Bridging the Dragon, the Sino-European producers’ association dedicated to strengthening the ties between the two industries, organises for the sixth year in a row its Sino-European Project Lab bringing together over 70 film professionals from both sides to develop projects and establish personal bonding. This year’s programme will be shaped for the virtual space and will take place from 25 to 29 November.
In a difficult year which nevertheless also sees Chinese box office overtaking North America’s for the first time, we are excited to have received a record high of over 120 applications from companies and industry professionals all over Europe and China, illustrating that the enthusiasm to work together is even stronger than before. The Lab has chosen 7 projects from Europe and 8 from China deemed suitable for collaboration. In the framework of our partnerships with the New Zealand Film Commission and with China’s THE ONE International Women’s Film Festival, 1 project from New Zealand and 1 project from the festival were chosen.
In the past, the Project Lab has fostered a number of valuable collaborations. Among others, Xu Zhanxiong‘s Wild Grass (China) from the 3rd edition was released in China this year; Zuxin Hou‘s The Italian Recipe (Italy/China/Germany) from the 2nd edition is currently completing post-production and is scheduled to be released at the beginning of 2021 (read the news); Lien Chien-hung’s Salli (Taiwan/UK) from the 3rd edition will start shooting next year; Alexander Darby‘s Hidden Under Moss (UK/China) was selected for co-production markets at several prestigious Chinese festivals.
For the first time, Bridging the Dragon also embraces industry professionals who are without a specific project but wishing to develop activities across the two markets. Among them are Jasper van Hecke, SVP of Acquisitions & Production at Universal Pictures; Ulrich Schwarz, Head of Production at leading Berlin-based visual effect and production company Rise Pictures; from China Wen Yuxiang, producer of the film Model (2020); and Hattie Yu, a producer with extensive experience in co-productions with China.
As usual, this session of the event will be followed by a second get-together in Europe in early 2021 to follow up on projects and connect participants to the enlarged community of Bridging the Dragon’s members and partners, which has been constantly growing over the years.
The selected projects are:
European/New Zealand projects
A Death in Peking (Spain)
Written by Jon Smith and Ian Masters
Production: Jesús Martínez (Mobydick Investment/Pacific Pictures)
Genesis (Ukraine)
Written by Egor Olesov
Production: Egor Borschevsky (Postmodern Digital)
Sofie’s Dilemma (Netherlands)
Written and directed by Paul Ruven
Production: Hans de Weers (FATT productions)
The Chinese Lady (Germany)
Written by Gerhard Rekel
Production: John Hoernschemeyer (Penned Pictures)
New World: 2080 (UK)
Written by Kira-Anne Pelican
Production: Paul Brett (Flying Tiger Entertainment)
Steelhead Sam (UK)
Written by Roland Moore
Production: Mark Talbot (Beano Studios)
Goldpaw (New Zealand)
Written and directed by Christian Greet
Production: Marko Klijn (Cirkus)
Earth 2.0 (Finland)
Written and directed by Adam Cullen
Production: Juha Fiilin (Fiilin Good Films)
Chinese projects
Grand Theft Riddle: The Film (China/Italy)
Written and directed by Meme Tang
Production: Shan Dongbing (Donwa Pictures)
Little Tin Cook (China/France)
Written and directed by Wang Xinyu, Emmanuel Sapolsky
Production: Wang Xinyu (Drunken Dragon Productions)
Rodin (China/France)
Written and directed by Meng Xing
Production: Lu Bingshu (Teli Pictures)
Katyusha and Mu Aihua (China/Ukraine)
Written by Shuang Li
Production: David Feng (Beijing True Eyes Film)
Par Amour (China/France)
Written and directed by Jeff Wong
Production: Mufei Xu (Feilight Films)
When We Are Together (China/France/US)
Written and directed by Grace Gao
Production: Li Yuwen (3L Films)
Autumn Willow
Written and directed by Li Xiaoyan
East (China/Italy)
Written and directed by Yan Cheng and Federico Francioni
Production: Wang Ziyi (Studio Cinevoyage)
Slut
Written and directed by Pu Xian
Production: Pu Xian