Sino Silver Screen: This Week in China Film News

This post comes courtesy of our content partners at China Film Insider.

Beijing Culture Reports Losses For First Half of 2019

Beijing Culture film group reported a net loss of RMB 53.68 million for the first half of 2019, according to the company’s newly released semi-annual financial statement. The company generated RMB 62.11 million in revenue for the first half of 2019, a 79.54 percent decrease compared to the same period in 2018. However, the semi-annual report doesn’t take into consideration the revenue of box office hit The Wandering Earth, which made an estimated RMB 600-650 million, as it will be included in Beijing Culture’s Q3 financial report. Since the summer of 2017, Beijing Culture has produced a series of box office hits, such as Wolf Warrior 2, Dying to Survive, A Cool Fish, and The Wandering Earth. After this year’s Chinese New Year holiday, however, none of the films backed by the company has succeeded at the box office.

Read more on Entertainment & Business.

Previously Canceled ‘The Last Wish’ May Get Theatrical Release

On Aug 27, The Last Wish's director Tian Yusheng posted a still of his film on Weibo with a caption saying “the mission is finally accomplished!” Mtime reached out to the team behind the film and confirmed that it is expected to return to cinemas, though a release date has yet to be announced. Due to "market demands," the film's title was previously changed from The Great Wish (伟大的愿望) to The Little Wish (小小的愿望) before settling on The Last Wish. Eventually, its summer release was canceled altogether.

Read more on Mtime.

Video Streaming Site Youku Forms Strategic Partnership With Weibo

On Aug 26, Sina’s social media arm Weibo announced a strategic partnership with video streaming platform Youku. The partnership will allow Youku to integrate Weibo’s highly active SuperTopic community into its video platform while giving Weibo users direct access to Youku’s long-form video content, such as films, TV series, and variety shows. As social and content-driven e-commerce continues to develop in China, the partnership between Weibo and Youku will surely help the two platforms lay the foundation to capitalize on its content and audience communities.

Read more on Ent Group.

CAA China to Rep ‘End of Summer’ Director Zhou Quan

CAA China has signed on with Chinese film director Zhou Quan, according to the company’s official WeChat media account. Born in Zhejiang province, Zhou Quan earned an MFA degree in directing from American Film Institute and has had works selected in the 2015 Berlinale Talents and the 2014 Golden Horse Film Academy. In 2017, Zhou Quan shot his feature debut End of Summer (watch the trailer here, a still from which is pictured at top), which was written based on his personal coming-of-age experience. The film won KNN Movie Award (Audience Award) at the 22nd Busan International Film Festival as well as the HAF Award at 13th Hong Kong – Asia Film Financing Forum, and entered over 20 international film festivals including Rome, Beijing, Pingyao, and Minsk. It also received distributions in France, Spain, Portugal, and Southeast Asia. Zhou also partnered with his production team and found a film company named Each Other Pictures, aiming to collaborate with filmmakers from Hollywood and Greater China region to create Chinese-language film/drama series to the international market.

Read more on CAA China.

First ‘One Belt One Road’ Film Premieres in Beijing

On Aug 22, the world premiere of the first "One Belt One Road” film Common Destiny took place in Beijing. The film follows a truck as it cruises along the ancient silk road. Crew members of the film are comprised of over 300 filmmakers from different countries, such as China, the US, and the UK. Common Destiny is set to be released in China on Aug 30.

Read more on Mtime.

Cannes Selection ‘Wild Goose Lake’ Set for Dec 6 Release

Diao Yinan 2019 crime drama Wild Goose Lake has been scheduled for release in China on Dec 6. The film tells the story of a gangster on the run who eventually sacrifices himself to save his family and a woman he encounters along the way. The film premiered in May at the Cannes Film Festival. Diao Yinan’s previous work Black Coal, Thin Ice won the Golden Bear award at the 64th Berlin International Film Festival.

Read more on Mtime.

Another Science Fiction Novel By Liu Cixin Gets Film Adaption

On Aug 23, a new Chinese sci-fi film called The Supernova Era and the first members of the film's cast were announced. The film is based on the renowned writer Liu Cixin’s novel of the same name and will be directed by Kong Ergou. Kong was also a producer of the film adaption of The Three Body Problem, arguably Liu's most famous book. The Supernova Era is expected to hit cinemas in 2021.

Read more on Mtime.

READ: Stage Adaptation of "Kafka's Ape" Explores the Very Nature of What it Means to Be Human

Image: Zhou Quan (Vimeo)