Ahead of the Berlinale (16-26 February), Bridging the Dragon, in collaboration with the European Film Market (EFM), has announced that, for the first time, it will expand its traditional Sino-European Forum to include a wider scope, “in order to discuss the triangular synergies between Europe, China and other regions of Far-East Asia”.

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In detail, the event will kick off on 19 February with the panel“Moving East: Perspectives of Collaboration Between Europe, China and Far-East Asia”. Head of International Operationsat renowned Japanese animation studio Production IG (the Ghost in the Shell franchise) Francesco Prandoni, CEO of and producer at Korean company BlessU Pictures Eunjung Yoo, director of the Film division of the Chinese-backed Spanish group Mediapro Studio Carles Montiel, and founder of and producer at Taiwanese company Flash Forward Entertainment (with operations also in Mainland China) Patrick Huang will be sharing their perspectives on what is currently happening in their territories with the audience, as well as what we should expect in the near future in terms of interaction with Europe, but also among themselves. The panel will be moderated by Variety’s Asia chief editor, Patrick Frater.

The forum will continue on 21 February with five round-tables, exploring in detail the regions of Mainland China, the Republic of Korea, Taiwan, Japan and Mongolia. Each table will be headed up by an experienced local expert. Among the tutors are the aforementioned Patrick Huang and Eunjung Yoo, flanked by Fan Zhang, Eiko Mizuno-Gray, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Chie Hayakawa and Nomuunzul Turmunkh.

Over the last two years, the Chinese film industry has endured a difficult period, with the box office falling to an 11-year low and the number of both imported and co-produced films declining to a minimum. However, with the abandonment of the zero-COVID policy, it has immediately shown signs of recovery, with a strong performance during the Lunar New Year holidays. The industry’s prospects for growth are expected to return to pre-pandemic levels, thus increasing the chances of reactivating more and more collaboration opportunities. Meanwhile, other Asian regions have gained great vitality. In 2022, Japan became the world’s third-largest box-office market, whilst Korean content has piqued enormous attention within the international festival circuit and on global streaming platforms. Finally, smaller markets such as Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia and Mongolia are attracting more and more international productions by introducing co-production funds and local incentives.