Already home to the famed film festival, Cannes has now kicked off its International TV Festival. As a country of honor, China has organized a series of promotions introducing Chinese stories to the world. And above all, China is inviting the global entertainment industry to cooperate and develop together.
Coordinated by the Information Office of the State Council and China Media Group, over 400 professionals from 50 leading media organizations across China presented their best television products in the festival – the biggest in history.
Figures for last year show China has become the second largest television market in the world. Insiders told us what's behind this development of the Chinese industry.
"China has been doing such a wonderful job, sharing its content, sharing its stories with other countries in the world," said Paul Zilk, President & CEO, Reed Midem.
The television product promotions were themed "Wonderful Stories from China." The animations in particular caught the eye of participants from other countries.
"Every year, we see how China has become more and more active internationally. We see great content coming from China. It's really a very dynamic industry," said Laurine Garaude, Director, TV Division Of Reed Midem.
At an International Summit Forum on film and television cooperation, organizations from home and abroad showcased the achievement of international projects. This is expected to be a driving force for both China and other countries to explore more Chinese stories.
"I think we started off with kung fu and martial arts. It works everywhere and it always does. The thing is we're already aware of wonderful stories there in China....we're very keen to get those stories out to the world," said Jonathan Spink, CEO of HBO Asia.
So far, China has already signed cooperative agreements with over 20 countries. According to China Media Group, in 2017 alone, China produced over 300 TV series, 350 animations and nearly 800 movies. That productivity brought in revenue of over 400 million US dollars.