Film cooperation enhances BRICS cultural exchange

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With the BRICS countries entering their second decade of cooperation, cultural exchanges between the member states continue to deepen and the exchange of ideas in the film arena can certainly not be ignored.

A BRICS co-produced film – "Where has the time gone" - was screened at the 2017 BRICS Film Festival held in June in southwestern Chinese city of Chengdu. The feature film - produced by renowned directors from China, Russia, Brazil, India and South Africa consists of five 18-minute shorts on the theme of time.

CGTN Photo

“The film is a blend of social reflection and our views about time,” said Jia Zhangke, who is internationally known for his socially conscious films, such as Still Life, a Golden Lion winner in Venice in 2006.

"The emotions from all five stories can be shared by anyone in any country,” Zhang remarked about the film which is set to release in China in September.

Film co-production to be continued

At the 2017 BRICS Film Festival, the second of the film festival, five countries signed a five-year film co-production agreement, over which the five countries will join hands to make one film every year from 2017 to 2021.

The 2017 BRICS Film Festival kicks off in Chengdu, China on June 23, 2017. /China News Service Photo

Meanwhile, the Beijing Film Academy released a five-year talent exchange and training program aimed at discovering and cultivating film talent. The program will offer 40 scholarships to talents from BRICS countries.

"When talking about co-production films, there's not only Hollywood that we work with, but also BRICS countries," said Han Sanping, the former chairman of China Film Group Corporation – the largest film producer in the country.

BRICS films promoted and well-received among member countries

Plenty of movies from other BRICS countries have been well received in China. The latest one is the Indian film Dangal which tells about a former Indian wrestler and his two wrestler daughters struggling towards glory in the face of societal oppression. It's made a box office of over 182 million US dollars in China.

Screenshot of Dangal /Photo via Asianetnews

Chinese movies have, many times, been screened at the Moscow International Film Festival including "American dreams in China", "Wolf Totem", "Painted Skin" and "Red Sorghum".

Meanwhile, various film activities are held regularly among BRICS countries where audiences from different countries have chances to watch films from other cultures on the big screen.

How Chinese films grow

Film industry in China has developed rapidly in recent years. Official data show that up till June, China has had over 45,000 film screens – which means since 2012, China has witnessed an additional 19 screens per day on average.

To further expand Chinese films on the world stage, Jia said, China should make full use of its unique culture and promote its artistic films which reflect the country's culture and social trends.

Audiences in Brazil attend the "Chinese Culture Month" in Iguassu, Brazil in 2013. /Guangming Daily Photo

"Chinese artistic films have been the most successful ones among movies that go abroad over the last two decades. They may not earn a big box office, but their cultural impact is huge," he said during an interview with CCTV.

To learn from others is another way.

Tan Zheng, a scholar from China Federation of Literary and Art Circles refers to India for example. He said that India has a very advanced film industry and that its domestic films always manage to account for over 90% of its film market - that's "what we should learn from."