Sino-European producers association Bridging the Dragon will host an event on 12 and 13 July dedicated to China. In collaboration with Chinese production and distribution company CMC Pictures, this year’s program will have a pioneering format with live broadcasts of the physical event from Cannes and Beijing. It will include a series of roundtables and important one-on-one matchmaking meetings.
In times of global pandemic, China’s film market is still at its all-time highs, and the quality of its products is improving and diversifying. While the lack of US blockbusters has somewhat bolstered the growth of local productions, filmmakers in what has become the world’s largest film market are still open to exploring all kinds of new content, continuing to offer new opportunities for producers international. Knowing this enormous reality and staying updated on the most recent developments is more strategic than ever. For this reason, the event will invite a shortlist of personalities from Chinese and European cinema to illustrate the current situation and the prospects for possible collaboration.
The first panel will examine how Chinese content interacts with the international market, from the sale of content to the exchange of talent and resources. Panelists include Gillian Zhao, president of Warner Media China (responsible for the successful US-China co-production The Meg – First Jaws), Benjamin Illos, selector of the Directors’ Fortnight in Cannes, Lu Yang, renowned Chinese director of Chinese successes such as A writer’s Odyssey (€133 million at the Chinese B.O.), Catherine Ying, president of CMC Pictures and Pearl Studio, executive producer of numerous blockbusters, including the Oscar nominee Over The Moon.
The second panel will focus on the emergence of female professional figures and themes in the Chinese film industry. Celina Jade, renowned star of the blockbuster Wolf Warriors II (€735 million at the Chinese b.o.) and representative of Le Collectif 50/50, Yuan Yuan , screenwriter of Us and Them, Best Film at the Chinese Oscar, Yin Rouxin, director of the recent surprising success Sister (€110 million per year. Chinese), Yang Jing, founder of The ONE International Women’s Film festival, the only women’s film festival in China.
The panels will be followed by traditional Sino-international matchmaking meetings on July 13. Present this year are the Italian companies Fandango and Coloora Film Music Production.
Jérome Paillard, executive director of the Marché du Film “I am very happy that the partnership with Bridging the Dragon continues. As the pandemic is easing, events like this that facilitate international collaborations are extremely important We hope to create new opportunities for filmmakers in both industries.”
Cristiano Bortone, managing director of Bridging the Dragon “The huge Chinese public continues to love our stories, our locations and our talents and we must encourage the exchange between our cultures”.
