Xinhua, Sydney :
Next month will mark 10 years since Australia and China inked a co-production film treaty, which has brought the two countries eight major movies that are estimated to generate tens of millions of dollars.
The original idea for the agreement came about as a way for the Australian film industry to compete with the big Hollywood studios in the United States.
By opening the door to what is fastly becoming the world’s No. 1 movie market – China, Australia aimed to make itself more attractive for producers looking to invest and cooperate with Aussie films.
On the Chinese side of the equation, the deal also made sense, as it was a way to share elite talent and strengthen its reach to western audiences.
“There was all sorts of discussions about how they could bring, both the economics and the culture together,” Screen Australia’s Head of Business and Audience Richard Harris told Xinhua recently.
“The great thing about film is, that’s where you can bring those two things together in one place.”
The treaty itself is essentially, a memorandum of understanding between the two countries, which sets guidelines, so that certain films can be given the go-ahead to continue as an official co-production.
“When a producer has an idea for a project like Guardians of the Tomb for example, the idea of a number of Australian, American and Chinese archeologists in the desert in China discovering a tomb that happens to be infested by spiders, brings together the culture from the Chinese side and the Australian and western side, to make a film that can hopefully work in China,” Harris said.
“Then Screen Australia and another organization inside of China do the certifying, as an official co-production, and once it has that certification, then it goes ahead and the Chinese government authorizes it there and then our government authorizes it here.”
Essentially, the major benefits for both countries is that filmmakers can access production offsets, as well as government investment in a project.
Among the films that have been a product of the treaty are Guardians of the Tomb, The Dragon Pearl, Children of the Silk Road, 33 Postcards and the yet to be released My Extraordinary Wedding, Tying the Knot, Dog Fight and At Last.
But even outside of the co-productions sphere, the two countries have continued to develop further ties.
Next month will mark 10 years since Australia and China inked a co-production film treaty, which has brought the two countries eight major movies that are estimated to generate tens of millions of dollars.
The original idea for the agreement came about as a way for the Australian film industry to compete with the big Hollywood studios in the United States.
By opening the door to what is fastly becoming the world’s No. 1 movie market – China, Australia aimed to make itself more attractive for producers looking to invest and cooperate with Aussie films.
On the Chinese side of the equation, the deal also made sense, as it was a way to share elite talent and strengthen its reach to western audiences.
“There was all sorts of discussions about how they could bring, both the economics and the culture together,” Screen Australia’s Head of Business and Audience Richard Harris told Xinhua recently.
“The great thing about film is, that’s where you can bring those two things together in one place.”
The treaty itself is essentially, a memorandum of understanding between the two countries, which sets guidelines, so that certain films can be given the go-ahead to continue as an official co-production.
“When a producer has an idea for a project like Guardians of the Tomb for example, the idea of a number of Australian, American and Chinese archeologists in the desert in China discovering a tomb that happens to be infested by spiders, brings together the culture from the Chinese side and the Australian and western side, to make a film that can hopefully work in China,” Harris said.
“Then Screen Australia and another organization inside of China do the certifying, as an official co-production, and once it has that certification, then it goes ahead and the Chinese government authorizes it there and then our government authorizes it here.”
Essentially, the major benefits for both countries is that filmmakers can access production offsets, as well as government investment in a project.
Among the films that have been a product of the treaty are Guardians of the Tomb, The Dragon Pearl, Children of the Silk Road, 33 Postcards and the yet to be released My Extraordinary Wedding, Tying the Knot, Dog Fight and At Last.
But even outside of the co-productions sphere, the two countries have continued to develop further ties.
