Some of Chinese film’s biggest movie stars and directors are expected to fly in for the glamourous red-carpet opening night of the event.
Published in ArabianBusiness on Sep 25th, 2019, By Sam Bridge
Hala China announces it will host the second China Film Week in Dubai from September 29 to October 5
Hala China, the joint initiative by Meraas and Dubai Holding, on Wednesday announced it will host the second China Film Week at Roxy Cinemas at City Walk and The Beach from September 29 to October 5.
Some of Chinese film’s biggest movie stars and directors are expected to fly in for the glamourous red-carpet opening night of the event.
Among the directors heading to Dubai are Zhang Jizhong, acclaimed director known for film adaptations of classic Chinese “wuxia” literary texts Romance of the Three Kingdoms and Journey to the West, Tang Jili – better known as Stanley Ton – known for his collaborations with Jackie Chan including Rumble in the Box, and Tian Yusheng, who brings his latest film, The Ex File 3: Return of the Exes, to Dubai for an exclusive screening.
Film and TV stars touching down in Dubai for the prestigious opening night include Chen Jianbin, esteemed for his portrayal of Cao Cao in Zhang Jizhong’sThree Kingdoms, Jiang Qinqin, the Golden Phoenix Award-winning actress of My Sister’s Dictionary, Han Geng, lead actor in Tian Yusheng’s The Ex File 3: Return of the Exes, Zhang Lanxin, known for her breakout role in Chinese action-comedy CZ12, Clara Lee Korean-American actress and model from Japanese movie Ask this of Rikyu, and He Hongshan, lead actress from Legend of the Phoenix.
The worldwide premier of Chinese Captain, the film adaption of the real-life events of the Sichuan Airlines forced landing in 2018, will be screened on the opening night of China Film Week in Dubai – the same day it is screened in China for the first time.
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The premier of Chinese Captain will follow an exclusive red-carpet gala dinner hosted at City Walk.
This year’s China Film Week will also see the introduction of the first China-UAE Film and Television Forum on September 30 at Madinat Jumeirah which includes an exhibition of over 100 photographs that chronicle the Chinese film industry’s evolution over the last 70 years.
Sheikh Majid Al Mualla, chairman of Hala China, said: “Since Hala China launched this event last year, we have witnessed extraordinary levels of interest and collaboration between Dubai and China.
“As China’s film industry grows, so does the UAE’s. Together, there is much we can offer each other; with China’s film industry a model of homegrown success and the UAE’s world-class infrastructure, state-of-the-art production and post production facilities.”
Supported by the Consulate General of the People’s Republic of China, China Film Administration and Dubai Film and TV commission, the 2019 China Film Week in Dubai takes place as the People’s Republic of China celebrates its 70th anniversary.
In 2018, China’s cinema audience became the biggest in the world, and its unprecedented growth in the past decade has been driven by rising demand for quality entertainment.
The films screening in Dubai for the week have been part of a huge, recent success in China’s film industry. It is currently valued at $11.05 billion, according to projections from PricewaterhouseCoopers. And in 2020, China’s fast-growing sales at the box office will exceed that of the US by $12.28 billion to $11.93 billion.
China Film Week in Dubai is a key part of Hala China’s ambition to attract the growing Chinese outbound traveller market to Dubai.