Expectations bloom on China-US film agreement renegotiation

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By CGTN's Lin Nan

The five-year China-US film agreement came up for renegotiation in February this year. At this year’s Shanghai International Film Festival, filmmakers from China and the US talked to CGTN about their concerns in relation to the deal.

The agreement was signed in February 2012. It increased the number of revenue-sharing imports from 20 to 34, including 14 IMAX or 3D films, while foreign revenue shares rose from 13% to 25%.

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As the deal came up for renegotiation this year, filmmakers on the two sides expressed their concerns ahead of upcoming talks which are expected to take place later this year.

“ I am very concerned about the percentage of US blockbusters and their distribution in Chinese cinemas. Importing foreign films is good for the Chinese audience. It will hit Chinese films’ performance in the market to some extent, but it will also drive Chinese filmmakers to do better,” Chinese actor Hu Jun said.

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Frederic Golchan, a Hollywood producer, said it would be nice to see a little more artistic or author movies coming to get distributed. “So maybe China can figure out a way to increase the number, so that the number includes more artistic movies.”

China has become a key overseas market for Hollywood films. Many believe it will stimulate the development of the Chinese film industry.

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“It's just like how IMAX films have an impact on the Chinese film industry. It has brought new technologies and ideas to China, and has definitely impacted a lot of Chinese filmmakers. Screening foreign films has greatly changed the industry,” Yue-Sai Kan, the International Ambassador of the Shanghai International Film Festival, said.

Many also said no matter how the market conditions change in China, making good films is the ultimate solution to compete with foreign films.

“Even if the number of foreign films is strictly controlled in the Chinese market, if we make bad films, the audience will still find ways to watch foreign films. So I care more about how we can make better films than how many foreign films will compete with us,” said Hong Kong director Peter Lee.