On April 19, the "International Living Room" event of the 14th Beijing International Film Festival kicked off. This is the first time in the history of the Beijing Film Festival that the "International Living Room" has been held, and the event attracted hundreds of Chinese and foreign industry professionals.
"International Living Room" held two forums. Chinese and foreign guests discussed the diversity and inclusiveness of the domestic film industry, and discussed ways for Chinese films to further go abroad and integrate into the world market.
Discuss the specific practices of overseas distribution of Chinese films
At the "Experience and Vision of Overseas Distribution of Chinese Films" forum, five forum guests shared their experience in the overseas distribution of Chinese films from four aspects: commercial value, audience, platform and distribution strategy. specific practices.
Regarding the commercial value of overseas distribution of Chinese films, Mr. Guo Mingsheng, CEO of Singaporean company Anticipate Pictures, said that the company has been committed to promoting Chinese art films overseas. Regardless of art films or commercial films, overseas distribution needs to take into account the film's Business value, and consider what kind of audience will be attracted to it. He believes that there are many Chinese movies, "and we need to carefully select and select the best ones, because as buyers, we must know what our needs are, and we need to think about what kind of movies our audiences will choose." Video. "
Targeting the target audience of Chinese films when they are released overseas, Ms. Li Weiwei, regional content director of Malaysian and Cambodian company westec media, believes that the international distribution of Chinese films is developing rapidly and has huge actual potential, such as the previously very popular "Hello, Li Huanying" ", and others such as " Unfamiliar with Life ", "Feng Shen", " Changjin Lake ", " Jiang Ziya ", etc., are all excellent works. "We should seize the opportunity to fully consider the audience needs of the target market and their acceptance of localization, so as to promote Chinese movies."
Regarding the channels and platforms for the overseas distribution of Chinese movies, Vice President and General Manager of the Asia-Pacific Region of the Motion Picture Association of America Mr. Feng Wei, President of China Region, has his own in-depth insights. He pointed out that in the past, some movies with strong Chinese elements such as "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", "Heroes" and "House of Flying Daggers" have set record-breaking box office results in North America, reflecting the show interest in Chinese culture. However, some of the films that came later were a bit quiet, perhaps because overseas audiences were tired of Kung Fu films. Mr. Feng Wei emphasized, "I think that Chinese films should move from the Chinese market to the North American market through mainstream distribution platforms or exhibitions. There are still many opportunities worth exploring. In addition, Chinese film distribution should not be limited to theatrical distribution. Netflix The user base of streaming media such as Disney+ is very large, and these online platform channels are good opportunities. "
Regarding the current overseas distribution strategy of Chinese movies, Mr. Quentin Bohanna, the international sales director of the French company mk2, said. , when cooperating with different directors, we need to adopt different methods and strategies, so that we can bring excellent Chinese films to audiences around the world. For example, he said that he once saw the work of director Wei Shujun at the Cannes Film Festival, and its artistic level was shocking. "However, considering the popularity of the film itself and the conditions for entering the international market, it is unrealistic to launch it on a large scale, so we fully seized the opportunity of the film festival to promote it. We used an excellent public relations team and produced Excellent posters, screening ceremonies, etc. But it is different for director Jia Zhangke. He has a high international reputation, so we directly conducted pre-sales and adopted a competitive system to select Chinese films. After conducting an in-depth and detailed analysis of the current situation of overseas distribution, several guests also shared their expectations and visions for Chinese films to go abroad and reach more audiences. Guests attending the meeting said that domestic films have huge potential in markets around the world, but they need the support of various specific strategies, and overseas markets need to be intensively cultivated in order to obtain better feedback. One of
's methods of intensive cultivation is to establish an issuance fund.Mr. Cedric Berrell, co-founder of the British company trinity cineasia, pointed out that relatively speaking, the competitiveness of Chinese film studios needs to be further improved, especially in terms of overseas exposure. To overcome these obstacles, measures such as the establishment of issuance funds can be taken to provide support. The second method of
is to pay attention to analyzing the target audience. Guo Mingsheng believes that today we are in a world where everything is connected, and young people watch and understand movies through social media. In such a competitive environment, the choice of film ultimately depends on the target group. The third method of
is to break the language barrier. Li Weiwei said, "We generally release Chinese-language films in two versions, the original version and the dubbed version, and our audiences tend to prefer the dubbed version, which also illustrates a certain problem."
The fourth method is to pay attention to global content . Feng Wei pointed out that the core of Chinese films going global lies in how to express Chinese stories in the language of globalization. "China has also had a large number of directors come to the United States for talent exchange, and they already have rich experience in this area. However, the screenwriting ability of Chinese films needs to be further cultivated. If the typing of stories can be achieved to the extreme, then it will be very There is hope.”
The fifth method is to pay attention to the cooperation between the media and theaters. Quentin Bohanna believes that "Chinese art films need promotion by international media, especially when targeting the United States. For example, they can be tested in a small number of theaters first, and then expand based on the situation."
Seven Bits Presidents and film selectors of international film festivals discuss Chinese films
At the forum "Development Opportunities for Chinese Films in Overseas Film Festivals", chairmen and film selectors from seven international film festivals shared their views on the impact of film festivals on their countries and regions. The promotion role of the film industry, and an in-depth discussion of the outstanding performance of Chinese films in international film festivals and more possibilities in the future.
