With the fast development of the Chinese market, film festivals in China are becoming more significant, said Amy Liu Xinying, co-founder and senior vice president of EntGroup Inc, a leading research center of the mainland entertainment industry.

Liu was speaking at the China Daily Asia Leadership Roundtable themed as "International Opportunities Brought by China Film Industry's Globalization."

Liu, who is also a member of the Organizing Committee Office of the 2016 Beijing International Film Festival (BJIFF), revealed that one of the highlights of this year's BJIFF is "Project Pitches" - a platform to link up high-quality film projects with strong market potential with film investors.

This year, about 630 projects have applied, an increase of 40 percent over last year.

Liu said mainland film festivals usually focus on film promotion but foreign film festivals are a channel of buying film copyright.

The function of Project Pitches is more like overseas film festivals, Liu said, the only difference being the event focuses on buying the movie at early stages of production.

She believes it is an opportunity for the globalization of Chinese film festivals and movie makers.

Though the BJIFF is just in its sixth year, Liu said its social impact has been among the most significant in the world, thanks to the fast-growing Chinese market.

Data from EntGroup reveal that China's box office takings reached 6.87 billion yuan ($1.06 billion) in February, up 67.19 percent year on year.

Liu said that is the highest total ever and estimates the record will be broken again in July.

She observed the booming market has attracted many international film makers to the nation.

Chinese film companies used to go overseas looking for projects, but now they are coming back home, she noted.

"Moreover, foreign film studios are expanding their office size and manpower in China, from just one or two staff to a team of dozens, and are working on local projects."

As more and more co-produced films hit mainland screens, local film companies are expanding their international influence through cooperation and acquisition.

Liu has participated in many such projects and found the Western industry is usually amazed by some of the film business models from China.

For instance, online ticket sales is a fast-growing phenomenon, Liu said. EntGroup data show 57.5 percent of tickets were sold online in China last year, compared with just 20 percent in the US.

Liu believes the spread of the Internet, especially mobile Internet, is an advantage for the Chinese film industry in its quest for globalization, but there are also some risks.

The Internet has brought some innovative channels of fundraising, such as crowd-funding, but Liu warned that such channels could disrupt the development of the sector if people buy film tickets for financial speculation rather than actual interest in watching the film.

grace@chinadailyhk.com

Wilfred Wong Ying-wai, far left, speaks as listening intently are, from left, Alexander Wan, Michael C. Ellis and Ma Runsheng.

(HK Edition 03/18/2016 page8)