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An opening ceremony to launch the filming of a documentary, The Villa of Bussiere, was held on March 30 at the Villa of Bussiere in Beijing’s Haidian district with the participation of French scholars, famous directors and local officials.
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Dr Bussiere's son Jean Louis Bussiere speaks at the opening ceremony at the Villa of Bussiere in Beijing's Haidian district on March 30. [Photo provided to China Daily] |
Located in the Xishan Mountain area in Haidian district, the villa was once the residence of Jean Jerome Augustin Bussiere, a French doctor who received patients in Beijing for decades in the first half the 19th century. His residence was also considered the center for French social and community life nearly a century ago. There are many legends of nongovernmental Sino-French friendship in the Xishan Mountain area, and the documentary will recall these memories and review the historic relations in this area, said Chen Mingjie, publicity chief of the Haidian district government.
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Chen Mingjie, publicity chief of the Haidian district government, speaks at the opening ceremony at the Villa of Bussiere in Beijing's Haidian district on March 30. [Photo provided to China Daily] |
Chen said efforts will be made to promote the work on more overseas mainstream TV media outlets. The documentary will promote the cultural exchanges between the two countries and become a symbol of friendship, said Liu Wen, a director for CCTV’s documentary channel, who will produce the documentary with the publicity department of the district.
The preparation work started last September. The production team has gone on three fact-finding trips to France for reference, including archives, pictures and interviews with French researchers and people who have witnessed or been involved in cultural exchanges.
The program is expected to be broadcast on both CCTV’s documentary channel and a French TV station by the end of this year.
