How ASEAN films can break into China’s movie market

XI’AN, China — How can ASEAN films break into China’s booming movie market?

This was one of the main points raised during the ASEAN-China Film Cooperation Forum held in this city in Shaanxi province, which gathered filmmakers, producers and actors from Southeast Asia.

The forum was part of the ASEAN Film Week mounted by the ASEAN-China Centre, the intergovernmental organization facilitating activities between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and China relating to trade, tourism, education and culture. The film week was also co-sponsored by the third Silk Road International Film Festival.

The Chinese market ranks as the second biggest film sector in the world and industry players are saying it’s on track to overtake Hollywood’s No. 1 spot by 2017.

“China is second only to United States, earning about $10B last year. So, maybe next year, we’re going to be No. 1 because we have a very huge population. That’s why you (ASEAN) have to come in,” said Zhou Tiedong, former general manager of Chinese Film Production International and reviewer for China Film Group. “For most of the big Hollywood films, half of the profits come from China. For the (total) global profits, half are from China.”

Tiedong is proposing an Eastern mainstream film cooperation, wherein ASEAN’s 10 member-nations, including the Philippines, plus the three countries of China, Korea and Japan “unite as a film market” to be able to compete with if not outperform Hollywood.

“One of the best ways to cooperate is to do a co-production. I think we can develop (films) together because we share some very common stories. I think you can adopt some policies to attract Chinese film crews to come to your countries and make films using your locations. They have already started to do that. An example is Lost in Thailand,” he said.

The 2013 comedy Lost in Thailand is the highest-grossing Chinese film of all time, raking in $200M in box-office receipts. When The STAR visited the film setting last year on the invitation of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), officials credited the movie for the large Chinese tourist inflows.

Still, no matter how alluring it is, the Chinese film market is going to be a tough nut to crack. For one, China imposes a strict quota system, with only 34 foreign films allowed per year on a revenue-sharing basis. “You know, we have a very strict quota for film distributors. They need to buy films that can have a very big box-office (performance),” he said.

That’s why, Tiedong stressed, government-level cooperation and policy support are needed more than ever. “Maybe next year, or in the near future, the quota will be expanded so we have to work together to change the policy. The governments of the ASEAN countries could work together for better arrangement. The arrangement (now) is not good because we don’t have art house. Those small films cannot go to the theaters. They cannot compete.”

For foreign films to enjoy distribution, they also must pass censorship standards set by China’s State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television.

The Asian films that managed to be screened in the country come from India, Korea, Japan and Thailand.

Meantime, Tiedong suggested that ASEAN filmmakers tap China’s Internet players “to sell your films to the Internet audience because they don’t have a quota.”

Nevertheless, Brunei filmmaker Siti Kamaluddin, who directed Yasmine, their country’s first film in 50 years, hopes that ASEAN films will find a place in the Chinese market sooner than later.

“Our countries, we don’t put quota on Chinese (movies). Chinese films can be shown in Brunei, Singapore and even Manila. But how about ASEAN films — can they be shown in China? That’s what I mean by cooperation, but then again that is limited (by quota). They keep on saying that so that means this is the main problem. At the very least, this (quota) problem should be solved first of all,” she told The STAR.

“I’m glad to be here because we get to meet each other and connect. This is a wonderful incentive. However, I’m still trying to think of how can we, Brunei filmmakers, do a cooperation with China and not just for locations, you know? I want to learn how to do that because we are a very small country and not really a film nation. It’s something we’re interested to do.”

Jack Neo, the Singaporean director behind the period film Long Long Time Ago, proposed HYP (Help Your Project) as a starting point. It will be a full-length feature wherein ASEAN directors (together with a well-known Chinese director and celebrities to pull in China’s domestic market) each contribute 20 minutes of their work, stringed in a cohesive storyline.

He said ASEAN filmmakers have the advantage to make it happen because each country has a director who can produce high-quality work with box-office appeal. Each production team will share production costs and introduce ASEAN characteristics to the Chinese audience.

For Pinoy filmmaker Mihk Vergara, whose action-sports comedy Patintero: Ang Alamat ni Meng Patalo was also showcased during the film week, “I think (HYP) is viable. The biggest problem for me, though, is picking the directors who will do the project — the omnibus.

“It’s actually like that film that came out a couple of years ago, Paris I Love You. It featured different directors from different countries, shooting all about Paris, and different genres but set in Paris.”

Vergara added that apart from China, it would be good to have ASEAN films distributed all over the ASEAN region.

“So, like the Silk Trade route, if we have a distribution route like that, it would be good but then that would depend also if you can get your money back. But it would be nice to have a set number of screenings even though there’s no promise of return. I think that would be a healthy exchange of cultures (in say) two or three days. If it makes money, they can extend it but at least for that period of time, they can see ASEAN films.”

Kamaluddin also noted that the ASEAN has one of the fastest-growing consumer markets. According to the Global McKinsey Institute, ASEAN nations as a whole make up the seventh-largest economy in the world. “So, I think we should combine (and have) films distributed all over ASEAN, and together with China, that would be a bigger market,” she said.

For Chum Chandorn, the producer of Cambodia’s Khmer Mekong Films, cross-border screenings are an exciting prospect. The potential can perhaps be seen in how, for example, Philippine TV dramas were able to resonate with Cambodian audiences. “I’ve not seen any Philippine films in Cambodia yet, only TV dramas like Dyesebel, The Promise (Pangako Sa’Yo), Impostor, they were very popular in Cambodia.”

Cambodia has successfully produced such films as The Missing Picture, which used clay figures to dramatize what happened during the time of the Khmer Rouge. The film earned a nomination for Best Foreign Language Film at the 2013 Oscars and the won the grand prize at Cannes Film Festival’s Un Certain Regard section on the same year.

Chandorn said, “As a filmmaker in Cambodia, we need to think outside the box. I think HYP can be done, but very difficult. Finding the content is very hard. So, if ASEAN (filmmakers) can think of content, storylines or story ideas linking ASEAN and China, (HYP) will work.”

ASEAN filmmakers, nevertheless, are very thankful for any avenues that foster conversations on how to step up film development efforts as a collective voice.

“What’s important is that we don’t lose the momentum with these discussions,” said Vergara. “I hope we keep on talking to each other and try to make it happen and in whatever form it’s gonna take in the future, whether or not it’s a love story, or something completely different.”

Malaysian director of Ola Bola Chiu Keng Guan said that for him, it’s “too early” to be thinking about how his work can fare in the Chinese box office, saying that ASEAN films still have a long way to go and that foreign movie audiences are “differently structured” in terms of culture and norms. He, however, appreciates the chance for ASEAN films to be introduced to audiences outside their home markets through events like the ASEAN Film Week.

He said, “The greatest part of this event is providing a platform for filmmakers, industry players and film agencies to communicate, to work as one in promoting the development of filmmaking in this region.”