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One of China's most important film festivals - the 25th Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Film Festival - has opened in Tangshan city of Hebei Province. This year, 41 Chinese films will be screened. But according to renowned director Zhang Yimou, China's movie making industry can still learn a few things from Hollywood, like "slowing down".
After amazing the world with the spectacular G20 Summit evening gala in Hangzhou, director Zhang Yimou immediately threw himself into the production of "The Great Wall". The China-US co-production stars both Chinese and Hollywood A-listers such as Andy Lau and Matt Damon.
For Zhang, whether it's a gala or a film, the most important thing is storytelling -- how to tell China's story to the world. Collaborating with Hollywood film makers is a good way to do this.
"'The Great Wall' is a commercial production. But the core of the film is a Chinese story. And you can see the Chinese cultures, traditions and values in this film. So I think it's a great opportunity for Chinese film makers to introduce China to Hollywood and the world. If it turns out to be a success, then more and more Hollywood filmmakers would like to come to China and cooperate with Chinese filmmakers," Zhang said.
Zhang believes more opportunities will yield works in more genres and more cinematic experiences.
"Hollywood's filmmaking industry is quite mature, so there's a lot we can learn. They have professional teams in different stages of filmmaking. And we can also learn about financing, marketing and distribution from them. But meanwhile, we have our distinctive culture," he said.
Zhang also talked about differences between the two cultures... when it comes to the time it takes to make a movie.
"It usually takes two or three years to make a Hollywood blockbuster. However producing a film in China can be very fast -- sometimes it only takes half a year to make a movie. I hope the younger generation of filmmakers will take their time when producing a film," Zhang said.
(Source: CNTV.cn)
