The Venice Days section of the Venice Film Festival recently announced that it is officially setting up a partnership with Bridging the Dragon project in their efforts to raise the level of film production both in Europe and China.
Venice Days and Bridging the Dragon will launch several new initiatives in order to widen their scope and could further help filmmakers. One of these planned workshops involves prominent Chinese screenwriters such as Yuan Yuan and Shu Huan where they will advise European-based writers on what are the themes that appeal most to the Chinese audience, according to the Bridging the Dragon website. The workshop is part of the China Film Forum which is slated to start on Sept. 1.
As part of the partnership deal, Venice Days will host the second round of the Sino-European content lab, an initiative that picks up several film projects that have cross-cultural narratives. Most prominent of which are "Honeymoon Jungle" which is a French production, and "Secret of the Blue Dragon" from Norway.
Regarding the film selection of Venice Days, it will feature the world premiere of "Coffee" from Italian director Cristiano Bortone. "Coffee" is the first product of the co-production treaty signed by China and Italy in 2014. The film features a multi-linear narrative which are set in China, Italy, and Belgium. The film's screenplay was a joint effort between Chinese and European writers. Prior to its release, "Coffee" had already received a green light from Chinese censors.
Due to strict regulatory and political policies in China, Bridging the Dragon will hold a training session in order to teach production companies how to navigate through China's complex regulatory guidelines, according to Variety.
Among the top-notch film executives from China and Europe who are expected to be in attendance are Senator Film president of production Ulf Israel, former Warner Bros. executive Ben Erwei Ji, and Jetavana Entertainment head of development Sisi Wu.