Toronto International Film Festival CEO Mr. Cameron Bailey said that this year marks the 50th anniversary of the Toronto International Film Festival. As a non-competitive film festival, the Toronto Film Festival provides a friendly environment and also draws on the operation of American Hollywood films. There are many small but beautiful films that are excellent. Bailey said that the Toronto International Film Festival has a professional team in film selection, "and my task is to find excellent film selectors, and I will give them the greatest freedom. The excellent films determined by the film selectors are credible. , they help us deeply explore the connotation of the film."
Tokyo International Film Festival Chairman Yuyasu Ando believes that Japan's current film industry is revitalizing, and both box office and audiences have experienced a new period of development and growth. The Tokyo International Film Festival hopes to be international and satisfy audiences from abroad. This is also the direction of its efforts. He said that there were 95 Chinese guests and 12 Chinese films at the Tokyo Film Festival last year. These Chinese films were very excellent. Among them, "The World of Grass and Trees" directed by Gu Xiaogang was very worth mentioning. Its good quality made director Gu Xiaogang win the award. Kurosawa Award.
Tallinn Dark Night Film Festival founder/chairman Tina Locke said that the Tallinn Dark Night Film Festival originated in Northern Europe in the mid-1990s, and the first Tallinn Dark Night Film Festival had only 15 foreign participants. She said, "We have always paid attention to Nordic film works, and recently started to go international, and obtained more copyrights, involving geopolitical-related themes. Our goal is to produce high-quality films and let international audiences share the results." She pointed out that Tallinn Dark Night Although the film festival faces a small market, you can still see many international films and come into contact with international teams during the film selection process. It is worth mentioning that in recent years, the film festival has included many Chinese film works, and the number continues to increase.
Fernando Juan Lima, Chairman of the Matabrata International Film Festival, proposed that the Matabrata International Film Festival is one of the most important film festivals in South America. It hopes to emphasize the importance of culture and public contact, and is a film A carnival feast for people. “We not only have international competition units and focus on international operations; we also attach great importance to Argentinian elements and have a large number of Argentine films, which is of great significance to our country. We not only screen mainstream Hollywood films, but also a stage for independent film and television people to show their talents.He also expressed excitedly that he liked the film "The Light of the White Tower" directed by Chinese director Zhang Lu very much. "Although we can't express it in words, we can feel that this is a great film." The chairman of the jury and we all agreed and loved the film. There are many local elements in the movie. These beautiful Beijing elements can touch the heartstrings, and the values conveyed in the movie are also shared by humans, such as the connection between father and son. "
Rio de Janeiro International Film Festival Chairman Ilda Santiago pointed out that the Beijing Film Festival has been committed to promoting Chinese films to go overseas, and the Rio International Film Festival has also been promoting Brazilian films to go abroad. The two sides have many commonalities and also have differences. A consistent goal. “I don’t say ‘choose’ movies, I say ‘recommend’ movies. Because I love multiculturalism and I love different movies. Seeking common ground while reserving differences in different corners of the world is conducive to the promotion of Brazilian movies. She said that there is still a long way to go in the future. "The Rio de Janeiro International Film Festival will select suitable films in the future and use the distribution team to promote them so that Chinese films can go global and have more contact with Brazilian audiences." We will also invite Chinese filmmakers to Brazil so that we can understand each other better. Only in this way can more sparks burst out when reaching other countries. "
Wang Qingqiang, Chinese film selector at the Berlin International Film Festival and director of the Film Industry Office of the Hong Kong International Film Festival, believes that the Hong Kong International Film Festival plays a vital role in promoting Chinese films and is the "outpost" for Chinese films to go international. ". "As for the film industry, we have our own units for Chinese-language films and units for young people. Over the past 20 years, we have also held many forums, including promotion and development projects for corresponding films. For example, from March to May this year, we will follow up on these projects. "He proposed, "Distribution is not only the distribution itself, we want to discover and serve more young filmmakers. We look forward to cultivating young filmmakers through this channel, entering the larger film market, helping them with distribution, and allowing them to gradually gain opportunities for growth. "
In this forum, Cui Yan, executive deputy director of the Beijing International Film Festival Organizing Committee Office, also had an in-depth dialogue with the guests. He said that although the Beijing International Film Festival is a relatively young film festival, it is still learning. However, the Beijing Film Festival strives to be inclusive and rich in activities. This year's screenings have a box office of 14 to 5 million. At the same time, the Beijing Film Festival hopes to cover more aspects to meet the requirements of audiences, directors and other parties at home and abroad. , has set up more than 200 activities, including screenings, awards, forums, etc. Cui Yan said, “We hope that through this platform, all aspects of the industry can find their place and seek development. In addition, in the future, we will continue to go abroad and bring more actors, films, and manufacturers overseas to participate in international film festivals. "
At the end of this forum, the Beijing International Film Festival and the Rio de Janeiro International Film Festival signed a "Memorandum of Cooperation" to further expand the Beijing Film Festival's circle of friends, promote mutual benefit and common development of the film and cultural industries of both parties, and provide filmmakers from both parties with Diversified development space and opportunities
Text/Beijing Youth Daily reporter Xiao Yang
Editor/Cui Wei
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