Different Australian movie and television producers start to unveil projects which combine Australian and Chinese elements.
For how many years, Australian filmmaker Tony Coombs have been touring Yunnan province for a couple of times. He was noted to have been fascinated by the famous ethnic Yi fable of Ashima, a gorgeous young lady who rejected the proposal of an evil lord's son, in order to follow her heart and pursue true love.
Coombs believed the fable could be accessible and accepted by international audience once it will be developed into a more well-diversed storyline. He researched on the local history of China and even watched the 1964 Chinese movie of "Ashima." He also wrote script for an animated feature film called "Girl of Ashima."
Currently, the Australian filmmaker is seeking Chinese partners to develop and work on the project. He hopes to bring the Chinese fable story to a more broad and young audience, internationally.
"Coproductions are a short cut to win audiences from different cultures," Miao Xiaotian, the general manager of China Film Co-Production Corp. said.
On the second week of November during the forum at the China Australia International Film Season held at Wuhan, Coombs and David Redman promoted the film.
During the three-day event in Wuhan, last November 7 to 9, China Australia International Film Festival, backed up by the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Fil and Television had promote cinematic exchanges from both Autralia and China.
There are 11 movies which include "Don't Tell,"and "Twenty Two" that was screened to 30 theatres and attracted more than 10,000 viewers.
The Australian team has nearly 40 members and they were seeking opportunities of collaboration from China.
It can be noted that China and its movie industry has been on the rise for the past years and has made the country as one of the most alluring movie markets for foreigners. Meanwhile, Australia has now shifted their focus to China despite having a long history of working with Hollywood.
Matthew Deaner, CEO of Screen Producers Australia, says: "Australia is a country which has a small population and large continent. A large number of people are immigrants. So, they have unique stories rooted in their cultures, and they would love to watch such stories on the big screen."
