16/11/2013 - China Day opens today with a pitching & co-production session that includes new projects by Italian filmmakers such as Maurizio Sciarra, Giuseppe Capotondi and Luca Miniero

Today and tomorrow are the China Day in The Business Street, the industry section of the Rome International Film Festival. A series of events, including meetings, pitchings and screenings, will be attended by films producers and distributors, as well as financial and political representatives, from Italy and the Asian giant.

The event, which has been coordinated by Giorgio Gosetti with the Ministry of Economic Development (MiSE), the Italian Ministry of Culture (MiBAC), the main Italian film industry association ANICA, Istituto Luce - Cinecittà, Unefa, the Italian Trade Commission and CSC (National Cinema School), aims at promoting collaboration between Italian and Chinese companies and talents. Thanks to the Coproduction Treaty signed by both governments in 2012, there is now a real option to increase cultural and professional exchange between the two cinematic industries.

China Day opens today with a pitching & co-production session that includes new projects by Italian filmmakers such as Maurizio Sciarra, Giuseppe Capotondi and Luca Miniero.

In the evening the Maverick Director Award will be handed out to the great Chinese director Tsui Hark, who will then screen his new film Young Detective Dee: Rise of the Sea Dragon 3D.

A coproduction case studies workshop will be held tomorrow at the Auditorium Parco della Musica.

The programme will wrap up on Sunday with the Gala premiere screening of Benny Chan's The White Storm (Sou Duk).

Giorgio Gosetti, coordinator of the project said “There is a real creative commitment on both parts to develop joint projects that serve as bridges between two cultures and two film industries. Of course, it is only the first step and I believe there's a lot to work on in terms of project diversification so that the audiences from both countries can experience ways of life, passions and feelings that may seem far from each other. But the China Project that I have coordinated wants to look beyond and I am sure that the alliance with the Italia China Foundation and the gathering of the main public and private stakeholders of our audiovisual industry is a great result”.

Marco Muller, artistic director of the Rome Film Festival: “After the signing of the coproduction agreement, China is closer to Italy. However, Italian cinema has a long relationship with the culture and the people of that huge, ancient country. Since 1978, Italy is the European country that has watched and studied Chinese cinema in the most regular and systematic way. Directors and producers have been encouraged to develop projects that bridge both motion-picture industries. Think about the recent experiences of Maria Grazia Cucinotta and Luca Barbareschi. Therefore, we are not in the experimental stage of the relationship: the artistic, industrial and commercial exchange between both countries is a lively and versatile reality”.

Riccardo Tozzi, president of ANICA: “China is very interested in its relationship with Europe, and I should say especially with Italy, which is perceived as a leading country in the field of culture. The China Project is a medium-term project, not a single, isolated event, that includes institutional contacts, facilitation for film professionals, support for the distribution of Italian films in China and reciprocal knowledge through joint participation in festivals and events such as the China Day. I don't think there has ever been, in any festival in the world, such a wide-ranging and qualified delegation from the Chinese industry”.