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With the increasing numbers of Sino-European co-productions and growing cooperation, on February 21, the 4th Sino-European Production Seminar hosted by Bridging the Dragon Producers association and the European Film Market, in collaboration with AFTP (Asian Film and Television Promotion), took place in Berlin. The Seminar brings updated information and experience to European producers every year.
The Seminar offered three panels and an afternoon discussion with topics brought up by selected participants. In the first panel, Spire Media CEO and Producer, Chen Lizhi presented the updates and new trends of Chinese film market. Starting with the statistics from 2017, he pointed out that compared to 2016, the box office revenue for imported films was higher than that of domestic films and co-productions. Chinese audiences become increasingly diverse and more genres find entrance to the market, such as action movie "Wolf Warrior", art house films "Paths of the Soul" and "Seventy-seven Days" as well as high-end dramas "Youth" and "Forever Young". These trends reflect the unexplored potential of the Chinese film market, and predict that there are many opportunities for future Sino-European co-production.
The President of China Film Co-production Corporation, Miao Xiaotian, who visited the Berlinale for the first time, talked with moderator Patrick Frater (Variety) about the possibilities of Sino-European Co-production. Mr. Miao pointed out the tendency that in recent years, Chinese producers have invested more in co-productions in general and especially the creative phase of productions. For Chinese partners, the main appeal to cooperate with European filmmakers is their excellent talents, production teams, experience and know-how. He suggested that European companies carefully choose reliable partners, especially partners who already have experience in co-production, to achieve better collaboration.
Manfred Wong, Hong Kong Film Award Vice Chairman and well-known producer and scriptwriter shared his experience and observations in the collaboration between Hong Kong and Mainland China. Manfred Wong stated that Hong Kong filmmakers contribute a lot to the rapid growth of Chinese film. They bring technologies and experience to Mainland China and learn the rules of this market. They try to meet the demand of local audiences and produce films that are consistent to the audiences’ tastes. From the history and trends of the collaboration between Hong Kong and Mainland China, we can also learn some lessons and experience for Sino-European co-production, such as understanding markets and audiences.
In the afternoon discussion, four European producers talked about their co-production experiences, which led to several practical topics, ranging from creative development to revenue management. Participants and experts debated and shared their opinions on these topics. An important statement was that already at the early stage of co-production, the core target market, China or Europe, should be clearly defined, since this decision will heavily influence budgets, content, cast, and many other aspects. Wang Hongwei, Professor at Beijing Film Academy, stressed that in order to stand a chance in the Chinese market, as well as keeping in mind the competition from Hollywood’s big budget productions, it is important to focus on a good story and the creative idea which still is the the most essential of a good movie. He said he hopes that foreign filmmakers can continue their successful tradition of producing quality films, instead of spending too much time on trying to cater to a market, that is immensely difficult to predict. In the end what it comes down to is to having a good story, because good stories always have a chance.
Lemming Film CEO and the Chairman of Bridging the Dragon, Leontine Petit said: "Sino-European co-production gains importance because the tastes of Chinese audiences become more and more diverse. So try to have patience and find yourself right partners."
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Chatelin Bruno 
