SYDNEY/BEIJING: The 2015 International Chinese Film Festival (ICFF) made a series of announcements today in the lead up to the Festival week of events, scheduled for November 21-28, 2015.
The 2015 Jury will be presided over by acclaimed Australian movie critic and commentator Margaret Pomeranz, and include leading representatives from the Australian film industry – Marta Dusseldorp, Chris Brown, Jon Kuyper, Pauline Chan, Mick Robbins and Jenni Tosi. The jury will select awards for Best Film, Best Actor, Best Actress and Best Director.
While the ICFF has historically screened high profile Chinese language films from mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, this year the Festival will focus on Co-production, screening a number of co-production titles produced by China and international co-production partners.
The Festival is also partnering with key Australian, Chinese and international partners on the Australia China Co-production Forum, which will take place November 23, at Fox Studios Australia in Sydney. The Forum is aimed at establishing strong relationships between the Australian and Chinese film industries, and will take place during the visit of a major Chinese film delegation to Australia.
The Forum will incorporate two panels: the first on developing high-value IP in Australian-Chinese co-productions; and the second on Australian post-production and VFX capabilities and the contribution these services can make to Australian-Chinese co-productions. The Australia China Co-production Forum will be presented by ICFF, the Australian Screen Association (ASA), the Motion Picture Association (MPA) and China Film Co-production Corporation (CFCC) and supported by Fox Studios Australia, Ausfilm, Screen Australia (SA), Screen Producers Australia (SPA), Australian Directors Guild (ADG), Screen NSW, Animal Logic, Spectrum Films, Deluxe and the China Cultural Center.
Now in its seventh year, the International Chinese Film Festival has gained more interest and relevance as the Chinese film industry has grown exponentially.
China’s box-office sky-rocketed nearly 50% in the first half of 2015, claiming $3.3 billion in ticket sales in the first six months of the year. Four of the top 10 earners were Chinese-language films, and three of these were co-productions (The Man from Macau 2 and Dragon Blade with Hong Kong and Wolf Totem with France), stimulating the proposition that co-productions can be remarkably successful in the Chinese market.
The ICFF will host a large delegation of Chinese filmmakers, actors, directors and film industry representatives on a week-long visit to Australia, meeting with Australian film industry representatives in Sydney, Brisbane, Gold Coast and Melbourne.
The proposed schedule of ICFF events for the week November 21-28 includes, along with film screenings in Sydney and Melbourne, the following events:
