Co-production a way out

China has been endeavoring to let its films go global in ways including participation in various film markets and renowned international film festivals.

But among the efforts, experts say creative partnerships between Chinese and foreign companies are one of the most important and effective ways.

Co-production can help not only to grow China's own industry but also to export Chinese movies. Introducing Chinese movies to the world is part of China's cultural strategy that helps to build up its soft power.

"To increase our share in the international film market, we must spend much more efforts on film promotion and marketing," Yang Buting, board chairman of China Film Promotion International, told Xinhua.

"Hollywood's successful global distribution system will benefit Chinese films through co-production. To cooperate with foreign companies, it will be their job to distribute the film in their countries. This is much more effective than selling the film by ourselves," said Yang.

Actually, partnerships between Chinese and Hollywood moviemakers have been proliferating. Oscar-winning actor Christian Bale played the leading role in Zhang Yimou's "The 13 Women of Nanjing."

Meanwhile, Mike Medavoy, producer of "Black Swan," who was born in Shanghai, is working with Beijing-based film promoters to help Chinese films go global. Hugh Jackman starred in "Snow Flower and the Secret Fan," Wendi Murdoch's first co-produced movie.

In addition, Oscar winner Branko Lustig, producer of "Schindler's List," has announced his plan to produce "The Melanie Violin," a movie about Jewish refugees in Shanghai during the Second World War.

In one of the latest big moves, Huayi Brothers Media, China's largest independent film studio, and Los Angeles-based production company Legendary Entertainment, maker of such global box-office hits as "Inception" and "The Dark Knight," formed in June a new China-U.S. venture called Legendary East.

Earlier this month, the newly-formed, Hong Kong-based and Chinese-managed entertainment company announced its first project: "The Great Wall," which is designed to be a "globally-appealing" adventure movie and will be directed by Edward Zwick, director of "The Last Samurai."

In China, the project will be distributed by Legendary East's co-production partner, Huayi Brothers. Warner Bros. is expected to handle other territories.

As China is advancing fast, especially in film financing and distribution, some have warned that what is more important is the real quality of movies.

"I know some films were done in only a month. No one talked thoroughly of the screenplay. It is not this case in Hollywood. A good screenplay needs to be worked on time and time again," Gong Li, one of the best known Chinese actresses in Hollywood, told Xinhua.

Since 2005, the Chinese government has invested heavily in infrastructure projects, including new theaters in China's major cities. There are now more than 6,000 screens across the country, and many of them are digital. In 2010, more than four screens were set up every day.

But with the high speed of hardware development, the artistry of Chinese films is yet to improve. According to Yin, the Tsinghua University professor, only about 100 of the 500-plus movies produced in China last year met acceptable art standards.

"It is easy to buy buildings, for example, and see the cash flow. It is harder to go into the software business of making films. It has to be done methodically and in a way that makes both economic and strategic sense," said Medavoy, producer of "Black Swan."

Meanwhile, Dan Mintz, CEO of DMG Entertainment, pointed out that identifying the target audience group is the key to success for co-produced works. It is either an international film with Chinese elements or a Chinese film with global faces.

For a Chinese filmmaker to win over the US viewers, the most important thing is that he has to incorporate the Chinese elements with Western ones in terms of story-telling and film techniques, said Nebe.

The Hollywood writer was involved in producing with Chinese filmmakers "Mysterious China," an award-winning series of documentaries exploring China and its 5,000-year-old culture.

"Since we want 'lao wai' (foreigners) to understand China, we have to give them information in the 'lao wai' fashion," he said.