Otago film industry to pitch in China

Antony Deaker.
Antony Deaker
Dunedin and Otago's film industry will be promoted in Shanghai later this year, but the makers of a new Chinese feature film are already eyeing a southern shoot.

Film Dunedin co-ordinator Antony Deaker said yesterday a Dunedin delegation would head to Shanghai in October to showcase the best of Dunedin and Otago's film and television industry.

A group of film-makers would travel as part of the group on the ''business-focused'' trip, which would include workshops designed to promote Dunedin locations to movie makers in China, he said.

''It will be really focused on helping Dunedin and Otago film screen businesses make connections that lead to new work or projects together.

''We'll be running a locations workshop while we're there, for their producers to see what's on offer over here.''

The trip came more than a year after Dunedin signed a memorandum of understanding with the Shanghai Art Film Federation to host reciprocal film festivals in the two cities.

That led to the staging of the inaugural China Film Festival at Dunedin's Regent Theatre last year, when six new-release Chinese feature films were shown and a high-powered delegation of Chinese film industry executives visited.

Mr Deaker said one of the directors to visit last year now planned to return to Dunedin next year to shoot a feature film for the Chinese market.

Exact details, including the project's size, were yet to be confirmed, but the production company, Beijing Cloud, would be based in Dunedin while shooting in Central Otago as well, he said.

chris.morris@odt.co.nz

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