Special report: 2008 Olympic Games
BEIJING,
Nov. 29 -- Guge, the long-lost kingdom which ruled the western part of Tibet
after the 10th century, collapsed suddenly about 300 years ago when the
introduction of Christianity is believed to have created a rift in the royal
family.
But its hardly accessible ruins will soon come to
life in a documentary series to be made by a Singaporean-Chinese collaboration
in time for the 2008 Olympics.
The production of the series comes amid global
enthusiasm for producing documentaries about China.
Some of the world's biggest broadcasters and
producers are making, or preparing to make, documentaries to coincide with the
Games, they told China Daily on the sidelines of the ongoing Asia Media Festival
in Singapore.
Most cover history, archaeological findings and
scientific development as well as the lives of ordinary people.
Besides the one about the Guge kingdom, a documentary
about the expectations of Chinese children for the Olympics as well as four
others are going to be produced by the Media Development Authority (MDA) of
Singapore in conjunction with China's State Administration of Radio, Film and
Television, said MDA Chief Executive Christopher Chia.
An Australian vet who works on the Qinghai-Tibet
Plateau treating farmers' oxen and sheep will be the star in a documentary
series to be launched next year by LIC Australia - one of the largest television
program broadcasters and distributors in the country - and Singaporean producer
Upside Down Concepts, according to a memorandum signed by the two companies.
The high-speed railway system being built around
China is the focus of interest for Craig Thompson, executive producer of
Ballinran Productions in Canada. He is preparing to make a documentary about the
Chinese scientists behind the project.
Children's education in China as well as other parts
of Asia make a perfect topic for Mika Kanaya, producer at Japan's NHK.
Courtney Thompson, a senior manager at National
Geographic Channels International, is most interested in documentaries about
China's archaeological findings and rich history.
Besides, contemporary people's lives and cultural
events in China and other parts of Asia are the subject for Michelle Schofield,
director of AETN All Asia Networks, a newly established branch of the American
television networks AETN with its headquarters in Singapore and operations in
Kuala Lumpur.
Broadcasters and producers agree that the
international market for documentaries about China is "huge" before the
Olympics.
But most, including those broadcast in Asia, are made
by Westerners.
In Asia, the market value for documentaries and
programs such as cooking and travel, amounts to 600 million U.S. dollars a year,
but only about 30 percent of the programs are made by Asian producers, said Tony
Chow, president of the Association of Independent Production Companies in
Singapore.
The international market wants documentaries by
Asians, including Chinese, but they need a global touch to be successful.
"I hate to say this, but if a documentary is meant
for the American market, it has to include someone like a Harvard professor so
that the audience can get a feeling of relativity," said Schofield at AETN.
(Source: China Daily)
