26/12/2018 - Bridging the Dragon met up with Luo San, the Senior Vice President of 1905 Pictures, China Movie Channel’s production branch, to discuss the industry’s current situation

Luo San is the Senior Vice President of 1905 Pictures, China Movie Channel’s production branch, part of the state-owned China film corporation. She has played an important role in the marketing campaigns for films such as Spectre [+see also:
trailer
making of
film profile] (2015), The Spongebob Movie: Spongebob Out of Water (2015) and Angry Birds [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (2016) in China and currently oversees the company’s content production and international co-operations.

How is European cinema received in China?
Luo San: There’s a very good climate at the moment for Europeans working in China right now. Ever since the trade war with America began, the US market has become a very sensitive topic here. But it has nevertheless opened doors to further communication with other countries in Europe. European films are also starting to be considered more sophisticated and attractive to Chinese audiences. So it’s a great opportunity for Europe to get involved in more commercial projects with China.

Should European-Chinese co-productions function in a particular way?
When starting the film process, you have to decide which development model to go for. In my opinion, there are two co-production models: the first one, let´s call it “The Meg,” is a model based on a Western studio-driven project, where the Western producer takes the leading creative role and targets an international market.  The second model, which I call “Lost in Thailand,” is a model based on a Chinese story and Chinese cast, but with a story set abroad. Foreigners operate as line-producers, but China is responsible for the whole creative film process.