'Asura': China's most expensive production fantasy film to hit cinema

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The Chinese fantasy film "Asura" is having its official release today. It features Oscar-winning costume and set designers and is believed to be China's most expensive production ever. CGTN's Shen Li was at the press conference.

As China surpassed North America in the first quarter this year as the world's largest box-office territory, its movie budgets are getting bigger, too.

Asura, an epic fantasy film loosely based on Buddhist mythology, offers a glimpse of the Chinese industry to come.

With a budget of $100 million, it is said to be the country's most expensive fully domestic film ever.

Director Zhang Peng is a renowned Hollywood stunt coordinator who worked on "The Twilight Saga" and "Ant Man".

The production team also features Hollywood and Oscar-winning filmmakers.

YANG ZHENJIAN PRODUCER, ASURA "In this film, we've tackled some technical problems like putting three heads in one body, creating the demi-god, and with the help of VFX team from Hollywood, we've successfully achieved that. Apart from the costume design with eastern esthetics, for the story and the whole setting, you could feel there's a lot of eastern philosophy in it."

The mythical realm of Asura is the dimension of pure desire, according to ancient Buddhist mythology — which is threatened by a coup from a lower heavenly kingdom.

Sixteen-year-old Chinese rising star Lei Wu plays the hero, alongside Hong Kong veterans Tony Leung and Carina Lau.

TONY LEUNG ACTOR "The film is more than just a fantasy epic. Beyond the visual effects and everything, the film really delves into human nature. It makes you think about the meaning of life, the relationship between human and the world we live in."

The film was shot in seven locations across China, including Ningxia in the country's north and the Qinghai Tibetan Plateau, to help capture the bleak atmosphere of the film's fantasy world.

It's the first in a trilogy. The movie will focus on the Asura world, while its sequels plan on delving into the worlds of the setting's celestial gods and human beings. Shen Li, CGTN.