On the morning of March 12, the 28th Hong Kong International Film and Television Festival Guangdong Province’s key film project press conference was held at the Star Theater of the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center, and 10 key Guangdong films were released. Leaders from the National Film Administration, Guangdong Provincial Film Bureau, Guangdong Federation of Literary and Art Circles, Propaganda Department of Guangzhou Municipal Party Committee, Hong Kong Trade Development Council, Hong Kong Arts Development Council, Creative Hong Kong and other relevant social groups, project publishers and event organizers related to film and television in Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao More than 200 people including responsible persons and representatives from the film and television industry attended the launch event.
In recent years, Guangdong has created and produced a number of excellent works focusing on reality and Chinese excellent traditional cultural themes such as " Chinese Doctor " and " White Snake Legend·Love ". The content innovation level has become increasingly broad and deep. It achieved both box office and word-of-mouth success. The concentrated appearance of 10 annual Guangdong films' blockbuster and thoughtful works also shows the new trend of Cantonese films.
Multiple film support and incentive policies attract filmmakers from all over
The creative staff of the 10 key films released this time include Liu Weiqiang, Wang Jing, Chen Jiashang, Lin Delu, Zhong Shaoxiong, Zhang Li, Liu Yi and other well-known film directors and producers. Including Bona Pictures, Huayi Brothers, Poly Pictures and many other well-known domestic film companies.
The reason why these film companies and filmmakers come to Guangdong to make movies is inseparable from Guangdong's efforts in building a good film ecosystem in recent years. In recent years, Guangdong has formulated a support and reward system for film series creation. In 2023, Guangdong established a special fund to support the creation of high-quality literary and artistic films, focusing on supporting the creation of two high-quality films every year, with a maximum support of 20 million yuan for each film. The film project funding and reward standards have been formulated to support and reward all areas of the entire film industry chain. The initial funding for a single film can be up to 20 million yuan, the box office reward can be up to 10 million yuan, the publicity and development support can be up to 5 million yuan, and the award-winning reward can be up to 20 million yuan. Up to 8 million yuan, with matching subsidies at a ratio of 1:1 for films that have received special funds from the National Film Quality Fund. Co-production films approved in Guangdong will also receive the same level of support. It is worth mentioning that the Guangdong Film Bureau will set up a key film project library in 2023, fund a number of outstanding film works, and strive to create full-field coordination, full life-cycle support, full-factor allocation, full-chain development, and all-round promotion support system.
At this press conference, Wang Zhonglei, vice chairman and CEO of Huayi Brothers Media Co., Ltd. released Huayi Brothers’ first work after settling in Guangdong: Huayi Brothers Film (Foshan) Co., Ltd. brought by Huang Xuan and Liu Yan stars in the realistic and heartwarming movie "Laifu Hotel". "The filming of this film received strong support and help from Guangdong. In the future, Huayi Brothers will have three more films and one TV series in progress in Guangdong." The famous director Zhang Li also brought his producer to this press conference The new work " Beidou ". Produced by Jiahe Films (Foshan) Co., Ltd., the film tells the story of the Beidou Satellite Navigation System from project establishment to successful networking, and showcases the hard-core technology of a major country. It took five years to prepare and is expected to be launched in the second half of the year.
Hong Kong filmmakers have created many "hard dishes" for Cantonese films
Relying on the advantages of mutual integration in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, Guangdong and Hong Kong have many cooperations in the film field. Previously, the Guangdong-Hong Kong co-productions " Bomb Disposal Expert 2" and " Tomorrow War ", both of which were approved by Guangdong, received box office awards of 10 million yuan, while " Anti-Drug 3: People at the End of the World" received 6 million yuan. award. The production teams of the 10 key films released this time include many Hong Kong filmmakers. They have once again given full play to their strengths and prepared many "hard dishes" for Guangdong films.
At this press conference, the most eye-catching one was undoubtedly the diplomatic-themed espionage blockbuster "Kashmir Princess". The film is produced by Guangdong Bona Film Media Co., Ltd. and directed by Liu Weiqiang. Previously, the duo of chief producer Yu Dong and director Liu Weiqiang had successfully collaborated on the movie "Chinese Doctor", and "Kashmir Princess" focused on the "Kashmir Princess Incident" on the eve of the Bandung Conference in 1955. It was a wave of events. A bizarre spy story.The film has been in preparation for five years. Yu Dong revealed the latest progress at this press conference: the team is currently intensively scouting locations and is expected to start shooting in Guangdong from August to September. "I hope our team can create an excellent spy war intelligence story for Guangdong."
