BRICS-Side Story

By+Sudeshna+Sarkar+&+Xia+Yuanyuan

As vice president of China Alliance of Radio， Film and Television， Zhang Pimin has attended many cultural events at home and abroad， but an incident at the Second BRICS Film Festival in Chengdu in southwest Chinas Sichuan Province was so unique that it caught him completely off-guard.

On the penultimate leg of the five-day event， when an Indian delegation of directors， producers， actors， government officials and other fi lm personnel were interacting with the audience on the occasion of Indian Film Day， Mohan Agashe， a veteran Indian actor， activist and producer， came down from the dais in a gesture outside the offi cial script.

Agashe went straight up to where Zhang was sitting with a Chinese delegation of senior offi cials and draped a traditional Indian woolen shawl around his shoulders， saying it was a token of appreciation of Chinas role as the perfect host of the second edition of the fi lm festival.

“It was completely out of my expectations，”Zhang said. “I am glad to be the recipient of the kind gesture that shows the friendship between the fi lmmakers of our two countries. Thanks to the film festival， we have had the opportunity for close contact with our Indian friends.”

The brief interaction was a symbol of what the BRICS Film Festival seeks to achieve： closer contact between the people of a bloc of diverse countries whose combined population accounts for over 40 percent of the global population—Brazil， Russia， India， China and South Africa.

People at the heart

It was put into words by Nie Chenxi， Minister of State Administration of Press， Publication， Radio， Film and Television， and Director of the BRICS Film Festival Organizing Committee.

“The BRICS Film Festival is a significant consensus achieved by the leaders of the fi ve countries for strengthening cultural exchanges，” Nie said. “Via this platform， we can pass on our common cultural proposals and film dreams… so as to make positive contributions to promoting the diversity of world fi lm culture， international cultural communication and mutual learning.”

There were various pointers to indicate that the cultural communication and mutual learning have already taken hold. One major development since the First BRICS Film Festival in New Delhi， India， last year is the completion of the fi rst BRICS coproduction fi lm， Where Has Time Gone？—an anthology of fi ve short fi lms by five BRICS film directors on the theme of time—coordinated by acclaimed Chinese fi lm director Jia Zhangke. It premiered in Chengdu at the inauguration of the fi lm festival， giving the audience a taste of the diverse flavors of the fi ve member countries.

“I had never seen films from South Africa and Brazil before，” said Andrey Shalopa， codirector of Panfi lovs 28， a 2016 war fi lm about the heroism of Soviet General Ivan Panfi lov and his soldiers， who defended Moscow against German invaders during World War II. “Now I am interested in seeing more of such fi lms. The film festival has been an experience with new emotions and new acquaintances.” Panfilovs 28 fetched Shalopa the Panda Award for Best Director at the festival.

Brazilian director Marcos Jorge， who won 16 international awards with his debut film Estomago （Stomach）， which he says is about power， sex and food， is optimistic that the BRICS filmmaking community will be able to effect change. “We have ample potential to make a difference in the contemporary world with our economy， culture and vitality，” the 52-year-old said. “We hope to be able to contribute to making that difference with our fi lms.”

With the arrival of digitalization in fi lms， the fi lm industry can become more democratized and fi lms more accessible. “While going to the cinema is prohibitively expensive in some places， we have on-demand Internet streaming， like Netfl ix. We could introduce videos on demand，”Jorge said. “I think something will change in the next few years. I hope so.”

Language of cooperation

“This forum is most valuable because it has an economic aspect， a policy aspect and peopleto-people connections，” said Marcos Caramuru de Paiva， Brazilian Ambassador to China. “It creates the design of future cooperation.”

One pillar of this cooperation is making fi lms based on issues or values that are universal and strike a chord among all audience.

“BRICS fi lms need to go out of their national borders，” said veteran Chinese film producer Han Sanping at the BRICS Film Cooperation Forum， where directors， producers and government officials discussed how to take coproductions and market sharing forward.“Currently， they tend to follow the ‘Hollywood model plus locality formula （which simply transposes a Hollywood story onto a local scene）， which is a barrier to the growth of the local fi lm industry.”

