When the 13th-century Italian merchant and traveler Marco Polo finished his famous book The Travels of Marco Polo, he couldn’t have imagined that seven centuries later his adventures in China would be adapted into a seven-hour film. Made in 1982, it was not only the first film co-produced by China and Italy, but also China’s first international production after the country kicked off its reform and opening-up drive in 1978.
Five years later, China and Italy again co-produced The Last Emperor, which astonished the audience and won nine Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay. The "fascinating story" (by Bernardo Bertolucci, director of the film) and the joint effort were applauded by viewers around the world.
Cooperation between China and Italy on film production started then. Now, China’s fast-growing film market has brought Italian filmmakers to court Chinese peers with attractive terms for co-productions.
Competition for "Lions"
As China's film industry grows, it is finally beginning to make its mark, winning awards and recognition around the world.
The first Chinese name in the history of the Venice Film Festival is Hou Hsiao-Hsien, the Taiwanese director who won the Golden Lion for his film A City of Sadness.
Three days earlier, a local reporter wrote, "Well, our Lion is going to speak Chinese this year!" The triumph in Venice raised the New Wave Cinema movement in Taiwan to an unprecedented height.
During the 1990s, Chinese director Zhang Yimou grabbed two Golden Lions for The Story of Qiu Ju and Not One Less, and a Silver Lion for Raise the Red Lantern. Gong Li won Best Actress for her performance in The Story of Qiu Ju, the first Chinese winner of the award in the history of the Venice Film Festival.
After the world stepped into the new millennium, director Ang Lee won the Golden Lion with his films Brokeback Mountain in 2005 and Lust, Caution in 2007.
In 2006 the film Still Life brought the Golden Lion to Jia Zhangke. Between Jia and Lee, Chinese directors won the Festival’s highest award for three consecutive years.
In 2014, Chinese filmmaker Zhang Xun, who has participated in the making of the T.V. mini-series Marco Polo and the film, The Last Emperor, was given the Gillo Pontecorvo Award for her contributions to co-produced movies. The award encourages creativity and particularly cooperation between countries in filmmaking.
"Zhang Xun has been dedicated to promoting cooperation among filmmakers in China, Italy, and other countries in the world," Italian ambassador to China Alberto Bradanini said during the award ceremony. "Thanks to her hard work, other countries are getting to know China and many cooperation projects have been realized."
Agreeable Agreement
In 2013, a new cinema co-production agreement between Italy and China was signed. According to its terms, films co-produced under the treaty will enjoy dual nationality – Chinese and Italian.
In China, they will be free from the quota that restricts the release of foreign-made films, and receive the same percentage of the box office revenue as for Chinese domestic films. The co-produced films will also receive tax incentives and government subsidies in Italy, and if the filming team needs to shoot in Italy, they can seek support from local government.
The entire Italian film community – public and private organizations, associations and government agencies – came together for the first time ever to launch a three-year "China Project," hoping to open up governmental to private channels to facilitate film cooperation between China and Italy.
"It means many new opportunities for Sino-Italian cooperation in filmmaking," Bradanini said.
However, Italy is not the first country to sign a film co-production agreement with China. Similar deals with France in 2010 and South Korea in 2014 shook the whole moviemaking industry. The Italian deal had a smaller impact, due to the stagnation of the Italian film industry.
In 2013, a delegation of Italian officials and film professionals visited China and found a booming film industry, in contrast to the declining Italian one.
A few days after the Gillo Pontecorvo Award Ceremony, the Chinese government disclosed that China’s total box office revenue reached RMB 29.6 billion in 2014. This shows a year-on-year increase of 36.15 percent. Compared to the sluggish film market in other countries including the United States, the world’s largest film market, the booming Chinese market is attracting global attention.
"The rapid development of the film market in China astonished Italian filmmakers, and we want to visit China to see why," said Italian judge Maurizio Sciarra during the first Chinese cinema forum held during the Venice Film Festival. "There are many good stories, but we need investment to finish the production." Clearly, Italy’s "Golden Lion" has awoken to the growing market and abundant capital in China.
In order to attract investment, in the Sino-Italian co-production agreement the Italian side formulated only one article, requiring that "the ratio of the investment from Italy must be no less than 20 percent." Apart from this, there were no requirements on the themes, sets, and cast. This perhaps makes it the most agreeable and lax agreement in international film co-production history.
"Today, China commands huge interest among all countries in the world. Any stories related to China, or co-produced with China will consequently attract large audiences. Therefore, we hope that with more communication, China and Italy will better understand each other, and find more stories to work on together," Bradanini said.
A Bridge between China and Italy
"I can assure you that many filmmaking companies in Europe and the U.S. will come to China to seek partners. I believe this is the future, so we should push forward now," Bradanini said.
Describing the cinema co-production agreement between Italy and China, Bradanini said, "To my knowledge, a host of filmmaking teams have started shooting and producing films in China and Italy already."
"I hope the two countries communicate and cooperate more in the film industry. Italians hope to watch films about China, and I hope people in China are interested in our country as well." Bradanini went on, "The film industry can serve as a bridge, helping people in China and Italy learn about one another. It’s not just about films, but also about culture in general." He believes it is a good thing "in the sense that everyone would be attracted to participate, which then would generate a synergistic effect in other fields. China is a big country with a huge market."
Undoubtedly, communication between Italy and China in the film industry establishes a platform for continuous cultural exchange, which will boost the development of bilateral political and trade relations.
"China has become the focus of the world, as it plays a significant role in the world economy. Meanwhile, the country is gaining increasing political importance. It appears to me that China has the ability to promote more cooperation among different countries," Bradinini concluded.
