Searching for the formula for films

Chen Kaige, director [Photo provided to China Daily]

The 7th Beijing International Film Festival is on, and one of the main topics of discussion at the event is: How can filmmakers make international coproductions successful?

Coproduction is the new buzzword in the film fraternity after China－thanks to an unprecedented building spree over the past few years－became a cinema powerhouse with more than 43,000 screens in 6,000-plus cinemas.

As for coproductions, 73 movies, accounting for around 10 percent of last year's total output, were jointly produced by studios in and outside the Chinese mainland, says Li Guoqi, deputy head of the movie bureau of the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film, and Television, at the festival's key seminar, the Sino-Foreign Film Coproduction Forum, on Monday.

The 2016 coproduction figure is around six times the number of such movies made a decade ago, and the number of such movies has seen a steady growth over the past few years, according to the administration-backed newspaper China Film News.

Industry experts say coproductions are popular for two main reasons－one is to dodge the 34-movie import quota set for the mainland market, as the films are treated as domestic titles; and to spread China's influence overseas with the help of foreign partners.

But when it comes to how to make such movies successful, they hold diverse views.