Creating stories that can travel

Professionals from the Chinese and US film industries gathered at the festival on Monday to discuss how to create domestic films with international appeal. Hollywood has decades of success among international audiences. The form offered Chinese filmmakers a chance to pick up some solid advice.

Industry insiders say the success ratio for Chinese films stands at 8 to 1 to 1. That means 8 out of 10 films will lose money. One will break even, and only one of the ten will actually turn a profit. Compare that to Hollywood's rate of 3 losers to 3 break even films to 4 money makers, one can see why the Chinese film industry is considered a risky business. Six experts gathered at the Shanghai International Film Festival to talk about attracting overseas investment to reduce this risk.

Many Chinese films have gained global recognition over the last decade, especially Zhang Yimou's Hero and Curse of the Golden Flower. Hero took in more than 200 million Yuan, setting a Chinese box office record in 2001. When it premiered in North America in 2004, it leveraged that success to top the weekend box office.

Curse of the Golden Flower continued to boost Zhang's global reputation, as it took in more than 420 million Yuan worldwide in just three months. In 2000, the film Gua Sha Treatment told the story of Chinese and western cultures colliding. The film was earning large box-office returns in its fourth week on the screen. Experts say this proves that when stories succeed in the domestic market, and contain unique cultural elements, they can travel and attract audiences all over the world.

Focusing on success in the domestic market will help producers manage their budgets, target a more specific audience and cater to viewers' preferences. Most Chinese movies that succeed on the global market were not originally aimed at worldwide releases, but they started to travel once they became successful at home.