2019-06-18

Focus on Co-production Film by China and Thailand │ What Is \"Yin and Yang\"? Durian and Mangosteen!

In recent years, Thailand has become a popular destination for outbound tourism of Chinese. Its unique local customs and practices have attracted many domestic blockbusters such as LOST IN THAILAND and DETECTIVE CHINATOWN to go there for shooting and framing. Meanwhile, Thai films A LITTLE THING CALLED LOVE and BAD GENIUS have gained good box office after entering Chinese market, and have also cultivated a group of young Chinese fans. The cooperation and interaction between China and Thailand in the field of film is frequent and orderly, as well as brilliant achievements have been made.

This morning, the "Focus on Thailand" Dialogue Forum between Chinese and Thailand Filmmakers was held at the International Co-production Film Market of Shanghai International Film Festival. Miao Xiaotian, the general manager of China Film Co-Production Corporation, Peng Yulun, the project director of the co-production START IT UP by China and Thailand, Tao Shu, the general manager of SMG Pictures Wingsmedia, Chen Jiande, the chief executive of IMAX in China, and Yu Zhiqing, the vice president and secretary general of Shanghai Broadcasting, Film & Television Producers Association attended the activity.

As the Chinese representative of START IT UP, Tao Shu said that during the filming process, there were indeed many problems caused by cultural differences, "We must allow Chinese actors to adapt to foreign shooting environment, and also must respect foreign directors for interpreting Chinese culture in their own means of expression. The communication is very difficult." He mentioned a cooking scene in the film in which the concept of "yin and yang" of Chinese traditional culture was required to be integrated, but Thai team was very confused about this. "We think of a lot of ways to help them understand it, such as describing yin and yang as ice and fire, the relationship between men and women, which are mutually opposite and also integrated." In the end, the Thai director thought of using durian and mangosteen to express the relationship between "yin and yang". In Thailand, people used to eat mangosteen and durian together, as the mangosteen with cool property can offset the durian with hot property. Therefore, they were also called "couple fruit".

Tao Shu, the general manager of SMG Pictures Wingsmedia

Peng Yulun, the Thai representative of START IT UP quite agreed with this, and she added that in order to deal with cultural integration issues of co-productions, we must not only focus on the collaborative communication of team, but also find the common points in content creation, for example, "the design of bursting point should take into account the common habits of the two countries\' audiences, so that we can well control the overall rhythm of the film."

Peng Yulun, the project director of the co-production START IT UP by China and Thailand

In the field of co-productions, Chen Jiande has rich experiences. When he served as the president of Sony Pictures in China, the first co-production he handled was CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON. He believed that the biggest difficulty in co-production is to "eliminate the gap between cultures". He told that the CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON succeeded because Ang Lee truly understood the points that American audiences were obsessed with for oriental culture. Before CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON, the European and American markets only had Bruce Lee, and it was Ang Lee who used poetic and picturesque scene to present Chinese kung fu to Western audiences for the first time, and it had achieved great success."

Chen Jiande, the chief executive of IMAX in China

As the host, Yu Zhiqing welcomed Thai film agencies to come to Shanghai for filming. Shanghai film & TV production service agencies would provide full support and services for the crew, and "all coordination is free". Yu Zhiqing\'s warm and generous speech immediately attracted the applause of all guests.

Yu Zhiqing, the vice president and secretary general of Shanghai Broadcasting, Film & Television Producers Association