Renowned French actor to make first Chinese film

French actor Jean Reno and Gao Jindong of Shanghai-based Fundamental Films on the sidelines of the ongoing Beijing International Film Festival on Tuesday. Photo provided to China Daily

French actor Jean Reno is to make his first Chinese film in a 30-year career, he announced in Beijing on April 15.

French film week underway in Beijing

Movies are art not business, says French film producer

On the sidelines of the ongoing Beijing International Film Festival, Reno told a gala attended by Chinese and French filmmakers, including director Jean Jacques Annaud and actress Léa Seydoux, he is now preparing for a Chinese film produced by Shanghai-based Fundamental Films.

The movie will be an action thriller, in which Reno plays a killer opposite a leading Chinese actress.

Fundamental Films has been focusing on cultural exchanges and co-productions with European filmmakers. In 2013, it signed a three-year contract with French director Luc Besson’s EuropaCorp, planning to make 15 films in three years. Their first project, Malavita, was released in China in March. The two companies plan to unveil more co-production plans during this year’s Beijing International Film Festival.