Lin Delu, the director of the "Anti-Corruption Storm" series, has made another new work, creating the anti-drug themed movie "The Hidden World". The film is produced by Zhongming Shengshi (Shenzhen) Film Group Co., Ltd. and is adapted from real events. Starring Han Geng, Wang Qianyuan, and Zhang Xinyu, it tells the story of a transnational anti-drug war between anti-drug policeman Zhou Chuan and the battle of wits and courage between northern Burmese drug lord Lin Xiaotan. Lin Delu said at the press conference: "The director cares most about three things: funds, partners and scenes. The incubation and investment of this film are all in Guangdong. The working partners in Guangdong are efficient and professional, and the filming locations in Guangdong are also richer than in Hong Kong. . I hope this film can bring good results to Guangdong."
"Operation Macau", a tribute to the 25th anniversary of Macau's return to China, is produced by the famous Hong Kong filmmaker Wang Jing and directed by Chung Shao-hsiung. The film takes financial crime as the theme and tells the story of the mainland and Macau prosecutorial agencies working together to solve major financial crime cases. The film is led by Poly Film Investment Co., Ltd. and jointly produced by Guangzhou Jiajiajiu Culture Media Co., Ltd., China Procuratorate Press, Poly Enjoy Entertainment Technology (Beijing) Co., Ltd., and Beijing Woxing Cultural Development Co., Ltd.
Guangdong animators enter the national comic circuit
10 Among the 10 key films, "The Rise of the Great Sage" by Shenzhen Yuankong Cultural Creative Co., Ltd. and "The Fall of the World" produced by Yongsheng Animation are quite eye-catching.
"The Rise of the Great Sage" tells a different story about the Journey to the West: The Great Sage promised the Buddha to spend 14 years to escort a monk to the West to obtain scriptures; his behavior aroused the confusion of his fellow brothers, and they all started to stop it... "The Rise of the Great Sage" "Producer and Chief Producer Lu Wei revealed that the film began creation in 2015. During these nine years, the production team upgraded the film's art system and further refined the character and story of each hero in the film. He hopes that Can make a movie that can be understood by global audiences.
"Falling into the World" is a work jointly produced by Yongsheng Animation, Bilibili and Small Universe Future Studio, an animation label under Alibaba Pictures. It took five years to create and was directed by Zhong Ding, associate professor at Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts. It is based on the story of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl. . Zhong Ding said: "We have inherited and extended the folklore of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl, telling the adventure and growth journey of the descendants of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl."
As a major province of animated films, Guangdong's "Bear, Pig and Sheep" animated IP has become a household name. Nowadays, Guangdong animators are also working hard on the national comic circuit. Huang Long, general manager of Yongsheng Animation and Film Division, said frankly that for Yongsheng, a long-established animation company, the national comic circuit is a new challenge: "The audience for national comic movies has a wide age range and has higher requirements for stories; funds The scale is also much larger than our previous projects. We invested a lot of energy and time in polishing "Down to Earth", which is different from the relatively industrialized production method of "Pig Man". We hope that through the project "Down to Earth", We can carve out a path of chanting in the field of Chinese comic films."
Many works focus on the innovative expression of Lingnan traditional culture
Lingnan traditional culture is a treasure trove of inspiration for filmmakers. Among the 10 key films, there are many works that innovatively express the excellent traditional culture of Lingnan.
The Cantonese opera film "Sanshui Daughter: Red Turban" is the third installment of the "Innovative Trilogy of Cantonese Opera Films" jointly produced by Pearl River Film Group and Guangdong Cantonese Theater. The film focuses on Sanshui, Guangdong, who went to Nanyang to make a living in the early 20th century. The female group "Red Headband" reproduces their hard-working and self-improvement spirit. Starring Zeng Xiaomin revealed that her grandmother was also a "red headscarf", so this story has special meaning to her. The first two parts, "The Legend of the White Snake" and "The Lady of Qiao", have received good responses. Wang Chuilin, chairman and party secretary of Pearl River Film Group, said that a large number of young audiences have become interested in Cantonese opera because of Cantonese opera movies. Pearl River Film Group will continue to use Younger and more cinematic language inherits traditional culture.The film is expected to start shooting this year.
The live-action film "Lion Girl" produced by Wanhai Pictures (Foshan) Co., Ltd. focuses on the southern lion culture and integrates traditional lion dance elements into the story of a girl's inspirational growth and family reconciliation. It is worth mentioning that several young actors revealed at the press conference that before the filming of the film started, they learned the basics of lion dance, Cai Lifu, and Hongquan from the fifth generation descendants of Huang Feihong, and had a good understanding of these excellent Lingnan traditional cultures. A deeper understanding.
Shenzhen Haiyuntian Film and Television Co., Ltd. produced the light comedy film "The Raising of a Young Chef God". It tells the story of a "weird" teacher who uses charlatanism to educate naughty boys and girls in the cooking class, turning a group of "poor students" into butterflies. The story of a battle to become a god in the Cantonese cuisine arena. It is worth mentioning that the film involved many young Macau filmmakers and was shot in Zhuhai, which is another practice of film cooperation in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.
Text | Reporter Hu Guangxin
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provided by the organizer