China's top film festival missing Bollywood stars

By Masood Sattar Khan
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

The cooperation between Chinese and foreign filmmakers which suffered hugely since the COVID-19 pandemic is getting a morale boost with the 10th Beijing International Film Festival which opened on August 24. 

 According to the details, the number of co-productions between China and other countries in 2020 will be far fewer than the 95 co-production applications received in 2019. 

The cooperation between the Chinese mainland filmmakers and Hong Kong and Taiwan studios has not been greatly affected according to Liu Chun, manager of the China Film Co-production Cooperation at the Sino-Foreign Film Co-production Forum. 

The data showed that as of August 26, the Chinese film authorities had received 39 China-foreign co-production applications including one with the US, one from UK and two with Japan.

As many as applications have been filed for co-productions between mainland filmmakers and those based in Hong Kong.

Amazingly no Indian guests had been included on the guest list despite the growing influence of Indian films in China.

It may be recalled that the China-India Film Co-production Dialogue was held in 2019 and the event was attended by the Bollywood megastar Shah Rukh Khan and Kabir Khan. An exhibition of Indian films posters was also held during the festival.

Several Chinese film experts reckoned that the China-India border clashes in the recent past played the key role in the non-presence of Indian guests. Shah Rukh Khan, also known as King Khan, had taken the Chinese crowds by storm during the event last festival.