Staff members assist attendees at the reception desk ahead of the Ne Zha 2 premiere in Tokyo on March 14. Diao Yuankang / For China Daily
Filmmakers, production companies and entertainment venture funds from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are looking to co-produce more projects in China amid the growing appeal of the nation's movie and TV content in the international market.
Participants from the Gulf nations at the 29th Hong Kong International Film and TV Market, or FILMART, industry event, which opened on Monday, spoke about the soaring popularity of Chinese entertainment content and cultural elements globally, and the potential opportunities for collaborations and joint productions with Chinese partners.
Emad Eskander, head of the Red Sea Fund at Saudi Arabia-based Red Sea Film Foundation, said China "is blessed with a culture something so unique" that has enabled the culture to flourish internationally.
There is food, there is fashion and there is this new animation film that is breaking records, Eskander told China Daily in an exclusive interview on the sidelines of FILMART in Hong Kong.
Eskander, a first-time visitor to Hong Kong and FILMART, and one of the speakers at the event, was referring to the Chinese animated movie Ne Zha 2, which has become the fifth on the list of the highest-grossing films in global box office history.
In Japan, the original Chinese version of Ne Zha 2, with Chinese and English subtitles, has been released in major cities with high population density, covering 32 theaters. The Japanese-subtitled version is set to be released on April 4.
In 2018, Saudi Arabia lifted a 35-year ban on cinemas as part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud's plan to revitalize his nation's traditionally oil-dependent economy through the Vision 2030 agenda. Eskander is optimistic about the future of Saudi Arabia's film sector, saying it should be able to catch up through international collaborations.
Eskander, a filmmaker himself, told China Daily that at the Red Sea Fund, at least 50 percent of the submissions received by the fund, when it started accepting proposals for post-production projects to include Asia, for the first time — for the first cycle of the year, which ran from Feb 6 to 27 — were from China.
The other 50 percent, he said, came from some 40 countries combined. The fund had previously been opened to the Arab world and Africa.
"I am glad. We're lucky in a sense we got introduced to all these filmmakers," said Eskander.
Eskander said that as Saudi-Chinese relations deepen, the audience engagement "has been there". He noted there has been a lot of Chinese entertainment content that has been watched in Saudi Arabia, including movies featuring popular icons Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee.
The overall potential for collaboration, he said, is with independent filmmakers.
"I expect the features to lead more than the documentaries. Nevertheless, this is our first year. There is a lot for us to learn and a lot for me to learn," said Eskander.
Established in 2021, the Red Sea Fund has supported more than 280 projects in which several former recipients have gone on to earn global recognition and accolades.
Henry Bolade, finance and commercial director at Kobovaola Resources, an independent animation and gaming development studio based in Abu Dhabi, UAE, told China Daily that in the long term, they would want to start distribution of their products to TV companies, noting a shift from Netflix. He is attending FILMART for the first time.
"It's a good experience for me to come down and be on the ground to speak to people. Even though this is just the first day, I've already had invitations to go on to Chinese mainland," said Bolade.
"I think China will have a significant role to play," he said.
Julia Nikolaeva, general manager at Animotion Media Group, another Abu Dhabi-based company and a previous attendee, told China Daily that they brought their existing catalog as well as new IPs (intellectual property) to this year's event.
With FILMART running until March 20, the Animotion Media Group manager hopes to find new partners, saying they are open to co-production collaborations.
"Now we focus on new co-production projects with China. More focus on China. It's still the main market for Asia. It's the biggest," said Nikolaeva.
Jiang Xueqing contributed to this story.