Han， former Chairman of China Film Co. Ltd.， suggests fi lms should be based on shared values along the lines of the common values affi rmed at the 2010 UN World Summit. They include democracy， happiness， peace and prosperity. “Find a story that everyone likes and a way of telling it that everybody loves，” he said， giving the example of Dangal， the 2016 Bollywood fi lm that has been a hit in both India and China with its tale of a wrestler father who teaches his daughters wrestling， essentially a mens game， and they win over male rivals， inspiring other young women to turn to wrestling.

“Loneliness， despair， love… these are [also] eternal topics around which good fi lms revolve，”added Lu Chuan， director of the acclaimed， multiple award-winning 2009 film City of Life and Death. “Good fi lms， the most precious gift ever， are those that have a message， spirit quality and good performance.”

Cooperation has economic and policyrelated aspects as well. “China has the largest market and a lot of resources，” Han said. “For any film [screened in China] you have tens of thousands of viewers.”

In 2002， Chinas box-office revenue was 49.2 million yuan （$893，000）. In 2016， it jumped to 1 billion yuan （$146.4 million）， thanks to over 70 million viewers. By May 2017， there were over 45，000 screens nationwide， an exponential jump from the modest 1，845 in 2002. Today， the Chinese film industry boasts nearly 2，000 investors with over 500 venture capital fi rms.

There is a new synergy in the BRICS film community， with the members signing coproduction agreements. China and India， two of the three most prolific filmmaking nations in the world—the former making over 700 fi lms a year on average； and the latter， about 2，000—have signed a coproduction agreement which has seen the production of films shot in both countries and using actors from both sides， such as the Jackie Chan-starring action comedy Kungfu Yoga and Xuan Zang， a 2016 historical film on the eponymous Buddhist monk who spent 17 years in India.

India also has a similar agreement with Brazil and is negotiating an audiovisual coproduction pact with South Africa and Russia， which will include TV coproduction. Besides， the Indian Government has set up a fi lm facilitation offi ce in New Delhi to act as a single window for all clearances and approvals for foreign filmmakers and has begun issuing a fi lm visa to production teams.

An important cooperation agreement will be signed next year， the birth centenary of South African anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela， when China and South Africa， the youngest nation in the BRICS fold， celebrate 20 years of the founding of their diplomatic ties.

Makhotso Magdeline Sotyu， South African Deputy Minister of Arts and Culture， applauded Chinas plan to provide 40 scholarships to other BRICS members from 2018 to 2022 for the sustainable development of film industries in the group. A bilateral coproduction agreement with Brazil is also ready for signing， she said.

“In 2018， South Africa will be the guest country of honor at the Moscow International Film Festival，” Sotyu said， adding that the rainbow nation was offering its picturesque locations and expertise to international film projects， especially with nine provinces having their own production facilities. Hollywood has been shooting frequently in South Africa， with the portfolio including fi lms like Avengers： Age of Ultron and Mad Max： Fury Road.

Coming out of apartheid

When Jahmil Qubeka grew up， he lived in the Republic of Ciskei， one of the many homeland states， “mini countries” that the then-apartheid South Africa was carved up into， where different communities were sequestered and needed“passports” to go outside their areas. He made fi lms in his head to escape from the repression.

“So our world view was very small，” the 38-year-old South African director added.“People had no idea of their place in the world. BRICS gives us a place at the table.”

Qubeka， who has made three feature fi lms， said the announcement about the Chinese scholarships was music to his ears. “We are such a small country， and we are also new to the game，” he said. “We will grow and be stronger for it.”

Though the South African film industry is very young and produces a limited number of domestic films annually—in 2016， South Africa made eight feature fi lms and 11 coproductions—its remarkable achievement is the signifi cant presence of women， as directors and producers and at other levels， and the emergence of black directors and artists.

Thabo Philip Molefe， CEO of the National Film and Video Foundation of South Africa， attributed it to the ongoing democratization in all sectors of South African society. “It is not just a display in China， there is equality in representation at all levels and in various sectors of society. Gender equality is very important because we come from an imbalanced past，” he said.

South African producer-director Xoliswa Sithole， a British Academy Film Awards and Peabody Award winner who also attended the First BRICS Film Festival， said while the inception was marked by excitement about a new start， the Chengdu fi lm festival has seen the organizers working together to build on it. “There is a seriousness， focus and continuity in working together，” she said. “We have taken off.”